Phillip Rivers and the Chargers come to Soldier Field on Sunday afternoon in desperate need of a win. It’s up to Brian Urlacher and company to keep San Diego’s annual rush to save their season. How do the Bears keep the Chargers out of the win column and send them back to the beach without getting back into the win column? Let’s see the keys to a Bears victory after the jump.
Focus
It might be easy for the Bears to overlook the struggling Chargers, especially after back to back big conference wins. The Bears have to avoid the letdown. The Chargers may be banged up, but they have a potent offense. I’m putting added burden on the Bears defense to focus coming off their best performance of the season.
Pressure
The Chargers will be without a few key offensive linemen, so the Bears needs to make Rivers uncomfortable and add to his league-high 19 turnovers (15 picks and 4 lost fumbles). The Bears have had some success moving Julius Peppers around on the defensive line, getting some mismatches to create some pressure. Look for more of that to keep San Diego off balance.
Bury the Hatchet
Jay Cutler’s rivalry with Phillip Rivers is well documented. It’s key for Jay not to try to do too much to show up his old buddy. Bury the hatchet with that rivalry and know that living well is the best revenge. Cutler has been steady but not spectacular during the Bears’ win streak; he needs to keep it up.
Next Williams Please Step Up
The name on the back of the jersey will be the same, but it will be yet another iteration of the Bears offensive line. Gabe Carimi isn’t coming to the rescue, as his season ends on IR. Chris Williams is done for the season with a dislocated wrist, so Edwin Williams is the next man up. The line has played dare I say well in the last few weeks and they need to continue improving if the Bears are to hold off the Chargers.
You stay classy San Diego and…