It’s been a wild ride for the Chicago Bears this season, who started the year out as playoff contenders only to lose six straight and appeared poised to clean house at the end of the season.

Now, the Bears have won two straight games — with their offense looking the best that it has in two years — and suddenly Chicago has played themselves back into the playoff picture.

But, not unlike last season when they were still in the hunt, they’re going to need some help along the way. Heading into Week 16, the Bears are just one game out of that seventh spot in the NFC playoff picture. The Arizona Cardinals (8-6) currently stand in the way of Chicago and a return to the postseason, and any hopes of the Bears pulling out a miraculous turnaround depends on Arizona.

It won’t be enough for Chicago to win out in their final two games against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Green Bay Packers. They’re going to need the Cardinals to lose at least one of their final two games — against the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams — to have any hope at a playoff berth.

The Bears’ playoff chances aren’t the best — currently sitting around 33% — but there’s still hope. And a clear path to the postseason.

As the Bears head into Sunday’s contest against the Jaguars, host Ryan O’Leary (@RyanOLearySMG) and myself discussed the offense’s continued success, Chicago’s path to the playoffs and preview the Bears’ Week 16 contest in the 17th episode of our Bears Wire podcast.

You can listen to the latest episode below:

You can catch a new episode every Thursday on Apple Podcasts or your podcast service of choice.

Next week’s episode will recap Chicago’s Sunday contest against the Jaguars and preview the Bears’ Week 17 match-up against the Green Bay Packers.