So you're telling me there's a chance: What would it take for the Bears to make the playoffs?

John Lennon once sang, "You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one." He must not have been talking about the Chicago Bears and their playoff hopes, because right now, it's impossible to "imagine" multiple people believing the Monsters of the Midway are going to be playing meaningful football in January.

There were some ups and downs in the early part of the season, but Bears fans were in a good place when they were rooting for a 4-2 team. It seems like ages ago that the Bears gave the Jaguars a whooping across the pond to get their third straight win, but it was somehow less than six weeks ago.

Since returning stateside, the Bears have committed one faceplant after another. The troubles began with Jayden Daniels' Hail Mary to Noah Brown, which frankly I'm cool with never thinking about again. The hangover after such a heartbreaking loss was real, and it lasted two weeks, as the Bears were not competitive in lopsided losses to the Cardinals and Patriots.

Welcoming the Packers to Soldier Field hasn't resulted in happiness for the home team in quite some time, but Bears fans held out hope that finally breaking through against their archrival would be the magic elixir to turn the season around. For a while, it looked like that might actually happen, as Caleb Williams had one of his best performances of the season to give Chicago a late lead, then made three outstanding throws in a row to set up a game-winning field goal after the defense blew it. As we know by now, the Packers blocked that kick, and you know what, I'm cool with never thinking about that again either. Let's just erase this entire month from our memory, Men in Black style.

Bears fans' thoughts have turned away from contending for the postseason and toward firing Matt Eberflus, but with seven games still to go, the team isn't mathematically eliminated yet. Is there any way they could go on a run and make this interesting?

What would it take for the Bears to shock the world and make the playoffs?

Do you remember that scene in Avengers: Endgame where Doctor Strange holds up one finger to Iron Man, indicating that they're in the one scenario out of 14 million possibilities in which the Avengers could defeat Thanos? That's where we're at with the Bears' playoff odds right now.

The Bears have by far the most difficult remaining schedule in the league, as their opponents have a combined winning percentage of 72.9. Tankathon illustrated this hilariously by keeping the "Easiest Opponents" column empty for the Bears, while every other team in the league has at least two games represented there.

The Bears currently trail the Commanders for the final Wild Card spot by 2.5 games. Worse yet, Washington holds the tiebreaker thanks to ... well, you know. For the Bears to have any chance to catch Jayden Daniels and company, they'd need to go undefeated while the Commanders stumble to a 3-3 record in their final six.

The only other team the Bears are (barely) in range of is the Packers, and that situation isn't looking much better. Green Bay is three full games ahead of Chicago right now, with the tiebreaker, although that could change if the Bears even the season series by winning at Lambeau Field in Week 18.

The Bears would also have to jump the Rams, Seahawks and 49ers, all of whom are 5-5 right now. In that regard, the Bears actually control their own destiny, as they've already beaten the Rams and still get to play the Seahawks and Niners.

We've established that in a technical sense, the Bears are still alive, but there are two problems keeping them from making any real noise. One is that their coach is, maddeningly, still Matt Eberflus, he of the 14-30 career record who continues to botch late-game situations with astonishing consistency.

The other issue is that even if they brought back prime Mike Ditka or George Halas himself to coach, going undefeated against this remaining schedule is an impossible task. The Bears have the talent on the roster to compete with anybody, but just look at this gauntlet. The Vikings are 8-2 behind a Brian Flores-led defense that has held opponents to only 17 points per game, and the Bears need to play them twice, including once on the road on Monday Night Football. They also have two games remaining against the Lions, who are beating teams like they're playing Madden on Rookie difficulty.

The Niners have endured multiple injuries, but they're still the defending NFC champs, and Christian McCaffrey is back. The Seahawks have had an uneven season, but they're 3-1 on the road and won't be scared to come to Soldier Field. If the Bears roll off six straight against THAT schedule, their reward is a trip to Titletown to face a Packers team that has beaten them 11 times in a row.

So you're telling me there's a chance? They don't call the movie that quote comes from Dumb & Dumber for nothing. Bears fans shouldn't get their hopes up for a playoff run this year. Focus instead on continuing Caleb Williams' development, making a head coaching change and investing in the offensive line in the offseason.