The Chicago Bears (6-6) are coming off a 24-20 comeback win over the Detroit Lions (3-8-1), and they’re looking to extend their winning streak to three games against the Dallas Cowboys (6-6) on Thursday Night Football.
The Bears offense resembled an actual offense last week against the Lions, where they got impressive performances out of quarterback Mitchell Trubisky and receiver Anthony Miller. Can the offense continue its positive streak? And can the defense contain the Cowboys offense?
Here are four bold predictions for the Bears’ Week 14 matchup:
1. Mitchell Trubisky passes for 300-plus yards for 2nd straight week
Given the fact that it took Mitchell Trubisky 10 games to finally throw for more than 300 yards, this is certainly a bold prediction considering the Bears offense has been a massive disappointment aside from last Thursday.
Against the Lions, Trubisky completed 29-of-38 passes for 338 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. It was the first time all season you saw him slinging the football down the field, where he found Anthony Miller for 140 yards.
While the Cowboys defense certainly isn’t the Lions defense, Trubisky is coming off his best game of the season and is bringing that confidence back to Soldier Field for some Thursday night action. If Matt Nagy allows Trubisky to just go out there and play, we could see a repeat of last week in terms of yardage.
2. WR Javon Wims will have 100 receiving yards
I’ve been super bold with Bears receivers over these last few weeks, and I’m not slowing down heading into a must-win game for Chicago on Thursday. Last week, Anthony Miller became the second Bears receiver, other than Allen Robinson, to reel in 100 receiving yards. Now, it’s Javon Wims’ turn.
Wims, who saw increased playing time with Taylor Gabriel’s absence last Thursday, looks like he’ll see an increased workload against the Cowboys with Gabriel remaining in concussion protocol.
Last week, Wims saw a career-high six targets, where he caught five passes for 56 yards against the Lions. You figure Wims will certainly get an opportunity to better those stats now that the Bears offense seems to have unlocked the passing game. So why not 100 yards?
3. Jesper Horsted will catch his 2nd career touchdown
It took 13 weeks, but the Bears finally might’ve found some promise at the tight end position. Undrafted rookie Jesper Horsted caught his first touchdown in only his second NFL game last week against the Lions, and you figure the Bears would like to get him going against the Cowboys.
While Horsted, a former receiver, has admitted that he’s still learning the tight end position, he’s already become an interesting prospect as a U tight end for the Bears.
Horsted has only caught one pass in his two career starts, but his last one was certainly meaningful. If Horsted only catches one pass on Thursday, let’s hope it’s in the endzone.
4. Eddie Jackson gets his 2nd INT of the season
Last week, I predicted that safety Eddie Jackson would come down with his first interception. Now, it wasn’t a pick-six like I’d predicted, but considering the fact that Jackson hadn’t had an interception all season, I count that a bold prediction win.
But I’m going to kick it up a notch with Jackson this week. Now that he has first first pick of the season, Jackson is going to record his second interception of the season against the Cowboys on Thursday. Maybe it’ll be a pick-six, maybe it won’t, but the Bears will certainly need Jackson’s ball hawking skills against the Cowboys offense.
