The Bernstein Brief: Bears' 'Playoffs' Start Sunday
By Dan Bernstein--
CBSChicago.com senior columnist
(CBS) One consequence of a bad record is that any pretense of contention requires must-win games earlier in the season.
At 4-5 and with a newly beatable opponent coming to town in the Broncos, the Bears find themselves in the playoffs for the playoffs, and they start Sunday. They can sustain the dream as long as they keep winning and their conference competition remains flaccid, hoping to advance to the next round against the reeling Packers on Thanksgiving night and continuing to chase wild card fantasies into the eventual chill of autumn.
With the Packers and Falcons each currently holding wild-card spots with 6-3 records, the Bears are two games back and have little to no room for error.
Enjoy the excitement while you can.
This is what passes for short-term hope, now, abetted by a league designed to keep it alive through attrition and randomness. At least it's still something until it isn't.
Dan Bernstein is a co-host of 670 The Score's "Boers and Bernstein Show" in afternoon drive. You can follow him on Twitter @dan_bernstein and read more of his columns here.