It is very much a week to week league in the NFL, but it's looking more and more like the only chance the Bears have at making the playoffs is to win the division. The Bears lose pretty much every tie breaker against their other NFC competitors, which only makes winning the division out right that much more important.
The way this defense has played all year, it doesn't seem likely they'll be any better than an 8-8/9-7 team, and that won't be enough to get in.
If they lose to Minnesota next week, the season is basically over. If Ratliff can be 75% of the player he was in Dallas, their chances increase dramatically.