Week 3- Bears vs Seahawks game breakdown

Cardinals vs Bears, injured/competitive Bears get the win

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The Chicago Bears will have some injuries going into Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals but will come out with their first win of the season.

Bears wide receiver Alshon Jeffrey, defensive lineman Ego Ferguson, and outside linebacker Pernell McPhee all sat out of Fridays practice and are listed as questionable for Sunday’s game. Jeffrey is dealing with a hamstring injury, Ferguson has a knee injury, and McPhee has a (wrist/knee) injury.

The Bears played a competitive game right to the very end with the Green Bay Packers last week and will look to do the same against the Cardinals.

Offensive: The Bears will have to run the ball effectively to beat the Cardinals. The Bears rushed for 189 yards and had time of possession for 31:59 against the Packers last week. The formula of running the ball and keeping Green Bay's quarterback Aaron Rodgers off the field, kept the Bears in the game, until the interception by Bears quarterback Jay Cutler switched the entire momentum of the game.

The Bears will have to run the ball with running back Matt Forte and keep the time of possession in their favor if they want to beat the Cardinals.

Look for offensive coordinator Adam Gase to use the quick and short passing game to move the ball when the Cardinals decide to stack the box with eight or more players to try and stop the run. Tight end Martellus Bennett, slot receiver Eddie Royal, and Forte are the players to watch this week.

Defensive: The Bears will have to apply pressure on Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer if they want to be successful. The Bears weren’t able to apply pressure last week on Rodgers so they need to find a way this week.

Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio will have dial up some blitzes to get to Palmer and force him to make quick throws. If the Bears can get pressure this will help out the secondary that struggled last week.

The defensive players to watch are cornerback Kyle Fuller and linebacker Jared Allen.

Outcome: If the Bears can run the ball effectively and apply pressure on Palmer, the Bears will get the win. Final score 24-27, Bears.  

Bears vs Packers will turn out ugly

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The Bears will start their season against the Packers and just like in years past, the result will be the same, the Bears will lose.

According to USA Today, The Bears are projected to be the worst team in football this year. Making a case for the Bears to beat the Packers is unlikely.

Offense: The Bears offensively have injuries, remain inconsistent, and don’t have the fire power to match the Packers.

Receivers Alshon Jeffrey, Eddie Royal, and Marquess Wilson remain questionable for the Bears home opener. Offensive coordinator Adam Gase will have to change how he calls plays to accommodate for the injured receivers.

Quarterback Jay Cutler has played inconsistent his whole career against the Packers.

Cutler has a 1-11 lifetime record against the Packers. Cutler in the 12 starts against the Packers has thrown 22 interceptions. With another new offensive coordinator, who knows if the turnover issue will be resolved.

To add on to the chaos, Right guard Kyle Long switched positions and now is the starting right tackle. Long didn’t take one snap at tackle the entire preseason.

For Sunday’s game look for Gase to utilize running back Matt Forte and tight end Martellus Bennett. Both Forte and Bennett had solid games against the Packers last year in Soldier Field. With only two healthy weapons for the Bears, the offensive will struggle.

There is nothing positive going into this game that could give Bears’ fans hope of beating the Packers.

Defense: Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has had success against quarterback Aaron Rodgers, but the Bears haven’t.

Fangio has played Rodgers four times and has never lost. Fangio at the time with the 49ers had arguably one of the top five defensive teams in football. This isn’t the case with the Bears. Questions remain at each position, with players playing at positions they haven’t played their entire career.

Jared Allen is one the players who has transitioned from defensive end to outside linebacker. It will be interesting to see if the veteran player can make a smooth transition.

Starting nose tackle Jeremiah Ratliff will miss the first three games of the season serving a suspension and this forces either rookie Eddie Goldman or Will Sutton to fill the role. Both Goldman and Sutton are young and inexperienced and that could be disastrous against Rodgers.

The Bears played inconsistent in the preseason, making it hard to distinguish what they can do. The first team defense gave up opening touchdown drives to the Dolphins and Bengals and with Rodgers coming to town, the outcome could be the same.

The Bears corners and linebackers also did not play particularly well in the preseason. Even without Jordy Nelson, the Packers will do what they please with a work in progress Bears defense.

Rodgers is going to have a field day against the Bears resulting in the first loss of the season.