The Bears' Fourth Quarter: Being lucky still better than being good

You can't complain when you're the recipient of good fortune, but this year's Chicago Bears team didn't suffer any of those critical season-ending injuries that typically ruin NFL teams. It's not to say that the Bears weren't good in certain facets of their game, but their defense got to line up against a few third-string quarterbacks, they had a few calls go their way, and it was other teams around the league—and in their division—that suffered the injuries.

The result is an NFC North title that nary a soul in this city would have predicted after a distinctly poor showing in the preseason. Things have certainly come together for this Bears team at the right time, and the result after playing the full slate of 16 games is another week of rest in preparations to host a playoff game at Soldier Field as the No. 2 seed in the conference.

And all of that said, I'm fairly certain that on a national level, the Bears probably have to be the most doubted team of the four getting byes this weekend. But this year's team has seemed to thrive on ignoring their critics and defying the expectations. At this point, why couldn't they go all the way to Dallas?

RECORD FOR THE QUARTER: 2-2 (11-5 OVERALL) — It was probably the most daunting portion of the schedule they had to get through this season, and breaking even wasn't too bad. Three of those four teams they faced are still alive in the playoffs.

BEST WIN: December 20 (Bears 40, Vikings 14) — A huge part of what made this year feel so glorious had to be how much of a total mess the Vikings were this year, so to clinch the division against them on the same night they were honoring their 50th anniversary team when they couldn't play in that hellhole because the roof collapsed was just icing on the cake. Add on to that the fact that Devin Hester finally set the record for most kicks returned for touchdowns and Corey Wootton's hit on Brett Favre that may have finally knocked the old man out for good, and I was practically given enough at that point to give me a cavity. The week leading up to this had me admittedly pretty nervous about the conditions of TCF Bank Stadium and wondering why Lovie Smith would leave so many starters out there after the victory was secured, but everything worked out better than I could have hoped for as the Bears locked up a postseason berth against the team I loathe like no other in the NFL. Christmas came early for this fan.

WORST LOSS: December 12 (Patriots 36, Bears 7) — At least the snow was pretty. Everything else about the Bears was pretty much ugly as sin, however. Jay Cutler was picked off twice and had one fumble that led to one of New England's four touchdowns while the Bears got nothing going on the ground with Matt Forte only earning four more yards rushing than Cutler. Tom Brady picked apart the Bears defense, solidifying his case for MVP by completing 27 of 40 passes with two touchdowns and—for his eighth straight game—no interceptions. The Bears knew they were in for a real test going into this game against what had been arguably been the best team in the league, but the result was a pretty much across-the-board failure. As Mike Florio put it the other day, it's not out of the question to see a possible rematch of Super Bowl XX on its silver anniversary. However, this time it could be the Patriots on the other end of a 46-10 score.

MVP: Devin Hester — Let us not kid ourselves; Julius Peppers was the team's MVP this season, a true free-agent signing that delivered the bang for the buck. But after a couple seasons removed from the highlight reel returns, Devin Hester finally got back to doing what made those No. 23 jerseys fly off the shelves in the first place. And his record-setting return against the Vikings in Minnesota might not have been the flashiest he's had, but the importance of it can not be understated. His 14th return touchdown came in his 74th game on his 286th return. Brian Mitchell, the man who held the previous record with 13, needed 223 games and 1,070 returns. In short: Hester solidified himself as the greatest returner of all time and needs no further arguments to make his case to be added to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The only thing better was his remarkably humble session with the media after accomplishing the feat.

LVP: Chester Taylor — And while Julius Peppers made the money spent on a free agent look brilliant, the other half of their supposed backfield tandem failed to deliver on the $7 million the team paid to snag him away from Minnesota. Taylor finished this season with 267 yards on 112 carries, which according to Pro Football Reference's database via Kevn Seifert, is "the first post-merger running back to average less than 2.4 yards per carry with a minimum of 100 carries." The blame can't all be shifted to the offensive line, like I originally suspected it would be, when Matt Forte managed to run for more than 1,000 yards this season. He ended the year on a high note with a 3.7 average against Green Bay, albeit on just three carries, but against his former team in Week 15 when he got 11 carries for the third time this season, Taylor averaged just 0.5 yards per rush. And against the Patriots, his three carries in that game added up to but a single yard.

THREE THINGS I'VE LIKED SO FAR:

1. PLAYOFFS?!?! FUCK YEAH, PLAYOFFS! — 'Nuff said.
2. GOOD FORTUNE — Just a week or two ago, the Bears had every single player on their 53-man roster participate in practice. That sort of shit is basically unheard of so late in the season.
3. MARTZ COMES AROUND — Ever since the bye week, the Bears have averaged 29 rushing plays a game after entering the week off with 30 combined in the two losses going into the eighth week break. After Martz finally caved and stopped being such a pass-happy offense, the Bears won seven of their last nine and, as a result, the division.

THINGS I HAVEN'T:

1. I'M NOT AS OPTIMISTIC AS I WAS FOUR YEARS AGO — I'm still rather reserved in regards to the hopes I have for this playoff run. Keeping in mind how ecstatic I was four years ago when the Bears were last in the playoffs and made it all the way to the Super Bowl, I can only assume that my emotions are a little more toned down this time by more realistic expectations. Being sober this time might also have something to do with it.
2. ODDS-ON ONE-AND-DONES — The favorites to win it all are in the AFC, but even then, Vegas doesn't like the Bears' chances either.
3. GOOD JAY, BAD JAY — When Cutler's on, the offense seems to click and against the Jets, the Bears were a field goal away from scoring 40+ points in consecutive games for the first time since 1948. And then there was that Patriots game, and well ... you get the idea. This is a typical Chicago thing (we got the same deal with "Sexy Rexy" Grossman when he took us to that Super Bowl four years ago, only to be the "Bad Rex"), but in the end, I suspect the Bears playoff hopes will ride almost entirely on the arm of their quarterback.

25 WORDS OR LESS:

It'll be fun to have a genuine rooting interest once again in the NFL postseason.