Chicago Bears vs LA Chargers: Catching the last train

One player can make a difference

You might think that I'm talking about Mitchell Trubisky, but he's hardly been a difference-maker for the Bears since getting drafted. This offense has been underperforming this year, regardless of who played the quarterback. I'm looking at the other side of the ball. Their defense looked like the most dominant unit in the league for the first couple of weeks. Opposing coaches couldn't find a weakness to attack, but that changed since Akiem Hickes went down with an elbow injury.

After keeping opposing offenses to under 90 yards on the ground in the first 4 weeks (2 of those under 50), they've allowed back-to-back 150+ yard rushing efforts in the last two games. They've been dominated at the point of attack by both the Raiders and the Saints. That is something I didn't expect to happen to this defense, especially not this soon after such a strong start of the season. But Hicks has obviously been a key run-stopper in the middle of that front and they need to find some solutions fast, so they can stop this losing streak and stay in the hunt. Losing another one and falling to 3-4 would probably mean they're out of contention for NFC North title.

Crazy ending in Music City

I'm referring to the last week's game in Nashville, where the Titans hosted the Chargers. The team from Los Angeles was driving late in the game in an attempt to score a game-winning touchdown. They were inside the one-yard line, 10 seconds left on the clock. Handoff to Melvin Gordon, he fumbles it and the win stays home. The irony here is that Gordon was holding out for the first 5 weeks of the season in an attempt to get a contract extension. Chargers were happy to get him back a couple of weeks ago, but he ultimately cost them the game in Tennessee.

They already have more losses this year, comparing to the last season (12-4). Standing at 2-5, it's quite unlikely that they will return to the playoffs this year. Especially out of AFC West where Kansas City is holding onto a 1st place firmly and the Raiders playing some very good football this year. They had issues at many positions so far, but the OL was probably the biggest mess out of them all. They are losing the battle in both phases of the offense. Pouncey is on the IR. Forrest Lamp joined him there this week. Russell Okung might return today, but according to their coaching staff, he is still not ready for the entire game.

Bears vs Chargers best bet

After getting owned by the Raiders and the Saints, I believe that the Chargers are the first team that will not be able to take advantage of Hicks' absence. if we look at the stats, since Gordon return in week 5, he carried the ball 36 times for 81 yards. For an average gain of 2.2 yards per carry. That is shockingly bad and shows how bad was that Bolts' OL at creating running room for their backs.

When it comes to passing the ball, Rivers has been under pressure way too often this year. Bears have a solid combination of pass rush and coverage that works well together and could force some turnovers from Rivers today. I don't trust Trubisky, but I think that he won't be asked to do too much here. The defense will set up everything and he just needs to push his team over the finish line.