Chicago Bears middle linebacker Brian Urlacher (54) celebrates Charles Tillman’s touchdown in the third quarter Sunday, Dec. 23, 2012 at University of Phoenix Stadium. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

The Bears went to Arizona on Sunday and came away with a victory.

It wasn’t the most impressive or most exciting win, but they got the job done and are still right in the playoff hunt.

Winning 28-13 over the Cardinals and producing just 297 yards of total offense won’t turn many heads, but it felt like the Bears wanted it more from beginning to end.

Cornerback Charles Tillman and Kelvin Hayden both had impressive games. Tillman had eight tackles and an interception, which he took back early in third quarter for a touchdown to put the Bears up 28-6.

Hayden reeled in his first interception of the season late in the fourth quarter as the Cardinals were looking to rally back.

Some bad news for the Bears was the exit of safety Chris Conte. He left the game early in the second half with a hamstring injury.

He was replaced by second-year safety Anthony Walters from Delaware, who racked up three solo tackles on the afternoon.

If Conte can’t go, the Bears might opt to use a mixture of Anthony Walters or Zack Bowman at the safety position.

Running back Matt Forte also was lost for the afternoon when he re-injured his right ankle. But it seems as if he will be on track to start come Sunday in Detroit.

Forte might not be able to practice much this week, but he will try to give it a go in this important Week 17 matchup.

If he can’t go the Bears will use Kahlil Bell and Armando Allen in the backfield. They could promote running back Harvey Unga if Forte is declared inactive.

Middle linebacker Brian Urlacher could bounce back this week from his Grade 2 hamstring injury and actually start. He hasn’t practiced the past four weeks and the Bears have to be careful not to rush him back to soon.

It wouldn’t be a shock if he returned to action on Sunday. Nick Roach has done a nice job filling in for Urlacher. This past Sunday he added a team high eight tackles.

If the Bears win or tie against the Lions they have a big chance of making the playoffs. They need the Vikings to either lose to the Packers or tie to clinch the No. 6 seed in the NFC.

So if the Bears win they will be watching the Packers-Vikings game ever so closely. The Bears are set for kickoff at 12:00 p.m. CT, while the Vikings are set to start at 3:25 p.m. CT.

For many Bears fans they have to be disappointed to see the season come down to this.

But the Bears are getting healthy at the right time and could have a chance at really making a run in the playoffs.

The Bears would face the Packers in the first round of the NFC playoffs if both the Bears and Packers win on Sunday.

Many rumors are flying around about head coach Lovie Smith and offensive coordinator Mike Tice.

Their jobs are likely on the line this Sunday in Detroit. Expect a complete gameplan by the Bears against the offensive oriented Lions.

This is it for the Bears. Its a must win matchup against the disappointing 4-11 Detroit Lions.

The path to the playoffs for the Chicago Bears is totally doable its just a matter of them getting it done.

We’ll just have to wait and see how it unfolds on Sunday.

Jake Perper is the owner and head writer for Bearsbacker.com. Follow him on Twitter, @Bearsbacker and on Facebook for up to the minute news about the Bears.

A referee throws a flag on Chicago Bears wide receiver Alshon Jeffery (17) after a pass in the end zone in the third quarter against the Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field in Chicago on Sunday, December 16, 2012. Offensive pass interference was called. (Chris Sweda/ Chicago Tribune)

“I’’m feeling real good and refreshed by the referees calling the right things. That’s what I’m really pleased with – the referees calling the right calls. It happens all the time. It happens every game. It gets harder and harder year in and you out for a DB to play because guys know what they can get away with. They came through today. They made the right calls they were supposed to. For that reason, we won the game like we should have.”

That is what Green Bay Packers cornerback Tramon Williams had to say (via ESPNChicago.com) following their 21-13 win over the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on Sunday.

It’s hard to believe Williams could say something like that since it was clear the contact between WR Alshon Jeffery and CB Sam Shields was mutual for most of the afternoon. Jeffery was flagged for three pass interference calls, including one that took away a touchdown from the Bears on a key fourth-and-goal.

Another horrendous call came in the third quarter when it appeared as if the Bears stopped the Packers on third and 13. Chris Conte was called for pass interference on tight end Jermichael Finley. Finley and Conte were jawing for position, but it appeared as if Finley was holding Conte’s arm. Also the ball was way over Finley’s and appeared as uncatchable.

It helped the Packers score a touchdown rather then settle for a field goal. It was 21-7 at that point in the game.

As bad as the Chicago Bears played on Sunday they had every chance in the world to win that game. They had way too many drives decided by the referees especially late in the game.

