NFL playoff picture: Bears drop further out of playoff hunt after loss

After Sunday's 21-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers, the Chicago Bears fell out of the NFC playoffs as they stand on Monday. At 8-6, the Bears have the same record as three other teams: the Minnesota Vikings, Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants. With every NFC game through Week 15 in the books, the Vikings currently hold the conference's final playoff seed thanks to a combination of their division and conference records.

That said, it would still shock many to see the Vikings in the playoffs, considering that their remaining two games are against the Houston Texans and Green Bay Packers. That's good news for the Bears, who have a much easier remaining slate that contains the Arizona Cardinals and Detroit Lions, and who almost certainly must win out in order to make the playoffs.

If Chicago does win out, it would finish at 10-6, with a division record of 3-3 and a conference record of 7-5. That might be enough to get into the playoffs, but they could still need some help on the tiebreaker front. Two games that Bears fans should keep an eye on both involve the Philadelphia Eagles, who could potentially help the Bears slip into the playoffs by beating the Giants and Washington Redskins in the next two weeks.