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When the Chicago Bears were 7-1 and coming off a 51-20 dismantling of the Tennessee Titans on the road, they appeared to be a lock to be one of the six NFC teams to be playing in January.

Six weeks later and the Bears are hoping to somehow just be able to squeeze in the back door of the playoff picture.

According to Fred Mitchell of the Chicago Tribune, the situation couldn’t get much worse for Bears linebacker Lance Briggs.

“In my very, very worst nightmare, this is where I imagined we would be,” Briggs said. “Literally, this is my worst nightmare. We still have a chance, though. It can’t get any worse than this, I hope.”

Chicago’s schedule has been very difficult over the last six weeks. The Bears last six games have all come against teams that would be in the playoffs if the postseason started today. Chicago is 1-5 over that stretch with a 28-10 home victory over Minnesota the only mark in the win column over that stretch.

Chicago has been hit hard by injuries on defense with Brian Urlacher and Tim Jennings the most recent players to suffer significant injuries. The Bears will likely have to win their final two games on the road against the Arizona Cardinals and Detroit Lions and get help in order to earn a Wild Card berth. Green Bay clinched the NFC North with a 21-13 win in Soldier Field last Sunday.