Chicago Bears: 5 X-factor players for Week 8 vs. Saints

Chicago Bears X-factors for a Week 8 matchup with the Saints.

The Chicago Bears had a great opportunity in Week 7 against the Rams to show the doubters that they were true contenders. Instead, those critics were proven correct for their doubt. The offense looked absolutely hapless and a key player on defense played one of the most undisciplined games in his career.

Now the Bears go from atop the NFC to the fifth seed. If they cannot turn things around, they could end up out of the playoff picture altogether.

The Bears now hit the tough part of their schedule. After playing the Los Angeles Rams and losing to them, they have a short week to prepare for the New Orleans Saints. After that, they face the Tennessee Titans, Minnesota Vikings, Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions.

Yes, the Vikings and Lions aren’t exactly great teams, but they are division and conference rivals. Being longtime division foes, those games may be close.

The NFC is really bunched up. As we saw with the Bears, they took a tumble with Monday’s loss. There are five teams battling for the three Wild Card spots available. The Bears need to avoid a losing streak like last season. In 2019, they started out 3-1 but then went on a four-game losing streak. They had to battle just to get to 8-8 and they failed to make the playoffs.

A win in Week 8 solidifies the Bears’ hopes for the playoffs. It also helps silence some of the questions about the offense (or maybe it won’t), at least for a week. If they can move the ball better than they have and get another great performance from the defense then they’ll feel better about themselves and have some momentum going to Tennessee. A loss and the criticisms just increase. There will be more questions about the offense and tougher words from the media.

In order for the Bears to come away with a victory, these five x-factors must come through.