Obviously generating 190 yards of offense and not being able to convert a single third down (0 for 9) won’t help you win a game. But the Bears fought on defense all day long, they just failed once again to generate enough on offense.

Two crucial plays in this game occurred early in the first quarter and late in the second quarter.

The Bears first drive appeared to be a scoring drive until center Roberto Garza was penalized for a snap infraction. It pushed the Bears out of field goal range forcing them to punt.

Late in the second quarter, the Bears came away with a huge stop on defense. They took over at their own 37-yard line and had a 1:25 on the clock to generate some points.

The game was tied 7-7. All the Bears needed to do was not force anything downfield, but Jay Cutler underthrew Devin Hester and the Bears turned it over. Then Rodgers went down the field and tossed a touchdown pass to James Jones to make the game 14-7.

Those two drives were humongous. They changed the entire outcome of the game. The Bears were doing everything right on that very first drive of the game. They were running the ball, while looking very effective. It was certainly the right formula to win a game, but they failed to score.

The Cutler pick was obviously costly. How they dialed up  a play to Devin Hester in that situation is beyond me. Cutler and Hester haven’t been on the same page since Cutler arrived in Chicago in 2009.

A screen pass or a run would have been a better call in that situation. The Packers did a good enough job once again at containing Brandon Marshall. Minus that 15-yard touchdown in the second quarter he didn’t do much.

As sad and upset as Marshall was after the game I was glad to see it. It shows that he truly cares about the team and the game of football. You don’t see that very much anymore in sports.

It still amazes me how ineffective the Bears’ offense has been against the Packers defense this season. The Packers defense isn’t that good. They are very beatable, but for some reason the Bears just can’t seem to beat them.

With two games left in the season the playoffs aren’t out of the Bears sights. Despite losing five of their last six after starting 7-1 and looking like a true contender in the NFC, the postseason is still in the Bears’ sights.

They have to win their next two games to have a chance at the playoffs. They will likely clinch the sixth seed if they can do that. The easiest way to get into the postseason would to win the next two games and have the Vikings and Giants each lose one of their final two games.

If the Bears do that and clinch the sixth seed, they would likely play the Packers, who seem to be well on their way to securing the third seed in the NFC.

That would certainly be an interesting matchup at Lambeau Field. I think if I’m the Bears that’s more than enough motivation to get into the postseason.

If they can knock off the Packers in the first round that would be a great feeling. Its not totally impossible considering the Bears will likely getting some key players back on both sides of the ball very soon.

It won’t be easy, but the Bears playoff and Super Bowl hopes haven’t vanished. They certainly need to improve if they want to have a chance however.

As bad as it looks for the 2012 Bears, don’t count them out just yet.

Here are the remaining schedules for the NFC teams in the hunt:

Bears (8-6): at Cardinals, at Lions

Vikings (8-6): at Texans, vs. Packers

Giants (8-6): at Ravens, vs. Eagles

Seahawks (9-5): vs. 49ers, vs. Rams

Redskins (8-6): at Eagles, vs. Cowboys

Cowboys (8-6): vs. Saints, at Redskins

Jake Perper is the owner and head writer for Bearsbacker.com. Follow him on Twitter, @Bearsbacker and on Facebook for up to the minute news about the Bears.

Chicago Bears wide receiver Devin Hester (23) leaves the field after a 21-14 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec. 9, 2012 at Mall of America Field in Minneapolis. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

You can blame Devin Hester. You can blame Jay Cutler. You can blame Kellen Davis. You can blame Chris Conte. Heck you can even blame Lovie Smith and the Chicago Bears coaching staff for the Bears loss to the Vikings on Sunday.

But the Bears were simply plagued by a 14-0 deficit early in the first quarter and failed to battle back.

The 21-14 loss to the Vikings puts the Bears a full game behind the Packers, who improved to 9-5 on Sunday night after rallying back to beat the Lions, 27-20.

The Bears converted just seven of 17 third downs. But they averaged six yards per play and 6.5 yards per rush and consistently put together long drives. They just couldn’t score points.

As well as Vikings RB Adrian Peterson played in the first quarter, the Bears contained him the rest of the afternoon.

Take away the 51-yard run by Peterson on the first play from scrimmage, he had 30 runs for 103 yards, an average of 3.4 yards per carry.

You can say they missed Brian Urlacher all you want, but the Bears’ defense did a fine job at containing Peterson after that long run.

They were facing a quick 7-0 deficit and then things got even worse for the Bears. Jay Cutler threw a pass for rookie wide receiver Alshon Jeffery.

Jeffery slipped on the play and Vikings cornerback Josh Robinson was able to pick Cutler off and take it back 44 yards.

