The term Monday Morning Quarterback was derived from criticizing and second-guessing performances the day after a game, typically Monday.  Hence, I could have written this article on Friday, but I figured my postgame thoughts would suffice.

Waiting a few days to publish this while keeping this article running on Mondays allowed me a little extra time to collect my thoughts while also watching a full Sunday of football and putting things in perspective.

And this is what I’ve come up with: the Bears, shockingly, are still in good shape to make the playoffs — mathematically speaking, of course.  From a talent perspective, and their remaining schedule, they’re just about out of the hunt.

In the NFC, the Eagles, Giants, Packers, and Falcons are 5-4 while the Bears, Panthers, and 49ers are 4-5.  Tiebreakers are not working in the Bears’ favor, though, with the Bears having lost to three of those teams in the chase.  The Bears would have to finish a game ahead of the Packers, Falcons, and 49ers to make up for their losses in those games.

It’s safe to say that if the Bears were to lose to the Eagles this week, all hope would be lost.  They would not be mathematically eliminated, but they’d need all the aforementioned teams to suffer historic collapses.

Realizing just how close you are to the playoff door but are unable to knock it down is a bitter pill to swallow.  The Bears were the better team Thursday night but somehow let the 49ers off the hook.  Jay Cutler didn’t do his team any favors with five interceptions.  Cutler nearly cost the Bears with four interceptions against the Packers, but that loss was attributed to the defense.  The Bears had the lead over the Packers with two minutes to go thanks to a should-have-been, game-winning drive by Cutler late in the fourth quarter.

I was happy with the way the defense played against the 49ers, and I have been unable to utter those words in quite some time.  Sure, San Francisco doesn’t exactly have an offensive juggernaut, but they played inspired football.  Tommie Harris probably played his best game of the year and had his best performance in quite some time.  Charles Tillman forced another fumble, something he’s been so good at in his career.  Zack Bowman continued to show that even though he struggles in coverage at times, he has a nose for the football and intercepted Alex Smith.

The offense continued its struggles in the run game as Matt Forte amassed just 41 yards on 20 carries.  At least Forte was able to factor into the game plan and contribute in the passing game with 8 receptions for 120 yards.  Greg Olsen’s success from the Cardinals game continued into the 49ers game as he caught 7 passes for 75 yards.  Devin Hester added 7 catches for 48 yards.

Cutler completed more than 50% of his passes for over 300 yards, but had no touchdowns and needs to improve his decision-making.  Hester fell down on one of Cutler’s interceptions, he was impeded by an official on another, and Kellen Davis was interfered with on a third.  Still, Cutler’s other two interceptions — both in the red zone — were inexcusable and showed poor judgment.

As far as the special teams go, San Francisco did a good job containing the Bears’ returners.  Danieal Manning returned two kickoffs for just 30 yards and Johnny Knox had one return for 12 yards.  Hester had two punt returns for 4 yards.  The Bears’ coverage teams did okay and Brad Maynard had two punts pinned inside the 20.  Robbie Gould also kicked another 50-yard field goal.

Midseason is usually a point in which there is a fork in the road awaiting Bears fans.  Unless the Bears are having a great season — circa 2001 or 2006 — or are having an obviously bad season — pick one of their 4-12 seasons in the past decade — all Bears fans must choose a path.  Some inch toward the front of the bandwagon and hope the Bears can still make a run at the playoffs.  Others abandon the wagon and want the Bears to play for a better draft pick.

As we’re all aware of, the Bears have no first or second round pick in 2010.  The path toward a higher draft pick has been blocked off.  However, there’s a new path that’s been forged by many angry Bears fans and that’s the path toward Lovie Smith getting fired.  These fans feel that if the Bears continue to lose — and do so in spectacular fashion — then the Bears are more likely to fire Smith.  That’s probably not going to happen.  I can’t see the McCaskeys buying out Smith’s lucrative contract for the next two years.

To me, there is only one path.  I’ll continue to root for the Bears to make the playoffs even as hopeless as it looks.  I’ll sit through every minute of every ugly game, whether it be a win or a loss, and enjoy watching football while it lasts.  There may be a lot of poor plays and moments that make you smack your forehead with your palm.  But there should be enough exciting moments as well to keep you in front of your television.

There may be a dead end sign on the side of the path that I choose, but I’ll venture down it anyway to see where it takes me, and accept what I see along the way.

After missing just two games in Week 8, I went 8-5 last week. Tampa Bay’s victory over Green Bay, the Giants’ fourth-straight loss against the Chargers, Cincinnati’s win over Baltimore, Tennessee’s victory over San Francisco, and Dallas’ win over the Eagles were the games that tripped me up.

