On Sunday, the Chicago Bears received a much-needed bye week amid a six-game losing streak.
The team has four weeks left to go in the season. Matchups with the Eagles, Bills, Lions and Vikings await them down the final stretch.
During Week 14, the Bears missed out on some serious action. Baker Mayfield kicked off the week with an improbable fourth-quarter comeback against the Raiders – fresh off his release from the Panthers. Mr. Irrelevant quarterback Brock Purdy defeated Tom Brady's Buccaneers in a total 35-7 rout. And finally, the Lions took down an NFC admiral in the Minnesota Vikings.
RELATED: Schrock's Power Rankings: Where Bears stand heading into Week 15
Also, during the Bears' bye week, their draft position moved from the No. 2 overall pick to the No. 3 selection. The Denver Broncos loss to the Kansas City Chiefs moved them back since they hold the tiebreaker over the Bears in strength of schedule.
Here's where the Bears stand in the national NFL power rankings after the bye week:
ESPN
Before Week 14: 30th
After Week 14: 30th
NFL
CBS
Before Week 14: 30th
After Week 14: 30th
NFL.com
Before Week 14: 29th
After Week 14: 28th
Yahoo!
Before Week 14: 30th
After Week 14: 30th
FOX
Before Week 14: 29th
After Week 14: 28th
The Bears are fairly ranked near the bottom, and similarly where the national scales had them previously before their bye week.
The onus of the players for the rest of the season has become increasingly simpler – stay healthy and try to close out games.
One interesting graphic showed the Bears would be 8-5 with a playoff seed if their one-possession games flipped to the opposite result. The evidence points to the team, specifically the offense, and its inability to close out games down the stretch.
MORE: What if every one possession game had the opposite result?
The team now takes on the role of the quiet antagonist. Three of the four teams they play down the stretch have deep playoff aspirations and the Bears stand in their way as a potential roadblock to those ambitions.
Will the Bears upset a top-tier NFL team, gaining traction for next season, yet hurting their draft position? This Sunday begins the telling of that narrative.