[bears9]

Brian Urlacher was as evasive as Vikings running back Adrian Peterson when it came to questions about his weekly appearances on the injury report with an ailing back.

But when it came to the Bears' season and what it will take for the defending NFC champions to avoid becoming the sixth Super Bowl loser in the last seven years to fail to reach the postseason the next year, he dialed in exactly what is necessary.


''We don't have any [margin for error],'' Urlacher said Thursday. ''We have to win now. Ten [wins] usually gets you in the playoffs. We'd like to win 12, but we've got to get to 10 for sure to try to get in the playoffs. It starts with Philly, one game at a time.''
Bears middle linebacker Brian Urlacher at the Sept. 23 game against the Dallas Cowboys at Soldier Field.


As far as candid assessments come from Urlacher, that's about as good as it gets. He stepped out and said what those on the outside have been saying: If the Bears want to reach the playoffs without having to hope for some help, they need to close out 8-2.

That roll needs to start with a trip to Philadelphia to face an Eagles team (2-3) that is backed into a corner of its own.

''We need to go 1-0 this weekend,'' coach Lovie Smith said when asked if he agreed with Urlacher's forecast. ''That's as far as we're going to look.''

Urlacher: We need to go 8-2