The Chicago Bears are coming out of the bye week with more wins than one heading into a pivotal Week 8 matchup against the Washington Commanders.
For starters, the Bears are expecting to be a much healthier team coming out of the bye week after suffering injuries to multiple defensive starters and having key depth players expected to come off the injured reserve soon.
Secondly, the Bears are still sitting exactly where the want to be in the NFC playoff picture after having the week off.
Here's what the current NFC standings look like following the majority of the Week 7 slate, outside of the upcoming Monday Night Football matchup between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Baltimore Ravens.
1. Detroit Lions (5-1)
2. Washington Commanders (5-2)
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-2) - Pending MNF
4. Seattle Seahawks (4-3)
5. Minnesota Vikings (5-1)
6. Green Bay Packers (5-2)
7. Chicago Bears (4-2)
--
8. Philadelphia Eagles (4-2)
9. Atlanta Falcons (4-3)
As you can see, if the season ended last week, the Bears would be back in the playoffs as the final wild card team in the conference. Now, there's still a lot more football to be played this season, but the team should be proud of where they stand through the first seven weeks.
Right now, all four teams in the NFC North will be locked into playoff spots. The Lions currently hold the top seed in the conference after knocking off the previously undefeated Minnesota Vikings and the Green Bay Packers picked up their fifth win of the season as time expired against a tough Houston Texans team on Sunday.
The race in the North will be an interesting one to watch in the coming weeks and the Bears have still yet to play a single divisional game this season. However, if one of the other teams run away with the division lead, the Bears will still have some tough competition for one of the three wild card spots.
Behind the Bears, the Philadelphia Eagles, Atlanta Falcons, Dallas Cowboys, and San Francisco 49ers are all within striking distance of leaping over the Bears in the standings.
The Bears will have a massive game coming up on a national stage against a Commanders team that currently holds the second spot in the conference. A win on Sunday will be another major boost for the team's playoff hopes.
Again, there's still a lot of football left to be played and the toughest road is still to come for the Bears as the season continues. We'll see if the team takes advantage of the week off and continues playing at a high level going forward.
-1734795621-q80.webp "Bills WR Amari Cooper Makes Surprise Statement on No-Target Game")