Well lets look at the playoffs... TB is losing 7-0 to Denver right now, but lets say TB wins, because I'm a pessimist 5. Chicago 8-4 6. Seattle 7-5 (Bears lose tiebreaker) --------------- 7. Tampa Bay 7-5 8. Minnesota 6-6 9. Washington/Dallas 6-6 (if win) So if TB wins today, we're 1 game up on a playoff spot. Luckily the Bears have a safe edge in the tiebreaker by virtue of a 5-3 conference record vs. 3-5 for TB. Let's look at the schedules: TB: vs. Philly @ NO vs. STL @ ATL Normally that would be daunting, but Philly has pretty much giving up on their season. NO is close to that point, but its never easy winning in that dome and if the Saints win they'll still be somewhat alive. STL should be a probable win. And with Atlanta at 11-1 they will probably have HFA locked up before the last game. I can see TB going 3-1 with this schedule, maybe 2-2. Bears: @ Minnesota vs. Green Bay @ Arizona @ Detroit 3 road games. That dome is always a very tough place to win, even when the Vikings are mediocre. This year the Vikings are 5-1 at home and 1-5 on the road. Very tough game, and honestly with all the injuries plus my negativity, I think thats a Vikings win. Then we have Green Bay. Haven't beat them the last 5 times we've played. We CAN win this game but I don't know if we will. More likely to be a loss than not. Lets say the Bears win against Arizona. Then it all comes down to @ Detroit for a playoff spot. If we win, we finish 10-6 with a 7-5 conference record. If we lose we finish 9-7. So basically, what I've determined by being as negative as possible, if the Bears go 2-2, the Bucs would have to win out to get in over Chicago. If we go 1-3, its gonna be hard for the Bears to get in. And this isn't even considering the 6 loss teams.