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John Fox Can Get Bears To Playoffs If They Beat Detroit

By Erik Lambert

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Oct 4, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears head coach John Fox during the second quarter against the Oakland Raiders at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

Even numbers can lie from time to time, but not as often as some are made to believe.  Stats often reveal trends and trends in sports usually pan out as expected save for rare exceptions.  For head coach John Fox there is a trend in his long history on the head set that the Chicago Bears are hoping to take full advantage of.

His success after the bye week.  Fox is a coach who prefers to take every game one at a time, never getting caught looking ahead.  It’s a policy that has worked for many and perhaps might explain his success at finish the second half of seasons.

In his career with the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos, Fox is officially 82-56 after the bye week.  That averages out to a .682 winning percentage.  In simpler terms, he’s won over 68% of his games in late fall and winter.  If that trend holds true in this season, then the game the Bears are set to play in Detroit takes on greater significance.

As it stands, Chicago is 2-3 this season thanks in large part to their back-to-back comeback victories over Oakland and Kansas City in weeks 4 and 5.  If they go into Ford Field against a floundering Lions team that is 0-5, they would enter the by at 3-3.  That means they would have 10 games remaining on their schedule.  Applying Fox’s average of 6.82 to the equation, this means they would go between 7-3 and 6-4 down the stretch.  That is a finish of 10-6 or 9-7.

Not only is that a remarkable turnaround from their dismal 5-11 campaign a year ago, but puts them in serious position to make the playoffs for the first time since 2010.  What a story that would be to cap off what has been a memorable 2015 calendar year already.

In truth there are many miles to go and mountains to climb.  These Bears have shown they have heart and believe they can win.  John Fox deserves all the credit in the world for that.  Whether they have what it takes to keep it going is the question yet to be answered.

Next: Chicago Bears: 5 Options If Adam Gase Leaves In 2016

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