I'll be optimistic. Everything is still in front of us. For the playoffs we have to:
1. Win the NFC North
-Detroit leads this by a game with a victory over us. However, we get them Week 17 at home. I know they are missing some key players, but they aren't exactly rolling right now. They have some tough games in November. Dolphins, Cardinals and Patriots are all teams who could disrupt Detroit and potentially lead to a huge week 17 showdown at Lambeau.
OR
2. Get one of the two wildcard spots
-Let's look at the teams that are currently in that fight for two of those spots with us. First, you have Philly. They currently have two losses and will be playing us in a few weeks. That will be a big game. Next, we have San Francisco and Seattle. Both of these teams sitting at 3 losses just like us. Well, there's some great news. These two teams have to play each other TWICE still. They'll either both be losing another game or one of them will be losing 2 games.
In other words, 5-3 going into a bye with 8 games remaining is not a bad spot to be in. We come back against a Bears team, which is struggling, and the game is at home. Everything is still in front of us.
Bottom line, we do not have a ton of ground to make up. Actually, 1 week could change everything. And if 1 week changes everything.....think about the fact we still have 9 weeks left in the season.