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Earl Bennett

Bears miss playoffs despite 26-24 win over Lions

The Chicago locker room was emptying out, and the Bears could no longer do anything but hope.Then Minnesota scored an early touchdown against Green Bay up on a TV screen, and there were a couple quiet groans."It's just aggravating to have to wait and see what has to go down," running back Matt Forte said. "We took care of our part, so that's all we can bank on right now."Chicago had kept its playoff hopes alive — but only momentarily. The Bears beat the Detroit Lions 26-24 on Sunday, then were eliminated from postseason contention when the Vikings won 37-34 to earn the final NFC wild card.The Bears (10-6) needed a Minnesota loss to reach the playoffs. Instead, they became only the second club since the postseason expanded to 12 teams to miss out after a 7-1 start, according to STATS. The other was Washington in 1996."Of course, I think we're moving in the right direction," coach Lovie Smith said in an interview with Chicago's WFLD-TV after Minnesota's victory. "A 10-6 season normally g...

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