Keys To Victory: Are Chicago Bears Ready to Win At Home?

Last week, the Chicago Bears were defeated by the division rival Packers. In a game where the Bears dominated on both offense and defense in the first half, things seemed as if Chicago was ready to ruin the Packers opening night of their 100th season.

While the Chicago Bears managed to keep the Packers under control for most of the game, the team unraveled in the fourth quarter, allowing Aaron Rodgers to throw for three touchdowns en route to a 24-23 victory.

This week, the Bears will play a primetime game for the second straight week and host the Seattle Seahawks. Once known as a team that had a dominant defense and dominant running game, featuring a lethal quarterback in Russell Wilson, Seattle now appears to be going through a mini-rebuild.

Each week, we’ll be previewing the Bears regular season matchup. Additionally, we’ll examine what the Bears must do to win. What are the key players on the opposing team that the Chicago Bears will need to stop? Each week, will the offense or defense make a bigger impact?

After last week’s debacle, it appears as if the Bears have moved on, however, are they ready to open up the 2018 season at home with a win?

1. Sack Russell Wilson

In 2017, Russell Wilson was sacked a total of 43 times, however, he did tie his career high in touchdown passes, throwing for 34. What do those two numbers mean? While Wilson may get sacked a lot, he can still figure out ways to throw multiple touchdowns passes each game.

Going into the 2018 offseason, finding offensive lineman who could protect Wilson was the biggest priority for Pete Carroll and John Schneider. During the 2018 NFL Draft, just one of the Seahawks nine draft picks were offensive lineman. Additionally, Seattle signed no free agents to bolster their offensive line either.

What this has led to is another year of Russell Wilson likely being sacked multiple times a game. In week one against the Denver Broncos, Wilson was sacked six times. However, he did throw three touchdowns. If the Bears want to win on Monday night, then getting after Russell Wilson is the first priority.

In week one, the Seahawks did not appear to double-team Von Miller, which left him to make a wide variety of plays. Additionally, other members of the Broncos front seven were only contained by one offensive lineman. This means that the Bears defense will likely see the same thing on Monday Night.

For the Bears to get after Russell Wilson, it’ll all start with Akiem Hicks, Leonard Floyd, and Roy Robertson-Harris. The Seahawks will likely be focused on containing Khalil Mack, which means that other members of the Bears front seven will need to step up. Hicks and Harris each had one sack last week, while Floyd consistently pressured the quarterback. Although the club on Floyd’s hand will limit his pass rushing ability, he should have more opportunities against an opponent who’s biggest weakness is the offensive line.