It's the final regular season weekend of the NFL and the Chicago Bears are at a place they've been all year, on the brink.

A Bears win at Houston and a Vikings loss to the Giants would sew up a playoff appearance by a Bears team that has run the gamut of emotions for fans this season.  From the high of beating Indianapolis on opening night to the low of getting whacked by Green Bay November 16th, this has been a roller coaster ride that Bears fans soon won't forget.  Similar to the 2008 Chicago White Sox, the Bears are down to their last game needing a win and a loss from a Minnesota team to get it the dance.

Houston, a team most Bears fans are unfamiliar with is not a free spot on the bingo board.  The Texans are 5-2 at home this season and are 7-1 in December at home under current coach Gary Kubiak.  The Texans average almost 263 passing yards per game and will prey on the Bears depleted secondary, a unit now without the services of Mike Brown. The Texans also have a pretty fair running game led by rookie Steve Slaton a third round pick out of West Virginia.

The Bears, although sputtering offensively, have picked up the play on the defensive end.  The combination of the Texans potent passing game and Slaton's ability to run the football may be more than the Bears can handle.

The 7-8 Texans are doing more than playing out the string.  Thwarted in their effort to have their first winning season in team history after last week's loss to Oakland, the Texans still want to finish at 8-8.

Meanwhile, at the Roller Dome, the Vikings meet the NFC leading New York Giants.  The only thing the Giants have to play for is keeping everyone healthy before their bye week.  Sure, they want to win, but they also want to avoid injuries to their key players and some, like Brandon Jacobs, probably will appear in street clothes.  Eli Manning may see as little as a half and the Vikings will be going full out to win the game and seal the Bears fate.

There is one silver lining for the Bears.  Should both Tampa Bay and Dallas lose, the Bears would get in as the second wild card.  This means Philly must beat Dallas at home and Tampa Bay must lose to Oakland.  Most likely, the Bears best chance comes as divisional champion. 

It's not going to be easy by any stretch and Bear fans should assume that this is probably the final game of the year.  If it is, you can expect our post mortem on Monday.  By 3pm this afternoon, Bears fans will be either dancing a jig or crying in their Old Style.