The Chicago Bears are 6-2, and they spend Sunday night at home in primetime against a 3-5 Buccaneers. The Bears stand to gain the lead in the NFC North provided they win, and the Minnesota Vikings lose to the Buffalo Bills. That sounds simple enough, but if you've followed this team all season, you know nothing about the Bears is ever simple. As such, here are three bold predictions for Sunday night's game.
Luther Burden III goes over 100 yards again
Burden put up 130 yards against New England the last time the Bears played in primetime, and he's only taken on more of the offense since then, with 19 catches for 281 yards and two touchdowns in the three games since Caleb Williams returned to the field.
Tampa Bay has to commit bodies to stopping the run, because that's what every team has to do against Chicago under Ben Johnson. When that happens, it must open up someone on the outside, and that someone has been Burden.
Rome Odunze finally scores a touchdown
Odunze has been a good receiver for Williams, posting 28 receptions, 468 yards, and a team best 16.7 yards per catch. But through eight weeks this season, he has still yet to scratch a touchdown. Coach Johnson keeps scheming Odunze open, the chances keep coming, but for whatever reason, it hasn't been in the cards yet. On Sunday night, in front of the national audience, the most due touchdown must finally happen.
Jeffery Simmons breaks the ground war
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers took the crown as the best rushing team in the NFL from the Bears only last week, after they posted a franchise record of 324 rushing yards against the Atlanta Falcons. The Bears only recently traded two first round picks to go and get Jeffery Simmons from the Tennessee Titans, and he's made an immediate impact.
In his Bears debut, Simmons recorded six tackles, a sack, two tackles for loss, and a pass defended. The bold call is two sacks from Simmons, and he'll help to hold the Buccaneers to under 100 rushing yards.
If the Bears can hit all three of these bold predictions, they'll be in a very good position to win this game and potentially take first place in their division. But if none of these three things happen, the Bears may just fall into their own trap.
| More Bears on DaWindyCity |
Add us as a preferred source on Google