The Chicago Bears (3-3) desperately need a win against the also-struggling Los Angeles Chargers (2-5), and they’re exhausting every resource to get that win.
There aren’t a ton of reasons to be optimistic that this Bears team can find success against the Chargers — heck, there’s barely any at all. Maybe the only thing they have going for them are the fact that the Chargers might be worse off. That, and the Bears are just downright frustrated, which might make for some surprising performances this Sunday.
Here are four bold predictions for the Bears’ Week 8 contest versus the Chargers.
1. Bears find some success with run game (25-plus carries for 150-plus yards)
After the barrage of criticism that Matt Nagy has received for his decision to run the ball just seven times against the Saints, expect the Bears to run the ball and often. You’re not going to establish the run unless you decide to commit to it. And you’d like to think this is the week Nagy commits to it.
Whether it’s David Montgomery, Tarik Cohen, Mike Davis or even Mitchell Trubisky, you’d believe Nagy is going to try and find ways to run the football. The Bears had their best rushing game against the Denver Broncos in Week 2, where they ran the ball 29 times for 153 yards. Not exactly a reassuring average, but that was the one time Nagy committed to the run.
In all three of Chicago’s wins, they’ve ran the ball more than 20 times. If they have any chance of beating the Chargers on Sunday, they’re going to have to do the same.
2. Mitchell Trubisky gets best of struggling Chargers defense (scores 3 touchdowns)
Trubisky is angry, and that might be the best thing going for the Bears’ offense this week. The Bears’ beleaguered quarterback has proven that he responds well to harsh criticism — and there’s been plenty thrown his way this week.
The Chargers defense is riddled with injuries, including most of their secondary, and assuming Nagy calls a more balanced game, Trubisky might be able to replicate his three-touchdown performance earlier this season against the Redskins.
Trubisky has a lot to prove — to himself and his team — and this Chargers game could be coming at the best time.
3. Bears defense turns up the pressure (4 turnovers, 4 sacks)
While most of the focus this week has been on the Bears’ offensive struggles, you have to talk about the defense’s stumbles over the past two games. Since what appeared to be a statement victory over the Vikings, the Bears defense hasn’t looked like the Super Bowl-caliber unit we’ve seen.
The Raiders game looked like an aberration, but the Saints game certainly raised some eyebrows when thinking about this Bears defense, which is clearly missing defensive tackle Akiem Hicks, who is on injured reserve for at least the next seven weeks.
But after a week where the entire Bears team has been frustrated, this feels like one of those games where the defense can go out and wreak havoc just because they’re livid.
4. OLB Khalil Mack returns with a vengeance (2.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles)
One of the quieter players on defense during the team’s two-game skid has been outside linebacker Khalil Mack, who hasn’t had a sack or forced fumble since that Vikings game in Week 4.
While teams are constantly game planning on how to take Mack out of the game, he’s shown that he can be a force regardless. Which is what you’d expect against the Chargers, where the Bears need a win — and need a win desperately. So you’d expect the Bears’ best player to step up in a big way.
Hailing from the AFC West before he was traded to the Bears, Mack has plenty of familiarity with the Chargers, namely quarterback Philip Rivers. So hopefully Mack can play angry and help get these Bears back on track.
