Chicago Bears @ Indianapolis Colts – Week 3 Game Preview: Overview, Keys to Game, Insights
The Bears (1-1) offense struggled for a second consecutive week as they went down to their first defeat of the season against the Texans Sunday night by a score of 19-13. The defense again held its own, limiting talented young quarterback C.J. Stroud and Houston’s explosive attack all night.
Chicago’s very shaky offensive line isn’t giving rookie QB Caleb Williams much room to operate through two games. The first overall pick was sacked seven times by the Texans and was under pressure on over 75% of his pass attempts. The blocking problems also stifled any kind of a running game that could have helped ease the load on Williams.
The Bears continue their tour of the AFC South with a Week 3 matchup at Lucas Oil Stadium against the Colts (0-2) this Sunday. The big story for Indianapolis has been their inexperienced signal-caller Anthony Richardson, who has shown flashes of his immense talent but also frustrating mistakes that have proven costly.
Stud running back Jonathan Taylor has had two injury-filled years since running for 1811 yards in 2021 but he appears healthy so far in 2024. The Colts biggest receiving threat is Michael Pittman Jr. who had a 1000 yard season in 2023.
Indianapolis has had major problems defensively the first two games of the season allowing a whopping 474 yards on the ground, that’s an average of 237 yards a game. Obviously, that would not be sustainable for an entire season. Combined with the passing yards they have surrendered, it’s a total of 800 yards in just two games.
The Bears certainly have a chance to win this game and possibly get some traction on offense against a very questionable Indy defense. Of course, Colts players and coaches are probably thinking the same thing about Matt Eberflus’ squad.
At the very least, hopefully, there will be some better Chicago blocking and some room for Williams to make some more positive plays.
Where to Watch/Listen
- Sunday, September 22 at 12:00pm CT on CBS, WBBM Radio (English), and WRTO Radio (Spanish).
Keys to Victory
Here are my keys to Sunday’s game. If these things happen, the Bears should have a shot to win.
- Establish the running game early. Khalil Herbert and D’Andre Swift haven’t done much the first couple weeks of the season. The Bears have to lean on them against the bad Indianapolis run defense. As an added bonus, it will also make it easier for Williams by mitigating the pass rush.
- Capitalize on Richardsons’ mistakes. The Colts quarterback has a tremendous throwing arm, great speed, and runs with power. Those assets are somewhat limited by the fact that he makes a lot of mistakes and is turnover prone. Chicago will have to jump on those opportunities when they pop up.
- Get D.J. Moore more touches. The Bears number one receiver has been getting targeted in the passing game but he only has one rushing attempt in two games. Using his dynamic speed with reverses and jet sweeps could really help to unlock the running game.
Don’t Tell Me the Odds
The Bears are 1.5 point underdogs in Indianapolis Sunday afternoon. The over/under of 43.5 is a bit on the low side but still around average for an NFL game.
It’s Football Weather
Lucas Oil Stadium is the second consecutive domed stadium Chicago will play in, so once again, weather is not a factor.
My Prediction
This is a very close matchup between two evenly matched opponents with inexperienced quarterbacks. I think the Bears will be able to establish a bit of a run game against the porous Colts defensive front and take some pressure off of Williams. So I’m going for a mild upset with a 21-17 Chicago road victory.
Official Bears Preview
