For those of you who have frequented this site over the last couple years, you know I have one simple rule about being an NFL fan: you’re only given sixteen games a season.  That’s it.  Sixteen.  So you better enjoy the hell out of each one because there’s eight months of arid land on the horizon. 

The Bears have played nine of those sixteen games and while their season should be over, it’s not.  Even Sportscenter classified the Bears last night as “In the Hunt”.  Are the Bears in the hunt?  Yes they are.  They are in the hunt for guts.  They are in the hunt for some damn heart.  They are in the hunt for fifty-three professional men who are capable of delivering a complete game effort.  If they can’t find those things, they’ll be in the hunt for a new head coach and front office.

Still, Sunday night’s game does matter.  Not just symbolically either.  If the Bears can show up and beat the Philadelphia Eagles, without Brian Westbrook for the second straight year, then they’ll step into the wildcard discussion.  They’ll step in quietly and without fanfare.