The primary prime-time Chicago Bears recreation of the season has arrived, and it is one that’s going to look a lot completely different than everybody anticipated. The Bears (1-1) enter Week 3 set to welcome the Philadelphia Eagles (2-0) to city on Monday Night time Soccer.
Chicago skilled the best of highs to begin the yr and is now coming off the bottom of lows in Week 2. The Bears fell to the Minnesota Vikings 9-3 within the pouring rain and noticed quarterback Caleb Williams undergo a hamstring damage that would hold him out a few weeks. Regardless that the damage is much less extreme than initially feared, it nonetheless possible means the Bears want to show to their backup quarterback. It stays to be seen which one, nevertheless.
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Backup quarterback Tyson Bagent missed a lot of the week whereas in concussion protocol however took a step on Saturday and returned to apply. In his absence, journeyman Case Keenum has been getting the vast majority of the reps and could possibly be in line to begin.
In the meantime, the Eagles are off to an undefeated begin whereas scoring precisely 24 factors every week. The reigning NFC East champions took care of enterprise in Nashville, narrowly defeating the Tennessee Titans 24-20 behind quarterback Jalen Hurts and the passing offense. Just like the Bears, the Eagles have damage questions that would impression their recreation plan on Monday evening on either side of the ball.
It has already been a chaotic week main as much as the sport, which may make Monday’s matchup one for the ages. Listed here are our daring predictions forward of Bears vs. Eagles.
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1. Case Keenum begins and turns into the oldest Bears QB to throw a TD
Whereas Bagent is making progress together with his concussion, I nonetheless do not anticipate him to begin whether or not he is cleared or not. He missed a lot of the week, and Keenum is greater than able to beginning this recreation. The Bears wind up naming Keenum the starter, and he’ll go on to have an enough recreation.
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It might be a shock to see him throw for 250 yards or something. Satirically, the final time that occurred was towards the Bears in 2019 when he was with the (then) Washington Redskins. I do anticipate Keenum to get no less than one landing, which might make him the oldest Bears quarterback to ever throw a landing move in a recreation. With the specter of the run recreation, Keenum will ship a play-action move for a brief rating.
2. D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai mix for 200 speeding yards
The final time these two groups met, D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai ran throughout them on their residence turf. Actually. The 2 Bears’ backs mixed for 255 yards on the bottom with two touchdowns to propel them to a 24-15 win. It was a wonderful recreation plan by head coach Ben Johnson, and the Bears have the personnel to do it once more.
With a backup quarterback in place, Johnson might want to lean on the bottom recreation, and happily Swift and Monangai are arguably the very best backfield duo within the league. They already ran over the Carolina Panthers in Week 1 and will have had extra success in Week 2 towards the Vikings had it not been for the terrible climate. The Eagles’ run protection is beneath common at greatest, rating twenty seventh in defensive rush EPA. The Bears can and may have a deadly run recreation towards their entrance.
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3. Sam Roush catches his first profession landing
You’ll in all probability anticipate rookie tight finish Sam Roush to see nothing however the finish of the bench after his efficiency on Sunday. Roush struggled with drops, penalties, and particular groups protection as effectively. He grew to become a pariah for Bears followers, and no one is de facto excited to have him see the sphere once more anytime quickly. Keenum in all probability is, although.
Keenum and Roush had a wonderful connection all through coaching camp, each in apply and the preseason. And in contrast to the opposite receivers the veteran quarterback had been working with, Roush truly sees recreation motion within the common season. Roush will get his redemption on Monday and join with Keenum for a rating.
4. Bears get no less than 4 sacks
The Eagles offense continues to be trying to find its identification early on with new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion. The working recreation has but to totally get going, and although Hurts has been strong by means of the air, there may be nonetheless a obvious weak point that would doom Philadelphia’s manufacturing: The offensive line.
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Hurts has been sacked six instances by means of two video games behind a shuffled offensive line following the damage to Landon Dickerson. The Eagles moved Cam Jurgens to protect and introduced in Drew Kendall at middle, successfully weakening two positions. Chicago’s move rush nonetheless hasn’t gotten a lot going, however there’s motive for optimism they present out on Monday. That they had effectiveness when shifting Dayo Odeyingbo inside with Austin Booker and Montez Sweat on the edge positions, and Dennis Allen is getting extra snug bringing rookies resembling Dillon Thieneman and Malik Muhammad right down to blitz.
This text initially appeared on Bears Wire: 4 daring predictions for Bears vs. Eagles
