After a win against the Las Vegas Raiders, the Chicago Bears have some life. They are starting Tyson Bagent, a rookie UDFA quarterback who is bringing excitement to the fanbase. Now, they get to perform on primetime against a struggling Chargers team. What are some bold predictions for Sunday Night Football when the Bears head to LA to take on the Chargers?
5. Tyler Scott will have more than 50 yards receiving for the Chicago Bears
50 yards for a wide receiver does not sound bold until you think about Tyler Scott having just 51 yards this season and averaging 7.9 yards per game. So, he will record about seven times his season average and double season total on Sunday, and that may be the minimum that he does. This games sets up well for Tyler Scott.
First, Scott has 31 of his 51 yards in the past two games. Some of that comes down to playing more. With Chase Claypool traded and Equanimeous St. Brown placed on the IR, the Bears had to play someone. Beyond that, it helps that he spent the offseason practicing with Tyson Bagent while most of the other starters were spending their time with Justin Fields. He is the receiver with the most rapport, and it shows because Bagent has targeted Scott more than Cole Kmet, and he has one less target than Darnell Mooney since coming in.
Mooney plays the slot, which will place Mooney on the outside. He will get a lot of Michael Davis, who is one of the weakest cornerbacks in the NFL this year. He is sixth in targets against and leads the NFL in touchdowns and penalties. Teams want to go after him, and Bagent wants to go after Scott; this should set up for the best game of Scott's career.
4. Khalil Mack will record at least two sacks against the Chicago Bears
Khalil Mack has seven sacks this season, which sounds terrifying. When you consider that they came in two games, and he has been held out of the stat sheet most of the season, it is a bit of a relief. However, for Chicago Bears fans, they have to realize that Mack had six sacks against the Las Vegas Raiders. He seems to get up for revenge against his former team. This will be the first time that Mack squares off with the Chicago Bears since Ryan Poles traded him.
It is not just a revenge game but also a good matchup for Khalil Mack. Larry Borom is one of the worst left tackles in the NFL. He got rocked by Chase Young, which can be expected, but D.J. Wonnum and Tyree Wilson also had the best games of their seasons when they saw Borom.
Mack has had a tougher road. Some tackles he has faced recently include Christain Darrisaw, Kolton Miller, Tyron Smith, and Donovan Smith. Now, he gets a bit of a soft spot in opponent with Borom. Mack had his group of sacks against Aidan O'Connell, a rookie who did not get the ball out quick enough to avoid the rush. Will Tyson Bagent fair better, or will Mack rack up sacks against his former teams and the rookie quarterbacks they drafted? We say he gets revenge.
3. Austin Ekeler will record 50 receiving yards and score a touchdown against the Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears have not been good at defending passes to the running backs. They are fifth in targets against when it comes to running backs, but they lead the NFL in yards and touchdowns allowed. Aaron Jones put up 86 yards and a touchdown on just two catches. Rachaad White had five catches for 30 yards, and Jaleel McLaughlin had 32 yards and a touchdown. Antonio Gibson had 64 yards, and Brian Robinson had 33. Even Alexander Mattison had 28 yards, and Zamir White had 26 yards in the passing game against this defense.
Tremaine Edmunds caught an interception off of a tipped ball, but that does not mean he has turned his bad season around. Worse than that, the Bears are losing Jaquan Brisker and Eddie Jackson for this game. They are bad against running back passes already, and Brisker being out will make it worse.
More than that, after Aaron Jones, who were the big threats? A lot of lesser talented names got big catches. Austin Ekeler is the best receiving back they have faced all season. He is going to torch Tremaine Edmunds, as well as the potential safety starter Duron Harmon. Bet big on Ekeler having more than expected in the passing game.
2. Roschon Johnson will catch a touchdown pass against the Los Angeles Chargers
Roschon Johnson is all but expected to return this week. He is not going to have a heavy workload, but it could still result in a solid day on his return. D'onta Foreman will keep his role as the early down back. Still, they were already subbing him out on passing downs for Darrynton Evans, and he already has allowed more pressures than Roschon Johnson in just two games of pass protection.
The Bears will look to Johnson on these passing down snaps, and Johnson is a big upgrade from Darrynton Evans, who has been targeted four times in the last two games. Tyson Bagent is known for getting the football out of his hands quickly. He is also not known to push the ball down the field. Look for a lot of checkdowns from Bagent to Johnson. Look for Johnson to make the most of them.
The Chargers rank seventh in targets allowed to running backs, and they rank fourth in yards allowed to running backs. Eric Kendricks has lost a step or two, and Kenneth Murray is a huge liability in coverage. Worse than that, Derwin James is not having a good year. If the Chicago Bears get near the goal line, a screen to Johnson is on the table. Check downs for big gains and check downs in the red zone can lead to touchdowns. In any event, Johnson could return and have more receiving work than rushing on Sunday.
1. Tyson Bagent will turn the ball over multiple times against the Los Angeles Chargers
After Tyson Bagent looked like a rookie UDFA and turned the ball over twice against the Minnesota Vikings, I wrote for Chicago Bears fans to relax because Tyson Bagent would play a lot better. Now that I have been proven right for one week, and fans have become confident that Bagent will light up a bad Chargers defense, I am calling for him to fall back apart in a loss.
The Chargers defense has looked bad, but some of that has to do with playing against Patrick Mahomes, Dak Prescott, the Dolphins, Kirk Cousins when Justin Jefferson was healthy, and the Titans back when Ryan Tannehill and Treylon Burks were healthy. They saw the best of these offenses. Now, they get a rookie UDFA quarterback.
As we noted, Khalil Mack or whoever the Chargers lineup against Larry Borom will be a mismatch. Worse than that, the Chargers should move the ball and score. Yes, the Bears defense looks better. They also got to play Cousins without Jefferson and the Raiders with Brian Hoyer. They faced Sam Howell, Russell Wilson, and Baker Mayfield. The Packers lit them up, and Patrick Mahomes lit them up. Justin Herbert is much closer to the latter two than the former.
This will not be a game where the Bears can get a lead and run the ball. This is a game where Tyson Bagent will have to push the ball downfield and add more to his game. He cannot do that, and we will see that he is mainly a game manager right now. In comeback mode, the turnovers will continue to come in bunches.