While the Minnesota Vikings are just 4-5 heading into their Week 11 matchup with the Chicago Bears, they're still very much in contention for a postseason berth.
And we're not talking about only a wild-card spot, as the Vikes are just two games back in the NFC North of the Bears and the Detroit Lions, who are both 6-3, with the Green Bay Packers sitting in third at 5-3-1.
The fact that Minnesota already owns victories over Detroit and Chicago bodes well, of course, and getting a second win over the Bears could obviously be extremely helpful down the stretch if a head-to-head tiebreaker comes into play.
Now, all the talk surrounding the Bears heading into Sunday's showdown is that they're one of the hottest teams in the entire NFL. And from a technical standpoint, that is true, as they've won six of their last seven following an 0-2 start.
But what most aren't saying is that of those six victories, not a single one of them has come against a team with a winning record. So, the question has to be asked: Are the Bears contenders or pretenders?
Chicago Bears' six wins have come against opponents with a combined record of 15-41-1
Let's have a quick look at what the Bears have done thus far.
In Week 1, of course, they blew an 11-point fourth-quarter lead to the Vikings, ultimately losing 27-24 after J.J. McCarthy engineered a wild comeback, throwing for two touchdowns and running for another in the final frame to lead Minnesota to victory. And in Week 2, Chicago was decimated by Detroit, taking a 52-21 loss. And now, here are the wins.
In Week 3, Chicago took an easy 31-14 win over the Dallas Cowboys, owners of one of the worst defenses in the entire league. A week later, the Bears needed a blocked field goal in the waning seconds to escape with a 25-24 win over the lowly Las Vegas Raiders.
After their Week 5 bye, they needed a last-second field goal from Jake Moody in Week 6 to squeak out a 25-24 win over the Washington Commanders. In Week 7, Chicago took down the New Orleans Saints.
In Week 9, the Bears held a 41-27 lead over the Cincinnati Bengals with just over two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, only to surrender a pair of quick touchdowns to fall behind 42-41.
Thankfully for Chicago, Bengals defenders forgot how to tackle after Caleb Williams found Colston Loveland on a pass over the middle, which ultimately resulted in the rookie tight end scoring a 58-yard touchdown to give the Bears a 47-42 win.
And just this past Sunday, the Bears needed a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to sneak by the New York Giants for a 24-20 victory.
Here are the current records of those six teams we just mentioned.
- Dallas Cowboys (3-5-1)
- Las Vegas Raiders (2-7)
- Washington Commanders (3-7)
- New Orleans Saints (2-8)
- Cincinnati Bengals (3-6)
- New York Giants (2-8)
That's a combined record of 15-41-1, which equates to a winning percentage of .272. Not exactly the cream of the crop, is it?
The one game we didn't mention, of course, was the Bears' Week 8 matchup with the Baltimore Ravens, who currently own a better record than any of the six teams listed, as they hold the same 4-5 mark as Minnesota. And what happened there? Chicago took a 30-16 loss. And that was facing Tyler Huntley, not Lamar Jackson.
Look, the Bears obviously don't control the schedule. And wins are wins, no matter who they're against. And to their credit, they're beating the teams they're supposed to beat, even if they've needed far too many late-game comebacks than first-year head coach Ben Johnson would like.
And it's not as if the Vikings have the most impressive resume either. Yes, their Week 9 win over the Lions is better than anything Chicago has done, especially with it being on the road.
But outside of their Week 1 win over the Bears, their other two wins have come against the three-win Bengals and the two-win Cleveland Browns. And they needed a late touchdown in the latter to secure that one. So, we're certainly not saying Minnesota is an elite team by any stretch of the imagination.
But we are confident enough to say that the Vikings are better than anyone the Bears have beaten thus far, and that they have a genuine shot to expose Chicago as pretenders come Sunday afternoon.