Alright, so yesterday I dove deep into figuring out the Bears’ playoff chances. It was a bit of a head-scratcher, but I think I finally cracked it. Here’s how it all went down.
First off, I started by grabbing the current NFL standings. You know, wins, losses, all that jazz. I needed a solid base to work from. Found a decent table online and copy-pasted it into a spreadsheet. Messy, I know, but it’s a start.
Then, I focused on the NFC North. Gotta see who the Bears are battling with directly. The Packers are always a pain, and the Lions have been surprisingly good this year. Minnesota too, always in the mix. I highlighted these teams in my spreadsheet to keep track of ’em.
Next up, the fun part: playoff tiebreakers. This is where things get complicated. Head-to-head record, division record, common games, strength of victory, strength of schedule… the list goes on. I had to dig up the official NFL tiebreaking procedures. What a headache!
I started running through different scenarios. “Okay, if the Bears win this game, and the Packers lose that one…” I was basically playing armchair GM. I wrote down each scenario in a notebook. It was getting pretty thick.
I then started using online playoff simulators. Plugged in all the game results I was speculating about. Some sites were easier to use than others. A few gave me straight-up conflicting results, which was super frustrating. Had to double-check their logic (or lack thereof).
I had to account for wild card spots too. It wasn’t just about winning the division; the Bears could sneak in as a wild card if a bunch of other teams choked. So I expanded my spreadsheet to include other NFC contenders like the Seahawks and the Rams.
After hours of crunching numbers and tweaking scenarios, I finally got a grasp on things. It came down to the Bears needing to win almost all their remaining games AND needing a few key upsets elsewhere in the NFC. Not impossible, but definitely an uphill battle.
I’d say, after going through all this, the Bears’ playoff chances are slim, but there’s still a flicker of hope. Either way, it was a fun deep dive into the crazy world of NFL tiebreakers. Go Bears!