That set up the Vikings first-and-goal on the Bears five-yard line. Three Adrian Peterson runs later it was 14-0.

After that the Bears made big stops on defense. They allowed only 77 total yards passing by Christian Ponder as the Vikings converted just six of 14 third downs.

At the half, things were certainly looking up for the Bears and Jay Cutler, who had just found Alshon Jeffery in the endzone for a touchdown minutes prior.

It certainly looked like the Bears were going to rally back, but they just couldn’t capitalize on their opportunities.

Tight end Kellen Davis once again dropped a number of catchable balls, while Devin Hester and Alshon Jeffery each dropped what appeared to be touchdowns at the time.

One play that has been overlooked happened right after Jeffery scored with about 1:52 left in the first half. Vikings kick returner A.J. Jefferson returned the kickoff 20 yards, but fumbled it and it looked for a brief moment that the Bears were going to be able to recover it. Luckily Christian Ballard was there for the recovery for the Vikings.

The Bears certainly had momentum at that point and if they could have recovered Jefferson’s fumble it could had been a closer game going into the half.

An important drive in the third quarter happened right after Jay Cutler tossed a pick six to Vikings safety Harrison Smith. Down 21-7, the Bears started to put a drive together.

With 3:21 left in the third, Bears running back Matt Forte broke off a 36-yard run and Minnesota committed a 15 yard penalty on the same play. The Bears were set up at the Vikings 34-yard line.

A false start and a holding penalty by J’Marcus Webb put the Bears back to the Vikings 49-yard line.

Cutler found Kellen Davis for a 10-yard gain, but two straight incompletions forced the Bears to punt from the Vikings 39-yard line.

That was a key drive for the Bears as again they failed to put points up on the board.

The Vikings put together a drive that took six minutes off the clock and then the Bears had an impressive drive that started on their own five-yard line.

They drove all the way down the Vikings 23-yard line, but three straight incompletions really ended the comeback.

The Bears had many chances to take control of this game, but just failed to do so.

Jay Cutler was banged up in the game as he left on the Bears’ final drive with a neck injury. He is said to be day-to-day. He seems to be on track to be under center for Sunday’s big matchup against the first place Packers.

Posting a 7-1 record and now sitting at 8-5 things certainly don’t look great for the Bears. They currently hold the second wildcard spot in the NFC.

The best teams in the league win games in December.

The window of opportunity for this defense to help win a Super Bowl is certainly closing. No one is getting younger on that side of the ball and Brian Urlacher could easily have played his last game in a Bears uniform if he demands a big contract at season’s end.

Lovie Smith isn’t under contract next season and if the season’s collapses once again similar to 2011 you can bet he won’t be brought back in 2013.

The season isn’t over yet for the Bears. Losing to the Packers this Sunday won’t end the season considering the Bears could sneak into the playoffs with 10 wins.

But winning the division would be huge and would give this team tons of confidence heading into the playoffs.

These past two weeks, each losses have certainly been letdowns, but this team will eventually make those big plays. This could be the week and it would be huge.

The 2012 season is still the Bears to take control of. Don’t count the Bears out just yet.

Jake Perper is the owner and head writer for Bearsbacker.com. Follow him on Twitter, @Bearsbacker and on Facebook for up to the minute news about the Bears.

Chicago Bears cornerback Charles Tillman (33) reacts after a long gain on a scramble by Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson (3) in overtime at Soldier Field in Chicago on Sunday, December 2, 2012. (Chris Sweda/ Chicago Tribune)

The Chicago Bears blew a chance to be the second seed in the NFC and keep their first place standing in the NFC North on Sunday.

Their 23-17 overtime loss to the visiting Seattle Seahawks really halted their playoff standing. Their playoffs are still well within sight however.

It really puts a damper on things and makes you wonder are they a contender or a pretender at this point in the season.

Considering the Seahawks were 1-5 on the road coming into Sunday’s matchup with the Bears it seemed like the Bears were going to come away with their ninth victory of the season.

But the Seahawks continued their recent success against the Bears winning their third straight game against them.

The Bears looked like they were in control for most of the game until the Seahawks let rookie quarterback Russell Wilson run a little bit. Wilson scrambled for 71 yards on the afternoon, which helped open things up running back Marshawn Lynch, who added 87 yards on the ground.

The Bears’ defense allowed a 97-yard drive with three minutes left that put the Seahawks up 17-14 with under 30 seconds left. Then the Seahawks won the toss in overtime after the Bears miraculously tied the game up on a 46-yard field goal by Robbie Gould.

