But the way they're looking at it, 10-6 will get them into the postseason one way or another. They get the benefit of a long weekend now to freshen up for the final push after Thursday night's 27-24 overtime victory iced the New Orleans Saints' season.

''We have to think that,'' coach Lovie Smith said. ''Most teams that get 10 wins get into the playoffs. That's the best we can do, so we're hoping that that's the case. Right now we're not even thinking 10 -- that is a little bit farther down the list. Nine wins is what we're really looking forward to.''

Only five teams have finished 10-6 and not made the postseason since the format was expanded to 12 teams in 1990. But three of those have come in the last five seasons, when the four-division conference setup has allowed only two wild cards from each conference.

That's getting ahead of the 8-6 Bears, who host the Green Bay Packers on Dec. 22 on ''Monday Night Football,'' anxious to avenge the 37-3 beating they took at Lambeau Field last month. Minnesota's magic number is two, and the Vikings (8-5) are at Arizona on Sunday before hosting the Atlanta Falcons on Dec. 21, meaning they can sew up the North with two wins before the Bears play again.

But four days after a lackluster victory over a downtrodden Jacksonville team, the Bears felt better about toppling the NFL's top-ranked offense and dealing with some adversity along the way. Running back Matt Forte left the field against the Saints after the first play from scrimmage with an injury to his right big toe. He returned, scoring his 11th touchdown of the season, although he was limited to 34 yards on 11 rushes.

The defense came up big against Saints quarterback Drew Brees and bigger when they turned the Saints back on fourth-and-one from the Bears' 38 with 5:35 left.

Yes, the Bears frittered away some valuable time on the game-tying drive, and you'd hate to think what would've happened if quarterback Kyle Orton had run around a little more before being sacked by Sedrick Ellis. (He called timeout with two seconds left to bring on the field-goal team.) But Orton was 8-for-11 passing on the drive for 61 yards, picking up four first downs in the air. It might not be a quick-strike attack, but it was efficient.

''I think our team showed a lot of character coming back after we had lost momentum,'' Smith said. ''We like the position we're in right now. We didn't play a perfect game by any means. There's a lot we still have to clean up, and we will.''

Smith indicated there was nothing serious about Forte's injury, but those nagging toe injuries can be troublesome. Just ask Jerry Jones and Marion Barber in Dallas. Forte entered the week with a higher percentage of his team's offensive yards -- 35.6 -- than any other player in the league.

''We knew he was a tough, but you need to see a player go through something like that to know exactly how tough he is,'' Smith said. ''I know what Matt Forte is. I know what he stands for.''

Players were given the entire weekend off, and the coaching staff will get an early jump on a game plan for the Packers. They badly missed last time, scheming to stop quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the passing game, only to be trampled by a rejuvenated ground attack. Smith has already talked to his players about facing Green Bay and called the previous loss an embarrassment. Many thought it would serve as a launching point for the defending division-champion Packers, who since have fallen on hard times while the Bears have hung on to make the final two weeks meaningful.

''It feels great,'' Orton said. ''I thought we might have let one slip away. To come back and get a big win in overtime, we've been in the playoffs the last two weeks and are 2-0, so it's win or go home, basically. We lived to fight another day.''

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