Here’s a look at this week’s matchups and how I think they’ll play out.

Full predictions will come Saturday.

Last Week: 8-5
This Week: 7-8
Overall: 94-50

Chicago Bears (4-4) at San Francisco 49ers (3-5)
The 49ers may have Alex Smith under center, but they have Frank Gore carrying the rock. Jay Cutler should be able to keep the Bears in this game against a bad 49ers pass defense, but the way the Bears have been playing defense lately, I don’t think they can stop anybody. I need to see them do it first.
Prediction: San Francisco 24, Chicago 21
Actual Score: San Francisco 10, Chicago 6

Atlanta Falcons (5-3) at Carolina Panthers (3-5)
Carolina has played better as of late but with the Falcons pressured to win to stay ahead of the game in the wild card hunt, I like Atlanta on the road. They run the ball well and Carolina is near the bottom third of the league at defending against it. The Panthers do defend the pass well, so that should keep things close.
Prediction: Atlanta 24, Carolina 20
Actual Score: Carolina 28, Atlanta 19

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-7) at Miami Dolphins (3-5)
The Buccaneers surprised their fans with an upset over the Packers last week, but the “Buc” stops there — pun intended. Miami has played well at home and their No. 4 rushing offense should be able to run all over the Buccaneers’ No. 30 run defense.
Prediction: Miami 27, Tampa Bay 17
Actual Score: Miami 25, Tampa Bay 23

Detroit Lions (1-7) at Minnesota Vikings (7-1)
The Vikings cannot let this be a trap game for them, but to what exactly would they be looking ahead? Next week against Seattle? The following week against the Bears? Minnesota has had two weeks to prepare for this game and they should roll over the Lions at home.
Prediction: Minnesota 30, Detroit 13
Actual Score: Minnesota 27, Detroit 10

Jacksonville Jaguars (4-4) at New York Jets (4-4)
I don’t know how the Jaguars picked up four victories this season. Sort of a head-scratcher. The Jets have been up and down this year, but I like their talent at home in this one.
Prediction: New York Jets 23, Jacksonville 17
Actual Score: Jacksonville 24, New York Jets 22

Cincinnati Bengals (6-2) at Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2)
The Bengals have a good football team. But they’re also contenders for the crown of “most overrated team in the league.” This is not the same Steelers team that the Bengals beat back in Week 3. One of Cedric Benson’s worst performances came against the Steelers. Ditto for Carson Palmer. The Steelers rarely lose at home and are playing as well as any team in the league right now.
Prediction: Pittsburgh 27, Cincinnati 21
Actual Score: Cincinnati 18, Pittsburgh 12

New Orleans Saints (8-0) at St. Louis Rams (1-7)
One of the league’s finest will take on one of the league’s ugliest. Should be a fun day for Saints fans. I’m not saying the Rams can’t win, because we’ve seen crazier things happen. But we’ve also seen the Saints have the ability to pick up comeback wins after trailing by big deficits this year. If this were a high school game, we’d get a running clock by halftime.
Prediction: New Orleans 41, St. Louis 15
Actual Score: New Orleans 28, St. Louis 23

Buffalo Bills (3-5) at Tennessee Titans (2-6)
Have the Titans finally remembered how to play football after winning their last two games? The victories have come against two bad opponents, but that’s got to count for something. I think the Titans’ ability to run the ball — they’re ranked No. 2 — paired with the Bills’ inability to stop the run — they’re ranked dead last — gives Tennessee the edge.
Prediction: Tennessee 23, Buffalo 16
Actual Score: Tennessee 41, Buffalo 17

Denver Broncos (6-2) at Washington Redskins (2-6)
I think defenses have started to figure out Kyle Orton and the Broncos’ offense. If they haven’t, they will shortly after reviewing game film of the Broncos’ two losses in as many weeks. But the Redskins are a bad football team, so Denver should be able to win this one on the road.
Prediction: Denver 20, Washington 14
Actual Score: Washington 27, Denver 17

Kansas City Chiefs (1-7) at Oakland Raiders (2-6)
How’s a guy to choose between two bad football teams? I’m flipping a coin. Tails? I’m going with the Raiders. Both of these teams are terrible defending the run, but the Raiders actually have a decent pass defense. I’ll take that plus the home field advantage.
Prediction: Oakland 20, Kansas City 17
Actual Score: Kansas City 16, Oakland 10

Seattle Seahawks (3-5) at Arizona Cardinals (5-3)
The Cardinals haven’t done so well in home games this year but the Seahawks are far from legitimate contenders. Following last week’s pummeling of the Bears, I think Arizona has sort of found itself and will cruise in this one.
Prediction: Arizona 28, Seattle 17
Actual Score: Arizona 31, Seattle 20