The Seahawks picked up right where they left on that opening drive in overtime. Russell Wilson drove them right down the field on a 12 play, 80-yard drive that ended in a touchdown reception by wide receiver Sidney Rice. Game over.

LB Brian Urlacher (hamstring) was forced out of action during Seattle’s game winning drive in overtime. CB Tim Jennings also left the game in the fourth quarter after suffering a shoulder injury on a collision with Seahawks running back Michael Robinson.

WR Earl Bennett left the game early in the third quarter after suffering a concussion and S Chris Conte was declared done for the day as he was battling flu-like symptoms early in the first quarter.

If Urlacher is unable to go next Sunday, Nick Roach will likely slide over to the middle and Geno Hayes will move into Roach’s spot. Urlacher is still the leader of the defense as he serves as the voice as well. No word on how serious his injury is yet.

Jennings appears to be okay as he injury isn’t believed to be serious, according to ESPNChicago.com.

Without Bennett, the Bears were forced to use Weems and Sanzenbacher alongside Marshall. Once a strength for the Bears’ offense appears to a weakness with Jeffery, Hester and Bennett all banged up.

Upon Further Review:

The referees did a solid job for most of the afternoon.

One call that really altered the outcome of the game came on the game-winning drive by the Seahawks in overtime.

Charles Tillman appeared to be knocked over by WR Doug Baldwin on a big third-and-ten.

Baldwin reeled in the 12-yard pass to pick up the first down and then Wilson found Rice for 13 yards to end the game on the very next play.

If Baldwin gets called for offensive pass interference which he should have that would have pushed the Seahawks back. They would have likely settled for a field goal and the Bears would have had a chance to tie or win the game on offense.

As bad as the defense played towards the end of the game for the Bears, the chances were there for them to win this game, but they failed to capitalize.

Up Next:

The Bears travel to Minnesota to battle the Vikings for the second time in three weeks. The Vikings are coming off a tough loss to the Packers 23-14 on Sunday.

Jake Perper is the owner and head writer for Bearsbacker.com. Follow him on Twitter, @Bearsbacker and on Facebook for up to the minute news about the Bears.

Chicago Bears tight end Kellen Davis (87) drops a pass in the second quarter at Soldier Field in Chicago on Sunday, November 11, 2012. (Chris Sweda/ Chicago Tribune)

The Chicago Bears’ offense flat out stunk on Sunday night. The Texans’ offense played the way the Bears typically do to win 13-6.

RB Matt Forte was completely shut down adding just 39 yards on 16 carries. His longest run was eight yards and he tripped on the poor field conditions on that play.

He had a big drop on a nice pass from backup QB Jason Campbell late in the fourth quarter.

The Bears tried to establish the run, but really couldn’t. Michael Bush added some nice runs in the game.

His first run came on a fourth-and-one in the first quarter which he picked up, but then he fumbled the ball away. The Bears turned the ball over four times compared to the Texans who had two turnovers.

Bush later broke off a 20 yard run in the fourth quarter, but the Bears went away from the run despite the success with him in the backfield.

TE Kellen Davis dropped four of five passes thrown his way. He fumbled his only catch of the night away and ran a bad route that turned into a Jay Cutler interception.

Davis has been given way too many opportunities since Greg Olsen was traded away to Carolina. He hasn’t been the tight end the Bears envisioned he would be.

It’s time to give the younger guys some chances. Kyle Adams specifically. I think he has tons of talent. The former Purdue product has three catches for 31 yards in limited time this season. Adams should get some more playing time moving forward.

WR Brandon Marshall added eight catches for 107 yards, but dropped some catchable balls including a sure touchdown catch in the first half.

The Bears’ offense clearly missed rookie WR Alshon Jeffery. Here’s to hoping his fractured right hand is 100% come next Monday night.

Overall it was a sloppy game by the Bears. As bad as the offense played it was really the first time all season that the offensive line put together a solid performance. The line couldn’t open many lanes for Forte on the night, but Cutler and Campbell each had plenty of time in the pocket.

Campbell came in the second half and completed 11 of 19 passes for 94 yards. Offensive coordinator Mike Tice didn’t really let Campbell throw deep in this one, which really hurt the offense down the stretch.

Campbell doesn’t get many reps with the first-team offense in practice, so it wasn’t a shocker to see signs of rust from him. He completed a nice pass to Brandon Marshall in double coverage. Also he delivered nice balls to Forte and Davis, but they failed to haul them in.

Campbell’s lack of awareness sort of scared me though. He often checked down to either Matt Forte or Matt Spaeth even if they were covered. He needs to be smarter moving forward if Cutler is indeed still out due to his concussion symptoms.

