Given all the talk about the Bears' upcoming strength of schedule, you'd think they were playing nothing but road games with the eight best teams in the NFL.

Yes, things are about to get a lot tougher for the Bears. Their remaining eight opponents are a combined 42-27; their first eight are currently 27-39. And it's been since Week 2 that the Bears have played someone who presently has a winning record; they've got six of them lined up in a row, starting with the 7-1 Texans and the 6-2 49ers back to back.

So what? By taking care of business against lesser opponents the way they did, the 7-1 Bears are in a position where they don't have to win at a high rate from here on out to make the playoffs. They might have to go 4-4 the rest of the way, and may even need to go 5-3 to be safe in a loaded NFC. A 5-3 finish is probably the minimum the Bears can do if they want to win the NFC North and secure a first-round bye. But the Bears are in a great spot.