The Chicago Bears (4-5) are quietly making up ground in the NFC wild card playoff picture after winning four of its last six games. Currently, the Green Bay Packers and Atlanta Falcons hold two game leads for the two wild card spots over the Bears, Washington Redskins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, St. Louis Rams, Philadelphia Eagles, and Seattle Seahawks, all of whom are 4-5. Anything can happen in the NFL, as the Detroit Lions demonstrated by beating the struggling Aaron Rodgers and the Pack in Green Bay for the first time in 24 years. If the Bears have any realistic shot at making a serious playoff push, they have to play nearly perfect football for the rest of the regular season.
Chicago’s road to near perfection begins with a pivotal game against the Denver Broncos. This game will either make or break the Bears’ season. The Bears cannot afford to lose, especially to a team who decided to shut down future hall of famer Peyton Manning for the week in favor of Brock Osweiler. Who in the world is Brock Osweiler? He is a career backup who will make his first career start against a Bears defense that is on the rise and very underrated. Although, after watching Manning produce a zero QB rating along with four interceptions last week against the Kansas City Chiefs, I would not have minded him starting against the Bears. Broncos’ head coach Gary Kubiak made the right call by starting Osweiler over Manning because Denver knows they will need Manning later in the season, but Chicago will make Kubiak regret he made this decision for this weekend.
Both teams’ defenses will pose problems for the opponent’s offense, with the Broncos giving up the least number of passing yards per game and the Bears ranking fourth in that category. Given Jay Cutler’s excellence this season in contrast to Osweiler’s inexperience, the latter will struggle more to move the ball against an improving Bears defense that has made key stops ever since its defensive meltdown against the Minnesota Vikings. Cutler will have his work cut out for him too. Denver’s defense ranks first in the NFL in sacks and third in opponent’s QB rating. Coming off a 37-point outburst last week against St. Louis, Cutler and Chicago’s offense will be tested.
Jeremy Langford has been a revelation for the Bears, and that is an understatement. He has been the biggest buzz in Chicago since he took over for Matt Forte, who has not played in the Bears’ last two games due to a knee injury. Langford is the real deal. He is a fast running back who poses additional problems as a legitimate receiver coming out of the backfield. Denver’s seventh ranked run defense will be the best defense Langford has yet to see, assuming Forte is out for the third straight game. Langford had big games against the lowly Rams and San Diego Chargers, but his worth will be tested against a respectable defense. A part of me wants Forte to rest his ailing knee just to see how well Langford will perform against a good defense, but if Forte is healthy enough to play, he should resume the majority of the workload.
I have not been this excited for a Chicago Bears game since they were actually competitive, which feels like a decade ago. There is so much riding on this game. If the Bears beat the Broncos, they will be .500 for the first time since starting the regular season and will have serious momentum in the form of a three game winning streak heading into another pivotal matchup against their nemesis in Green Bay on Thanksgiving Day. Chicago may be lucky once again in facing a good team at a perfect time considering that the Packers are currently on a three game losing streak. On the flip side though, a Bears’ loss against the Broncos would most likely place them too far behind in the wild card playoff picture and potentially end their season. I think the Bears will surprise a number of people this weekend with a clutch win over one of the league’s best teams.