With the exception of the Los Angeles Rams' victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, everything the Chicago Bears needed to happen to help keep their playoff hopes alive in Week 13 happened.
The Philadelphia Eagles and Carolina Panthers lost in shocking upsets to the Miami Dolphins and Washington Redskins, and on Monday night, another step toward a post-season berth was taken with the Minnesota Vikings' 37-30 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
The defeat drops the Vikings to 8-4 and just 1.5 games ahead of the Bears for the final NFC wild card. Chicago travels to Minnesota in Week 17's season finale in a game that could ultimately decide who qualifies for the tournament.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Chicago sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Despite all the positives from Week 13, Chicago is still a longshot to make the playoffs, and that's putting it lightly. According to FiveThirtyEight, the Bears moved from a 2% chance for a post-season berth to just 3%. In other words, there's still a mountain of obstacles to overcome for Chicago to have a football game in January.
Taking a half-glass-full approach, the Bears still have meaningful football to play in December starting with Week 14's Thursday night game against the Cowboys (6-6), who are also fighting for their playoff lives. It'll be a post-season atmosphere at Soldier Field in prime time.
Get your popcorn ready.