Bears nose tackle Adams kept tabs on the Vikings-Cardinals game via his cell phone, refreshing the scoreboard every few minutes only to see the Vikings dominate 35-14 and push the Bears closer to playoff elimination.

"I don't know, man, we've just got to let that stuff play out," Adams said Monday. "I try to simplify things when I look at [scenarios]. We've got to get this win against Green Bay, then get the next one [at Houston], and then just let the rest take care of itself."

Reality is the Bears (8-6) could know their playoff fate before they step on the field against rival Green Bay on Monday night. If the NFC North-leading Vikings beat Atlanta at home on Sunday, they win the division and earn a playoff berth. The Vikings (9-5) have won four in a row and hold the tiebreaker over the Bears.

"They're not going to make it easy for us," receiver Brandon Lloyd said. "They're a really good team and they're peaking at the right time.

"We dug ourselves in a hole earlier. We can't sit and expect any team to lie down and let us into the playoffs."

The words "wild card" probably shouldn't be in the Bears' vocabulary, as it's highly unlikely they will vault past Tampa Bay, Atlanta or Dallas -- all 9-5 -- for one of the two wild-card spots. Tampa Bay finishes with lowly Oakland, while the Falcons have the equally bad Rams at home in their season finale.

As Lloyd implied, the circumstances would not be so desperate had the Bears not dropped close games to the Panthers, Buccaneers and Falcons at the start of the season.

They can't throw the red flag and reverse those outcomes.

But the Bears are not ready to wave the white flag either. Beating the Packers has been coach Lovie Smith's stated goal from Day 1. Winning this one could have added significance.

First and foremost, it could keep the Bears' slim playoff chances alive if the Vikings falter. And it would be the ultimate revenge from the most embarrassing loss of the season, a 37-3 thrashing the Bears suffered at Lambeau Field in Week 11.

"They did whip up on us pretty good last time," Devin Hester said. "We still have that in the back of our heads. All I say, we've got a long week to prepare."

The Packers (5-9) fell out of the playoff picture with Sunday's 20-16 loss at Jacksonville. But the Bears were well out of the playoff hunt at the end of last season when they blasted the division-champion Packers 35-7 at frigid Soldier Field.

"We've got something to play for [and] they don't, so they're going to do whatever it takes," Hester said. "We're their rival team, so they're probably going to make sure we don't have a chance of making [the playoffs]."

vxmcclure@tribune.com