Every NFL game has a number of near-misses and could-have-beens that decide the outcome.  It’s weak science, to say the least, to try and reconstruct what what would have happened in any given game if things had gone differently.  As the film Mr. Destiny reminds us, each different outcome leads us down a completely different path.  Still, the Chicago Bears complete luck with regards to field goals missed by their opposition has been uncanny this season.  This 2-1 squad could easily be 0-3 if their opponents had made some very make-able kicks.  Let’s have a look, shall we?

Week One
Mason Crosby goes 2 for 3 in field goals, missing a 49-yarder in the 1st quarter.  With that extra three points, the Bears, instead of leading 15-13 and setting the stage for A-Rod’s heroics, would have been trailing 16-15 and would have been forced to play the game much differently.

Actual Score: Green Bay 21, Chicago 15
Adjusted Score: Green Bay 24, Chicago 15

Week Two
Josh Reed goes 0 for 2 and misses two key 4th quarter field goals, one from 38, and one from 43.

Actual score: Chicago 17, Pittsburgh 14
Adjusted score: Pittsburgh 20, Chicago 17

Week Three
Olindo Mare gives an extremely strong performance booting four field goals.  Still he missed two:  one from 43 and one, a chip shot, from 34.

Actual score: Chicago 25, Seattle 19
Adjusted score: Chicago 25, Seattle 25

Again, of course, an opponent will miss some field goals.  And, yes, Robbie Gould missed one in Seattle as well.  And, yes, who knows, even if their opponents had made every kick, the game would have played out entirely differently and they might have won anyway. But of course we’ll never know.