Dallas Cowboys (6-2) at Green Bay Packers (4-4)
This is a game where I otherwise might have gone against my instincts and predicted the Packers to win. They’ve got a great offense, save for their line, and an opportunistic defense, ranked No. 4 in the league. But the Cowboys have been playing really well the past month of the season and are ranked No. 11 in sacks. I think that Packers offensive line might be their undoing.
Prediction: Dallas 27, Green Bay 20
Actual Score: Green Bay 17, Dallas 7

Philadelphia Eagles (5-3) at San Diego Chargers (5-3)
The Chargers have the No. 7 passing offense but the worst rushing offense in the league. Who would have ever thought that back during the days when LaDainian Tomlinson ruled the league? I like the Eagles to bounce back with a road victory.
Prediction: Philadelphia 24, San Diego 21
Actual Score: San Diego 31, Philadelphia 23

New England Patriots (6-2) at Indianapolis Colts (8-0)
Not only the best game of the week, but it could wind up being the best game of the year when all is said and done. Tom Brady and Peyton Manning will forever be linked together as this era’s best quarterbacks and they’ve had some historic matchups. The Patriots began the season slow but have since been on fire. The Colts lost a couple defensive backs and Brady could exploit that. As much as I don’t want to, I’m going with the Patriots.
Prediction: New England 23, Indianapolis 20
Actual Score: Indianapolis 35, New England 34

Baltimore Ravens (4-4) at Cleveland Browns (1-7)
The only thing of interest to watch in this game is the opening kickoff, to see if Cleveland fans really go through with their planned protest. Or, if you’re one of those people who slow down to look at car accidents, this might tickle your fancy. The Ravens, fresh off a division loss to the Bengals will be playing much better football this week against an inept Browns team.
Prediction: Baltimore 24, Cleveland 14
Actual Score: Baltimore 16, Cleveland 0

Defense. Offense. Defense. Offense. The Bears aren’t a good football team because they lack consistency from one week to the next. The only thing consistent is that one of the units plays badly.

Jay Cutler continued his abysmal performances in prime time with a five-interception game against the 49ers. I still contend that it’s more a coincidence than the time of the game, but it’s been bad nonetheless. He threw two more red zone interceptions — including on the last pass of the game — and continues to lead the NFL in that department.

I’m willing to do something I haven’t done all year and that’s place the blame on the Bears’ best player. Even though three of his interceptions weren’t his fault — Devin Hester slipped and fell to the ground on one, then Hester got blocked by the umpire on a second, and Kellen Davis was interfered with on a third — it is Cutler’s fault the Bears lost this game.

I truly think Cutler is pressing too much. He is fully aware of how bad his supporting cast is and he once again got beat up by the opponent’s defense.

In the second quarter, Hester probably had his worst series as an NFL receiver. He was flagged for a false start on one play and penalized for holding on the very next play. A few plays later was when he slipped and fell, which caused the one Cutler interception that led to the 49ers’ touchdown.

Greg Olsen had a nice game with 7 catches for 75 yards and Hester added 7 receptions for 48 yards. Matt Forte, who only had 41 yards on 20 carries, caught 8 passes for 120 yards to lead the team.

I have to give credit to the defense for their performance. It was far from perfect but they played hard and inspired defense, particularly in the second half. The only touchdown they allowed came after one of Cutler’s picks left them with a short field to defend. For most of the game, they held Frank Gore in check, but it was a 25-yard gain and a 23-yard gain that hurt them. Without those two breakout runs, Gore was held to 56 yards on 23 carries.

I also have to give credit to No. 91. It was about time he showed up. He played one of his best games of the season and it was due to a constant motor. He picked up one of the Bears’ two sacks of Alex Smith. Marcus Harrison recorded the other.

I was also pleased to see Charles Tillman record a forced fumble. It happened at the end of one of Gore’s long runs and the Bears didn’t recover it, but it was good to see that Peanut remembers how to do it.

It was much more a defensive game than I thought, but the result was the same nevertheless. The Bears have lost their fourth game in five weeks since their bye and there is no daylight in sight. While not impossible, it’s highly improbable they’ll win either of their next two games against the Eagles and Vikings. In December, they still have the Packers, Ravens, and Vikings. The only two games they look like they’re capable of winning at this point are against the Rams and Lions.

It’s quite possible the Bears could finish the season 6-10. And without a first or second round draft pick next year — and without spending big free agent bucks — the losses could start all over again next year.