They had no defense, nearly no offense. With all the incentive in the world and extra time to prepare, they went 3? quarters Monday night making one good play. One. A kick return.

And then they won. Robbie Gould made a 38-yard field goal in overtime and the Bears beat Green Bay 20-17. And now, with one game to go, they have a real shot at the NFC North title and the conference's third seed in the playoffs.

''This is our season,'' quarterback Kyle Orton said in the huddle before their game-winning drive. ''It's down to this. If we don't do [anything], we're done.''

Yes, the Bears would have been eliminated from the playoff chase. But Orton was wrong: They hadn't done anything all night, and I'm not really sure they did anything in overtime, either. Yet they're still not done.

This is a miracle team. It's a miracle that such a mediocre team can possibly accomplish so much. If they don't win the division, they can still get a wild card, too.

Do you get the feeling that the Bears are a 6-10 team stumbling accidentally toward the playoffs? Someone up there really likes them, because the season would have been over if Green Bay could have made a 38-yard field in the final seconds of regulation.

What I take out of this game, mostly, is that the Packers are really, really bad.

You should have seen coach Lovie Smith when it was over. He smiled. Or maybe that was a grin. But either way, for Smith that was nothing short of downright giddy.

''At the end, when your back's against the wall, the best comes out,'' he said. ''And that's what happened.''

What best? Orton completed a pass to tight end Greg Olsen, and the Packers were called for unnecessary roughness on the play. Matt Forte caught a little pass that went for 14 yards.

That's it. That, and four plays for a total of one yard.

And the Bears won.

Boos at half were warranted

''At halftime, you know, there was not a whole lot for us to say,'' Smith said. ''I understand why we were getting booed. We hadn't shown up at all.''

How could that be?

The game lined up as the perfect test of everything the Bears stood for. Smith's ability to prepare the Bears. Orton's ability in the big game. The defensive line's ability to be tough.

Devin Hester's returns. Brian Urlacher's demise.

Cold weather. See your breath. Packers.

And you know what? They failed on every last count.

And they won.

The Packers kept doing everything they could to give the game to the Bears, but the Bears wouldn't take it.

The entire game, the direction of the franchise was lining up as failure.

The defense was muscled. The offense did nothing.

No direction. No hope.

When the Packers were lining up that field goal attempt for the win, all I could think was that this wasn't what anyone wanted to see, but maybe it was for the best. Every little thing the Bears were trying to hang onto, trying to show as an arrow pointing the right way, a franchise making progress, well, it was all gone.

Saved by blocked field goal

Then the field goal was blocked.

And then the Bears won. The Bears have an amazing knack for this, leaving a bad taste in your mouth even in a possibly season-saving, overtime, thrilling finish against the Packers.

All these years, the Packers have had the better quarterback. Finally, they moved on to the next generation, letting Brett Favre go, and guess what:

They still have the better quarterback in Aaron Rodgers.

Orton threw two interceptions in the second half that are almost impossible to understand. He looks one way, keeps looking, keeps looking, and he might as well pull out a bullhorn and scream ''I'm throwing right, about 10 yards to the sideline,'' so the defense can get in position. On both interceptions, the defense knew exactly where he was throwing it.

But Rodgers isn't going to the playoffs, and Orton might be.

If the Bears win at Houston on Sunday and the Vikings lose at home to the defending champions, the Giants, then the Bears are champs. This is unbelievable. Even if the Bears and Vikings win, the Bears have a shot at the wild card.

Smith said he didn't know why the team played so poorly, and that would seem to be his job to know. But a win is a win, I guess.

Orton said the Bears couldn't run or pass all night. Smith said they were ''total disappointment.''

Whatever. The Bears did almost nothing and came away with everything.

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