As it turned out, three hours without a Bears game might have saved the season. Three hours without the Bears put them in much better shape for making the playoffs, not to mention giving me the exact amount of time needed to buy one Christmas present at Toys R Us.

What more could you ask for?

In the end, the Bears needed a little help to stay alive for the NFC North title, and a lot of help to keep any realistic hope for the fallback, the wild card.

And every last thing fell right. Minnesota, Tampa Bay and Philadelphia all lost. Add in Dallas' loss on Thursday, and it felt that someone was looking out for the Bears.

Tonight's the night for Bears

Normally, when your team isn't playing this time of the year and it needs help, you have this helpless feeling. Instead, on Sunday, there was safety in knowing the Bears weren't out there with a chance to blow it.

They'll get their chance tonight, of course, against Green Bay at Soldier Field. Lose, and they're out. And it's hard to forget that one play at Green Bay, when the Packers' offensive line pushed the Bears' defensive line into the end zone.

But even if the Packers are still physically able to push the Bears around again, they have given up emotionally. And it's particularly tough to find incentive when the wind chill sinks into the negatives.

But how does this change the way you see the Bears? Glass half-empty or half-full, it's still the same thing.

They have an unexpected chance now, though. And the defense did look better, mostly, a week and a half ago against New Orleans.

But the Bears have turned this town into a bunch of schizophrenics, leaving us wondering why they have been such colossal flops and also if they could turn this around and make a run in the playoffs.

Be honest: You've thought both of those things since the last time they played.

I'm sticking with the flop angle, no matter how many times the Bears try to convince us that a

10-6 season, if they win their last two games, still counts as a playoff-level season even if they don't make it.

The NFL might have 14 teams with 10 wins this year, as few as 18 without.

What we learned Sunday is that there is a new kind of parity in the NFL. In one pile, you find the really bad teams. In the other, all the rest, where the mediocre-to-not-so-good teams such as the Bears are good enough to win a division and the slightly better teams aren't good enough to put

it away.

The bad teams are really bad, and the good ones aren't good enough.

The Vikings always seem to fail to live up to their talent. This year, that wasn't going to happen. Then, with four fumbles against Atlanta on Sunday, the Vikings were the Vikings again.

Season still was annoying

The Cowboys were starting to look like an elite team, and then they lost. Arizona and Tampa looked like up-and-comers three weeks ago, and now can't beat anyone.

So is that some sort of validation for Bears GM Jerry Angelo?

No. It just makes the Bears' season all the more annoying to see how everything was right there for them. They gave away the Atlanta game when they had it, gave away the Tampa game when they had it because of Peanut Tillman's unsportsmanlike behavior and the defense's inability to stop Brian Griese.

Of all people.

Angelo built the Bears around defense and special teams, and if the defense and special teams had been any good, then the Bears might be looking at something really big now.

Instead, they still are figuring. The Bears' season is down to this:

They have to win tonight, and then Sunday at Houston. So assume those things. Then, if Minnesota loses Sunday at home to the Giants, the Bears win the division.

If Minnesota wins but Dallas loses at Philadelphia and Oakland pulls a major upset at Tampa, then the Bears get the final wild card.

A prediction: The Bears win tonight, but won't make the playoffs.

Then we'll be talking again about why coach Lovie Smith thinks Bob Babich should be the defensive coordinator, how Angelo could have had a straight face when he put together that group of receivers, why Tommie Harris wasn't Tommie Harris and whether Brian Urlacher is fading for good.

But on Sunday, it was fun just watching the other teams fall apart.

First, there was Minnesota. And then the network went right to the finish of the Philadelphia-Washington game. Donovan McNabb threw a pass about a foot short of the end zone, and that was it.

A great Bears Sunday was complete.

Comment at suntimes.com.

How the Bears Can Get In

Here's what needs to happen:

NFC NORTH

1. Bears must beat Packers tonight and Texans on Sunday.

2. Vikings must lose to Giants on Sunday.

Wild card

1. Bears must beat Packers tonight and Texans on Sunday.

2. Cowboys must lose or tie against Eagles on Sunday.

3. Buccaneers must lose or tie against Raiders on Sunday.