The Bears' Second Quarter: Can you believe we're still talking playoffs?

Just as it seemed we were surely on our way to seeing the team go into the midway point in their season at the .500 mark, like I had predicted in the last quarterly update and every single writer at the Chicago Tribune had them pegged as becoming when they certainly fell to the Philadelphia Eagles, the Bears instead went and did what seemingly every other Philly opponent has done all year and left you wondering how that team was so favored to get to the Super Bowl. Boy, am I glad I picked the Saints.

So instead of being 4-4 after eight games, the Bears have a winning record and have numerous factors going their way now in terms of possible playoff tiebreakers. Consider now some of the names on the list of opponents the Bears have victories over this season: Philadelphia, Atlanta, Tampa Bay. Other than a Dallas or New York team that doesn't win the division, the Bears would have tiebreakers over a number of teams that could finish with an identical record.

Now, as far as what happens if the Bears get into the playoffs ... well, who's to say, really? The victory over Philadelphia seemed to create a little more confidence in believers as well as win over a number of nationwide observers who had been sitting on the fence about the the Bears' chances. Once you get past the wins, you notice that the losses have come to far more capable football teams. And if the Monsters of the Midway can't start giving more of a challenge to the upper-tier teams, there's every reason to be skeptical that they'll be able to get one playoff win, let alone get back to the NFC Championship and go to a Super Bowl.