Greg Olsen: We're in position to reach goal

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Although the loss to the New England Patriots was ugly, the Chicago Bears' season is far from being over.

"Believe it or not, this week we can wrap this whole thing up, which, at the beginning of the season, as our ultimate goal," Bears tight end Greg Olsen said. "For as bad as things looked [Sunday], we’re fortunate that we’re in a position to achieve everything that we wanted.

"Once you make the playoffs, it’s a clean slate. We have our future in our hands here, going forward. We have a huge division game, national TV, Monday night, a chance to kind of redeem ourselves from [Sunday's] poor performance. We have everything in front of us, and we just have to take care of business."

The formula is simple: The Bears can clinch the NFC North if the Packers lose on the road to New England and the Bears beat Minnesota. Even if Green Bay somehow pulls off the upset of the Patriots, the Bears can still clinch the division tie-breaker over the Packers if they knock off the Vikings.

"Maybe a week from [Monday], we’ll be celebrate being NFC North champs," Olsen said. "We’ll see."

The NFL determines playoff tie-breakers in the following order:

1. Head-to-head
2. Division record
3. Record in common games
4. Conference record
5. Strength of victory
6. Strength of schedule
7. Best combined ranking among conference teams in points scored and points allowed
8. Best combined ranking among all teams in points scored and points allowed
9. Best net points in common games
10. Best net points in all games
11. Best net touchdowns in all games
12. Coin toss

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(espn.com)