The Chicago Bears (3-2) return from the bye week determined to remedy the concerns that have plagued them since before the break, mainly on offense.
They’ll get a chance to do that against a red-hot New Orleans Saints (5-1), who even without quarterback Drew Brees has continued to be a force in the NFC this season.
The Bears will have their work cut-out for them, but perhaps the Saints are due a loss. And maybe Chicago is the one to give it to them.
Here are four bold predictions for the Bears’ Week 7 contest versus the Saints.
1. QB Mitch Trubisky has passer rating above 100 in his return
Barring a setback, quarterback Mitch Trubisky is set to make his return against the Saints, where he’ll face a dominant defensive front that knows how to get after the quarterback.
Coming off a dislocated left shoulder, many are wondering how Trubisky will look in his return from injury. Before Trubisky went down with that shoulder injury, he put together his best performance of the season against the Redskins posting a 116.5 passer rating.
Now, the Saints are certainly not the Redskins, but Trubisky looked like he was finally starting to build some confidence before his injury. Perhaps this is the week that he — and this offense — gets on track.
2. RB David Montgomery rushes for 100+ yards
If I keep making this bold prediction, it’s bound to come true eventually, right? So let’s try this again. This is the week that rookie David Montgomery rushes for 100 yards.
With the emphasis on fixing the run game during the bye week, expect the Bears to come out early to try and establish the run. Especially with Trubisky returning from injury, a solid run game will be his best friend.
One of the many frustrating parts of the run game’s struggles have been that we don’t really know what the Bears have in Montgomery, as the line has failed to get any sort of push up front and Montgomery has been tackled almost immediately after he gets the ball. This is the week where, hopefully, he’ll get some breathing room and a chance to remind us of the guy we saw in that first preseason game.
3. Bears offensive line gives up zero sacks
The pressure surrounding the Bears’ offensive line is reaching a breaking point, which hasn’t been helped by a bye week with plenty of time to examine the atrocious play of the line this season.
While a challenge has been issued to the entire team, there’s an emphasis on this offensive line to turn things up as the Bears offense searches for an identity on offense. While the run game remains a central focus, they also allowed four sacks of Chase Daniel to the Raiders on Oct. 6.
With Trubisky returning to the lineup — and coming off injury — this offensive line is going to need to protect its quarterback, which starts with keeping him clean in the pocket. And this is the week that, hopefully, they’ll do just that.
4. OLB Leonard Floyd gets two sacks
While the Bears defense hasn’t been a cause for concern this season, there’s one player that has all but disappeared after the season opener. After a two-sack performance against the Packers, edge rusher Leonard Floyd hasn’t had the same impact.
Floyd, who looked primed for a breakout season, has failed to record a sack since Sept. 5, which includes being freed up when opposing teams are doubling or tripling Khalil Mack.
While Floyd has had a positive impact this season — generating nine pressures and getting seven run stops — the Bears need more out of the former No. 9 overall pick. At the end of the day, edge rushers are judged by how often they get after the quarterback.
