Ranking the 5 most important games remaining on the Bears schedule

When the NFL team you root for isn't good, the bye week always comes at a good time. At least you can't lose, right? Sadly, that's been true more often than not for the Chicago Bears in recent years, as the bye week typically provided just a short respite from the pain.

That's no longer the case in Halas Hall, where the Bears entered their bye with a rush of positive momentum and a three-game winning streak. This has been the best, sustained stretch of football we've seen from the Bears in a long time, and the bye, useful as it was in allowing injured players such as Jaquan Brisker and Tyrique Stevenson to heal up, feels more like a speed bump in the way of a Bears race car that seemed to be hitting top gear than a necessary pit stop to help an ailing team.

It's been (mostly) all fun and games for the Bears through the season's first seven weeks, but now it's about to get serious. The Bears are 4-2 and feeling good, and the playoffs are a legit possibility. The schedule, though, is daunting, with six division games and no easy wins on the docket. Some fans might quibble with the Patriots part of that, but Drake Maye's strong play since being named the starter means that even that game will present a challenge.

The playoff picture in the NFC is shaping up to be like one of those old Looney Tunes cartoons where Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam keep pulling out increasingly large guns to one-up each other. One thing is clear — there are more quality teams in the NFC than there are playoff spots, and the Bears have the special misfortune of playing in the NFC North, which this year is shaping up to be like one of those World Cup Groups of Death.

The path to a playoff berth is treacherous for the Bears, but if the defense can continue its dominant play and Caleb Williams and the offense can keep making strides at such a rapid pace, there's no reason that this team can't make a real run.

Today we're looking at the five most important games remaining on the Bears schedule as it pertains to earning a postseason spot. Which games should the Bears be circling on their calendar and why? Let's take a look.

Week 17 versus the Seahawks

Six of Chicago's final 11 games are against divisional opponents, but there are other critical games against NFC North contenders, too. The Bears still have three games remaining against the NFC West after beating the Rams three weeks ago, and though I waffled between the 49ers and Seahawks as the game that would be more important to the Bears' playoff chances, I settled on Mike Macdonald's club rather than the defending NFC champs.

The Seahawks are 4-3, but they just put forth their best effort of the season by going to Atlanta and blasting the Falcons 34-14. This is a team that should only get better as the season progresses, since Macdonald is a first-time head coach and Ryan Grubb is a first-time NFL offensive coordinator.

The Seahawks roster is largely the same as it was under Pete Carroll and now-Bears offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, but it's reasonable to expect it to take time to fully acclimate to its new coaching staff. Nevertheless, Seattle is right in the thick of the playoff race themselves at 4-3, and with an easier remaining schedule, could be battling the Bears for one of the final playoff spots.

The reason that the Seahawks game is more important than the matchup with the 49ers comes down to timing and location. The Bears host the Seahawks on Thursday night in the regular season's penultimate week, right before a Week 18 showdown with the Packers in Lambeau Field. The House that Lombardi Built has been a house of horrors for the Bears, and despite the feeling that the franchise has turned over a new leaf in the Caleb Williams era, no Bears fan wants to go into that scenario needing a win to get in.

The Bears will travel to San Francisco the week after Thanksgiving to take on the 49ers fresh off a mini-bye. The Niners have been ravaged by injuries this year, and while they'll likely be in better health than they are now, there's no telling when or if Christian McCaffrey will return, and Brandon Aiyuk appears to be out for the year with a torn ACL. That game is on the road, but if there was ever a time for the Bears to travel across the country and beat the defending NFC champs, this is the year.

Coincidentally, both of these games immediately follow the Lions on the Bears schedule. Dan Campbell's team has looked like arguably the best team in football through seven weeks, but they've done more than just beat teams on the field, they've left them bruised and broken for the next week, much like the old Seahawks Legion of Boom teams used to do. Every team that has faced the Lions has been crushed the following week, so the Bears will need to avoid a similar hangover themselves.

Week 13 at the Lions

The NFL loves its traditions, and the annual Thanksgiving game in Detroit is certainly one of them. The Bears have the honor of vying for a turkey leg this year, and with how good both teams have looked, this game is monumental in its importance.

The Lions came into this season with an attitude of Super Bowl-or-bust after falling just short in the NFC Championship Game last year. They've looked the part of the Super Bowl favorite in the conference, especially after winning a back-and-forth game against the previously unbeaten Vikings on Sunday.

That doesn't mean the Bears should be scared when they make their yearly trip to the Motor City. Chicago split its two games with the Lions last year and honestly should have won both if not for a botched final two minutes in the first meeting. The Bears are clearly better than they were last year, so why can't they win at least one from the Lions again?

