There is no denying that the Chicago Bears have been better in the past three or four weeks than they have been in the first couple of weeks. When you combine that with Tyson Bagent winning his first career start, it has fans sparking at least a little bit of excitement. What if he can keep this team afloat for the next couple of weeks?
Fans are excited, but are about to get sucked back in for another letdown against the Los Angeles Chargers, here is why.
5. Justin Herbert will test the Chicago Bears secondary
The Chicago Bears secondary has been playing better; there is no denying that. Getting Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon healthy was key, and Jaquan Brisker just played his best game of the year as well. The scheme appears to be working, too. However, some of it has to do with the soft schedule. Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs scored 41 points and it looked like they let their foot off of the gas in doing so.
Then, they gave up 31 points in a poor effort to close out the game against the Denver Broncos. After that, they played Sam Howell, who walks into sacks more than Justin Fields. They got Kirk Cousins without Justin Jefferson, and they got the Raiders without a starting quarterback. Did the Bears' defense improve, or did they play a couple of handicapped teams?
Yes, the Chargers will not have Mike Williams, but this is the best offense they have seen in a while. They rank sixth in expected points added per play. The Chiefs rank 4th, the Broncos rank 16th, and the Packers rank 12th. The rest of their opponents have been below average. The common theme is the Bears allowed 30 points for all of these offenses. Justin Herbert has the Chargers moving the ball in a way that will test this defense.
4. Austin Ekeler is the best running back the Chicago Bears have seen in a while
The Chicago Bears' defense was about average when the team was going through its worst stretch on defense. It was mainly the pass defense being destroyed. Now that the pass defense has improved, the run defense has moved into the top ten territory. Still, this may be back to the units they have faced.
Aaron Jones torched this unit in week one. Since then, the tests have not been huge. Rachaad White is not a threat, and the Chiefs saw Isaiah Pacehcho and Jerrick McKinnon combine for 117 yards against the Bears' run defense.
The Broncos rushing attack has been below average, and like Washington, they never got a chance to get into it because they were trailing and throwing. The Vikings and the Raiders have some of the worst run games in the NFL.
According to EPA, the Chargers will be the best rushing attack they will face, especially when you factor in that Austin Ekler has missed time. He has been back for the past two weeks and has not broken out yet, but he is the best runner the Bears have seen since Aaron Jones. Will there be similar issues in this game?
3. Khalil Mack may get revenge on the Chicago Bears
If you remember Khalil Mack and his time with the Chicago Bears, you remember that he did not talk much, but he listened a lot and took things personally. Then, he did his talking on the field. He may not say much about getting traded or his time with the Bears, but you can bet he wants to show Ryan Poles he made a mistake letting him leave.
Mack has seven sacks this year, and six came in one game. That does not sound impressive until you realize six came against the Las Vegas Raiders, his old team. Mack got up for that game and showed his old team that he could still deliver.
This week, he may spend a lot of time against Larry Borom, someone he saw as a rookie in practice. Borom has been awful this season. Chase Young beat him all night, and in the last two games, he has been losing consistency to guys like D.J. Wonnum and Tyree Wilson. Wilson had been one of the worst pass rushers in the NFL before that game.
Mac has revenge on his mind, and he gets a bad left tackle and a backup quarterback. He is going to get his name out there in prime time.
2. The Los Angelas Chargers have faced some tough offenses
The argument for the Chicago Bears to win this game is that the Los Angeles Chargers' defense is bad. However, the issue is that the Chargers defense has been tested. When you look at the Raiders, their defense may have been better on paper, but they played guys like Mac Jones and Jordan Love in recent weeks.
The Chargers have had a tougher stretch. They faced Miami in week one, when they had a few tricks up their sleeve. They got the Vikings with Justin Jefferson and the Titans with Ryan Tannehill. They even saw Treylon Burks healthy. When they faced the Raiders, the Raiders had their starting quarterback.
Then, the Chargers faced Dak Prescott and Patrick Mahomes in back-to-back weeks. Going from Prescott to Mahomes to Bagent will be a lot easier of an adjustment for the Chargers. Beyond that, there is more tape on Bagent now, so the team will be more prepared. The Bears will have to change things up this week because the Chargers defense has a great shot at rebounding.
1. The Los Angelas Chargers will be hungry
We wrote that the Chicago Bears may upset the Las Vegas Raiders. A lot of the reason was due to a schedule spot. The Raiders just beat Green Bay in a game that Davnate Adams got revenge on his old team. They did it on Monday Night Football, an emotional game in front of the masses. Then, a bunch of former Patriots played a tight game with their former team. The Raiders won both and had the Detroit Lions on Prime Time following a game with the Bears. Of all four games, of course, Chicago is the game that they failed to get up for.
For the Chargers, they are playing for their season. As noted, their schedule has been tough and they have not had many breaks. They are going from two of the best teams in the NFL to one of the worst. This team needs every win and is not coming off of two straight wins. They will be locked in and playing as if this is a playoff game, where the Raiders had a letdown after two playoff-type performances. Look for the Chicago Bears to feel high off of a home victory and lose to a Chargers team that finally gets a soft spot in the schedule and takes advantage.