Coming off their first victory of the season the Chicago Bears are looking to capitalize in the nation’s capital (well, technically in Maryland but you get the point). They rediscovered their ground game in Denver but the aerial attack is still struggling. Finding balance was important though and Week 3 provides an opportunity to build more cohesion.
Facing Redskins a Chance to Capitalize for Bears
After facing the revitalized Green Bay Packers and defenses, the Washington Redskins unit seems less than daunting. The first two foes rank 13th and 10th in total yards allowed through two weeks. Washington comes into Week 3 ranking 30th; 25th against the pass and 31st against the run.
The Redskins are 0-2 but have faced the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles; not necessarily pushovers. They are quite banged up but taking them lightly could prove faulty. Jonathan Allen is out with an injured MCL and running back Derrius Guice just went on IR after meniscus surgery, just to name a few.
Offense
Allen’s continued absence should mean David Montgomery gets another heavy workload. Philly’s cadre of backs put up 123 yards and scored a touchdown while Dallas churned out 213 yards and a touchdown. After giving 18 carries to the rookie out of Iowa State in the victory over the Broncos it would make sense to do so again while the passing attack finds its way.
Washington’s best corner, Josh Norman is healthy but is far from a matchup to run away from. That means there will still be opportunities for success should Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky continue to only have eyes for Allen Robinson. Now, Norman is not a shut down corner but he does have good ball skills and will play physical. Trubisky would be wise to work in his other weapons, namely Anthony Miller and Trey Burton.
Robinson has shown up, often bailing his quarterback out, catching 11 of 20 targets for 143 yards so far. But the next Bears receiver, Taylor Gabriel, only has three catches (on seven targets) for 35 yards. Tarik Cohen does have 10 catches (15 targets) for 56 yards, though eight of the catches and 48 of the yards came in Week 1 when he was almost exclusively in the slot.
FINAL: What. A. Finish. @ChicagoBears get the W! #CHIvsDEN pic.twitter.com/geeZEThRiG
— NFL (@NFL) September 15, 2019
Defense
The defense has done much of the heavy lifting for the Bears in both games. They are third in points allowed despite constantly being on the field. Chicago is allowing the fourth-most total yards; sixth against the run and 12th against the pass. They must stop a Washington offense that is currently 25th in yards per game.
Khalil Mack got his first sack of the 2019 season against the Broncos. He has not put up the sack numbers expected thus far but he leads the NFL in pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. The attention paid to him frees up the likes of Leonard Floyd, who has two sacks. There are currently six Bears with at least one sack and nine with at least one hit on the quarterback.
The turnovers haven’t been as plentiful so far, but players have been around the ball nonetheless. Kyle Fuller has the lone interception, a red zone backbreaker last week against Denver. Mack has the lone forced fumble but the recovery by Ha Ha Clinton-Dix was overturned after an official review.
Coach Nagy is addressing the media at Halas Hall. He’ll be followed by @Mtrubisky10. https://t.co/cqMvYCcWKH
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) September 19, 2019
Expectations
A winless, non-conference opponent missing several key players might seem like lunch to a team like the Bears. Left tackle Trent Williams is still a no-show but Case Keenum has only been sacked twice in 81 dropbacks. He has completed 56 of those passes (69.1 percent completion) for 601 yards, five touchdowns, and no interceptions.
Those do not read like the stats of a winless quarterback but falling into quick deficits aren’t helping anything. The Bears defense needs to keep doing what they’re doing and force Washington to keep being one dimensional (seventh in pass attempts, 30th in rushing attempts).
Maybe we will see the debut of rookie Dwayne Haskins. Remember, last season the Bears forced the Arizona Cardinals hand in putting Josh Rosen (now of the Miami Dolphins) in the game in relief of Sam Bradford. The Bears got to Bradford for three sacks, two interceptions and a pair of lost fumbles.
Prediction: Impressive Redskins rookie receiver Terry McLaurin goes all Emmanuel Sanders. But, just like in Denver, it will not be enough.
Bears 24 Redskins 10
Main Photo:
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