Three of a kind

If the Bears win tonight and next Sunday in Houston, and the Vikings fall that same day to the New York Giants, the Bears make the playoffs. Yes Jim Mora, PLAYOFFS. How amazing is that? Well, if you remember that most predicted six wins or less from this squad, it goes next to the Bulls winning the NBA Lottery as the biggest Chicago- non-baseball- shock of 2008.

Before we can dream about that though, all three of those games have to go the Bears’ way; there can be no hiccups*. Lets take a look at all three of these matchups and examine the likelihood that they can all go the right way.

*Technically there is a way for the Bears to win a wild card spot, but it is highly unlikely and way too complicated to describe. The only thing I know is, the Bears must go 2-0 for that to even be a possibility.

Game I: Packers at Bears, tonight

Talk about going in different directions. Since the November 16 meeting, which Green Bay took 37-3, the Bears are 3-1 while the Cheese-heads are 0-4. Now the team that was in overtime of the NFC Championship game last season is out of the playoffs while the Bears, who nobody figured would be a contender, have their eyes on the post-season. And it all has to do with the defense.

I haven’t been very kind to the Bears defense over the year, sometimes I’ll admit unfairly. The truth is, in the grand scheme of things, they haven’t been too bad. Lovie’s crew is dominant at shutting down the run, good at occasionally pressuring quarterbacks and pretty bad in pass coverage. Overall, I’d say a B- effort. Not great, but I’m guessing our enemies to the north would take it in a second. Green Bay’s defense, which was outstanding in 2007, has been stinkier than giant pile of moldy cheddar. Despite having six interception returns for touchdowns, the Packers defense allows over 24 points and 345 yards a game. A year ago, those numbers were 18 points and 313 yards. Pretty big difference. The Bears should be able to take care of business versus their longtime rivals because of that weak D. In that first matchup, GB running back Ryan Grant had a dominant game while the Bears attack, thanks to a banged-up Kyle Orton, was unable to do a thing. Since then though, the Bears have improved tremendously on both sides of the ball while the Packers have gotten worse. Thanks to cold air and heavy wind, it will be a low scoring game, but the difference in defense will give it to Chicago. Bears 20, Packers 10

Game II: Bears at Texans, December 28

The most dangerous type of team this time of year is one with nothing to lose; in the Bears’ eyes, that’s the Houston Texans. With wide receiver Andre Johnson, who has around 800 more receiving yards than the top Bears wideout, and Steve Slaton, arguably the second best rookie runner behind Matt Forte this season, Houston presents a great challenge.

It appeared the Texans were going to come into this game on a five-game winning streak, which included victories over Tennessee and those previously-mentioned Packers. But then they lost to Oakland on Sunday, and now it remains to be seen how motivated they will be to end their season on a high note. For teams out of the playoffs, such as Houston, there is no honor greater than ruining another teams chance at January glory. And with players like Johnson and Slaton, that’s exactly what Houston would like to do. With that said, I like the Bears to prevail for two reasons. One, because I don’t see the Bears coming this far and falling flat on their face at the end. Lovie Smith teams have been known to show pride, and losing the last game of the season with the post-season on the line wouldn’t be very prideful. Second, the Texans have had a long year, starting with three consecutive road games due to Hurricane Ike. They seem like the perfect team to just shut it down and get ready for next year. Bears 27, Texans 14

Game III: Giants at Vikings, December 28

With New York’s win Sunday night versus Carolina, the Giants locked up the #1 seed in the NFC. The defending champs now have nothing to play for in Minnesota, while the Vikings will be clawing for the playoff lives. Should be a blowout, right? Think again.

First off, for the first time all year, the pressure is off the G-Men. After winning the Super Bowl, then being the league’s best team for the first two months of the year, followed by the entire Plaxico situation, it has been all eyes on NY since the season began. Now the pressure has switched over to Minnesota, and that can play a big role on how a team plays. Second is, Minney has a question a quarterback, something a team doesn’t want in Week 17. Tavaris Jackson did some good on Sunday versus Atlanta (233 passing yards, two TD’s, no picks and 76 rushing yards) but also had some bad (a couple of fumbles and was unable to make the plays down the stretch that the Vikings needed). Gus Ferotte is healthy now, but it remains to be seen if the team will make a switch at their most important position this late in the year.

Still, I (unfortunately) see the Vikings winning this game. First team defenders have a difficult time containing Adrian Peterson, so I don’t even want to know what he’ll do against the Giants reserves. And with a loss (plus the two assumed Bears wins), the Vikings will have blown playoff chances two consecutive Decembers. I doubt they want to be known as the New York Mets of football. Vikings 31, Giants 27