Predicting the Results of the Bears' Four Games in September
Week 3: Chicago Bears @ Indianapolis Colts
Sunday September 22
The Bears head to Indianapolis in Week 3 to face their third AFC South opponent in September. Like the Titans and Texans, the Colts also have a young quarterback in Anthony Richardson. Now entering his second year in the NFL, Richardson played only four games as a rookie before suffering a season-ending injury.
In those four games, Richardson showed how dangerous he is with his legs, rushing for 136 yards, four touchdowns, and 5.4 yards per attempt on 25 carries. While his rushing was electric Richardson was less effective as a passer. Richardson completed 59.5% of his throws (50 of 84) for 577 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception.
The good news for Richardson is that the Colts spent a second-round pick on Texas wide receiver Adonai Mitchell. Adding Mitchell rounds out a Colts receiver room that has Michael Pittman Jr. and Josh Downs nicely. The Colts also kept Jonathan Taylor, who is finally fully healthy. Surrounding Richardson with all these weapons should help him develop.
While the Colts offense has some promising talent, the same can't be said about their defense. Last season, the Colts finished with a middle-of-the-pack pass defense at 16 and a bottom-ten rush defense at 24. The Colts didn't make any significant changes to their defense in the offseason. So it's reasonable to expect them not to be good again this season.
Even though the Colts have a promising offense, the Bears' defense will be a huge challenge for them. Offensively, the Bears should dominate the Colts' defense, which should lead to a Bears blowout.