Are the Bears eliminated from playoffs? Chicago's qualifying chances and scenarios explored after Week 14 loss

The Chicago Bears extended their losing streak to seven games after a 13-38 drubbing at the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. The Bears are 4-9 for the season after the loss.

Hopes were high for the franchise after an offseason spree that saw the drafting of quarterback Caleb Williams. It appeared as if the promise would be realized, as they went 4-2 before their bye week, raising the possibility that the entire NFC North would make the playoffs.

But since then, it has been nothing but pain and disaster. The Bears have lost seven straight since their bye week, including a Thanksgiving defeat at the Detroit Lions that concluded with one of the most ridiculed instances of poor clock management and got Matt Eberflus fired in the aftermath, the first head coach to be ditched midseason.

Is there still hope? How can one of the NFC's worst teams recover from this and pull off a miraculous playoff hijacking?

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Chicago Bears' playoff chances after seventh straight loss at San Francisco 49ers

As it turns out, not that large of a chance. Even winning the next four games will not save the Bears, as they need other results to go in their favor:

Not even sweeping the last four games can elevate the Bears

The Washington Commanders stick out as a sore point, because a conference standings tie between the two teams will favor Jayden Daniels and company via win-over-the-other.

Most of the teams in the NFC South and West are also tiebreaker threats, so how can this miracle happen?

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Chicago Bears' playoff scenario(s) after ninth straight loss at San Francisco 49ers

While making the playoffs despite double-digit losses is possible, it is a much riskier prospect. So instead, the four-game sweep should be considered a prerequisite to keep them alive in the race.

The optimal Bear playoff scenario

Now, how does the scenario above happen?

It will first require the Commanders and Atlanta Falcons to each lose their next two games. These two teams will then meet in the penultimate week. The Falcons then must win that game.

In the final week, both the Falcons and Commanders must lose. The Bears will finish in a three-way 8-9 tie but will get in over the Seattle Seahawks via win-over-the-other, and the Commanders via a different tiebreak.