Bears need help, but a loss at Texans definitely ends season

HOUSTON -- Finally, the Houston Texans are playing a meaningful game in late December.

The problem is it's only meaningful to the Chicago Bears, still in playoff contention thanks to a big overtime win on Monday.

Even with a win over Houston, getting to the playoffs will be difficult. To win the NFC North the Bears need Minnesota to lose to or tie the New York Giants, who with a playoff spot secure may rest some starters. Chicago could also get in with a wild-card spot, but needs losses or ties by Dallas and Tampa Bay to qualify that way.

But lose to the Texans and none of that matters.

"It's hard to think this can be it for us," said defensive end Adewale Ogunleye. "We put ourselves in this situation, but I have the faith that everything will pan out if we finish 10-6."

Kyle Orton probably won't have much time to be checking out the scoreboard to see how Chicago's playoff hopes are panning out.

"It's tough to do in football," he said. "You've got so many adjustments, especially the quarterback. For me, you've got so much going on. I'm sure I'll sneak a peek up there at some point, but for the most part, you're just concerned about making the necessary adjustments from series to series."

Coach Lovie Smith agreed with his quarterback, noting that he, too, will be too busy to worry about what is going on outside of Reliant Stadium.

"You start looking at that offense and the weapons they have, look at some of their defensive personnel, that'll keep you occupied," he said.

The Texans have long been out of playoff contention and are looking to atone for last week's embarrassing loss at Oakland that snapped a franchise-best four-game winning streak.

Most players insist that the chance to knock the Bears out of the playoffs isn't any added motivation, and cornerback Dunta Robinson did the same before admitting the obvious.

"We're not going to the playoffs, so we don't want to see anybody else go," Robinson said. "So, we're going to go out and play hard. Anytime you end the season on a loss, that's a long offseason. At least with a win, you have something to look forward to for next season."

The Bears aren't thinking of this game as the regular-season finale and realize it can be dangerous to play a team this time of year with nothing to lose.