The Bears are expected to bring back veteran QB Josh McCown, which could just be an emergency option at this point.

Lets get one thing straight the Bears’ defense didn’t lose this game. They did pretty much everything right. Okay Arian Foster had 102 yards on 29 carries. But they shut down Andre Johnson in the second half and Matt Schaub threw for just 95 yards on the night.

“Their defense outplayed our defense,” Urlacher said via Chicagobears.com. “I don’t like it when that happens, but they did it [Sunday night], man.”

You can say Houston is the better team and they’re elite, but the Bears are right there with them. With a couple of plays here and there the Bears had that game.

I’m not taking anything away from the Texans, but besides Arian Foster outperforming Matt Forte it was an even game. The Bears just played sloppier and that ultimately cost them the game.

Upon Further Review:

Some calls on Sunday night were pretty questionable.

First off the Brandon Marshall-Jonathan Joseph matchup got out of hand. Joseph was constantly complaining about Marshall pushing off. Marshall was pushing off a bit, but Joseph was pulling on Marshall’s jersey and grabbing his arm throughout the night. The referees should have warned both players if not flagged one of them for pass interference.

The play where Jay Cutler got jacked up by Texans LB Tim Dobbins with under three minutes left in the second quarter. Dobbins was flagged for roughing the passer, while Cutler was flagged for passing the ball across the line of scrimmage. Cutler completed a pass to Devin Hester on the play for what looked to be a 40-yard gain. The Hester catch which would have set the Bears up with a first-and-goal. It sure looked like Cutler was behind the line of scrimmage, but nonetheless the penalties offset and the Bears once again punted the ball away.

Tim Jennings reeled in his second interception of the game and it looked like he had an interception return for a touchdown from it. He ran into teammate Lance Briggs and proceeded to take it the rest of the way for a score, but the referees whistled the play dead when he ran into Briggs to the ground. Bears coach Lovie Smith challenged the play, but the call was confirmed despite the replay not really showing a Texans player touching Jennings.

You can’t blame the officiating for this loss, but the game was sloppy and a big reason for that was the referees.

Up Next:

The Bears travel to San Francisco to play the 49ers on Monday night. QB Alex Smith suffered a concussion in the first quarter against St. Louis on Sunday afternoon. So, with Cutler and Smith both dealing with concussions it could be a matchup of Jason Campbell versus Colin Kaepernick.

The Bears have to win this game to establish themselves in the NFC. Plus, Green Bay and Minnesota sit just a game back of the division lead.

Jake Perper is the owner and head writer for Bearsbacker.com. Follow him on Twitter, @Bearsbacker and on Facebook for up to the minute news about the Bears.

The Chicago Bears made 21 cuts on Friday night to get down to 53 players as required by the NFL.

Here’s how the Bears roster looks after trimming down to 53 players  Friday night.

QB (2): Jay Cutler [29], Jason Campbell [30].

RB (3): Matt Forte [26], Michael Bush [28], Lorenzo Booker [28].

WR (6): Brandon Marshall [28], Alshon Jeffery [22], Earl Bennett [25], Devin Hester [29], Eric Weems [27], Dane Sanzenbacher [23]

TE (4): Kellen Davis [26], Matt Spaeth [28], Evan Rodriguez [23], Kyle Adams [24].

OL (8): J’Marcus Webb [24], Chris Spencer [30], Roberto Garza [33], Lance Louis [27], Gabe Carimi [24], Chris Williams [27], Chilo Rachal [26], Edwin Williams [25].

DE (5): Julius Peppers [32], Israel Idonije [31], Shea McClellin [23], Corey Wootton [25], Cheta Ozougwu [23].

DT (4): Henry Melton [24], Stephen Paea [24], Matt Toeaina [27], Brian Price [23]

LB (7): Brian Urlacher [34], Lance Briggs [31], Nick Roach [27], Geno Hayes [25], J.T. Thomas [24], Blake Costanzo [28], Patrick Trahan [25].

CB (5): Charles Tillman [31], Tim Jennings [28], D.J. Moore [25], Kelvin Hayden [29], Sherrick McManis [24].

S (5): Chris Conte [23], Major Wright [24], Craig Steltz [26], Anthony Walters [24], Jeremy Jones [23].

Specialists (4): Robbie Gould [30], Patrick Mannelly [37], Adam Podlesh [29], Ryan Quigley [22].

( )=amount kept at each position

[]=player’s age

Jake Perper is the owner and head writer for Bearsbacker.com. Follow him on Twitter, @Bearsbacker and on Facebook for up to the minute news about the Bears.