The Bears fell short in their first nationally-televised game of the season, a Week 2 loss to the Texans. They beat the Jaguars in London when they had the airwaves all to themselves due to the early morning start time in America, but many NFL fans slept through that one. Playing in Detroit on Thanksgiving is an incredible chance to make a statement to the entire league that this Bears team is ready to contend for real.

The Lions currently have the best odds to win the NFC North. If the Bears want to be taken seriously, going into their place on a national holiday and knocking them off is the perfect time to do it.

Week 8 at the Commanders

We'll have more information soon, but there's a chance that this week's game between the Bears and Commanders might be losing a bit of its luster. That's because Jayden Daniels, Washington's rookie quarterback who has gotten off to such a phenomenal start, may not be able to play after injuring his ribs early in Sunday's blowout win over the Panthers.

Daniels versus Caleb Williams in a rookie quarterback showdown was set to be the biggest storyline of the NFL week, and though it may still happen, the Bears need to win this game regardless of who is under center for Washington. The Commanders are 5-2, but unlike the AFC West and AFC East, divisions whose winners seem all but assured right now, it looks like the NFC East will be a battle all year between the Commanders and the Eagles, and possibly the Cowboys if they were able to get right during their bye.

The only way the NFC North can get every one of its teams into the postseason is if no other division has even one Wild Card team. If Washington goes on to win the division, the Bears won't be directly competing with them for a spot, but if the Eagles or Cowboys surpass them, then every game will be important.

Beating the Commanders on the road would give the Bears a big leg up in that regard, and the tiebreaker they'd gain over Washington could prove essential. This will be Caleb's best opportunity to show that he should win the Offensive Rookie of the Year award, but more importantly, a win would keep the Bears' winning streak intact with winnable games against the Cardinals and Patriots up next. Being 7-2 when they host the Packers in Week 11 is a possibility, but the Bears need to beat the Commanders first.

Week 15 at the Vikings

Most pundits picked the Vikings to finish last in the NFC North this year. That looked foolish as Minnesota raced out to a 5-0 record behind the league's most disruptive defense and a strong start from Sam Darnold.

The Vikings have played great football, and they nearly pulled off an impressive comeback win over the Lions on Sunday. I'm not ready to say that the experts were wrong, though, because of all the teams the Bears have to hurdle in the NFC North, I still think the Vikings are the most likely candidate to drop off.

Darnold has been good, but even under Kevin O'Connell's tutelage, he's still more likely to turn into a pumpkin than Jared Goff or Jordan Love. The defense has been incredible, but the league has had almost two months to get wise to Brian Flores' scheme. The talent level on that side of the ball is still below average, so while I don't think they'll suddenly get lit up each week, the pace they're on definitely seems unsustainable.

The Bears are only a game behind the Vikes as of now, and they're set to face them twice before the end of the season. The reason I chose the second matchup, a Monday Night Football tilt in mid-December, is because of the schedule. The Bears could very well be 7-3 when they meet the first time, while the Vikings' soft upcoming schedule (they face the Rams, Colts, Jaguars and Titans) could put them in a position to be even better.

When the teams face off for a second time, though, things could be much different. Both teams close the final three weeks by playing the Seahawks, Packers and Lions, and whoever wins this game will enter that tough stretch with a lot of positive momentum. If the Bears can go on the road and get a win on Monday night, it could send the Vikings spiraling right out of the playoff picture entirely.

Week 11 versus the Packers

Every game against the Packers is always circled in bright red ink on the Bears calendar. We've mentioned the final week of the season when the Bears travel to Lambeau, and we know how much PTSD would be inflicted on Bears fans leading up to that week if their team needs a win to get in (cue flashback of Randall Cobb getting behind the Bears secondary on 4th and 8 as Julius Peppers misses Aaron Rodgers).

If that ends up being the case, that game will easily be the most important one on the schedule, but we don't want it to come to that. That's why the Week 11 game at Soldier Field gets the nod here, because it's the beginning of a final two months gauntlet that holds zero easy wins.

The Bears need to keep stacking up victories in the coming weeks so that they can weather the winter hardships they're sure to endure. Beating Green Bay at home could set the Bears up to only need two or three more wins in the final seven weeks to get in.

This game is about so much more than just playoff positioning and division standing though, and we'd be kidding ourselves to pretend otherwise. The Packers have owned the Bears for decades, literal decades, and though the season is still relatively young, this is the most optimistic Bears fans have felt about the long-term direction of the club in quite some time.

Losing at home again to the Packers would be like Sisyphus rolling that boulder to the very top of the hill, only to get punched in the gut and having to watch helplessly as it tumbles back down to the bottom. Any measure of Bears success is seen through a Packers-colored lens. If Ryan Poles really has built a winner, the Bears need to prove it against their oldest rivals.