Bears vs. Ravens: Preview, score prediction for Week 6

Chicago Bears vs. Baltimore Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens will host the Chicago Bears in Week 6 of the 2017 NFL season. The Ravens are coming off of a 30-17 road win over the Oakland Raiders in Week 5. With that win, Baltimore now shares the top spot in the division with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Bears will be looking to improve upon rookie quarterback Mitchell Trubisky’s debut after a 20-17 home loss to division rival Minnesota Vikings.

Trubisky looked good for stretches of Monday’s game considering the circumstances of making his NFL debut in primetime against one of the best defenses in the NFL. However, an interception by Harrison Smith with less than three minutes left allowed the Vikings to kick a game-winning field goal.

Will Chicago and their young quarterback be able to pull off a shocker on the road come Sunday?

Keys to Victory

The Bears will need to find a way to take pressure off of Trubisky in order to get the best performance out of him. Minnesota’s defense, which Trubisky faced in his debut, may be ranked seventh in total yards allowed and eighth in points allowed, but they only rank 20th in passing yards allowed. Trubisky will be in for another tough test as he faces a Ravens defense that ranks ninth in the league in passing yards allowed and tenth in points allowed.

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Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen will need to produce more in the run game against this defense. If the Bears can run the ball effectively, it will allow Trubisky more freedom in the passing game to utilize play action and boots, which is the when he has proved most effective. With Carolina on the schedule next week, Trubisky is facing three of the league’s best defenses in his first three starts. Chicago desperately needs to find a gameplan that allows Trubisky to excel at his strengths while minimizing the potential rookie mistakes he could make.

As for the Ravens, they need to prove they are still a defense capable of forcing turnovers, especially with a rookie quarterback on the other side. Baltimore looked like one of the best defense’s in the league as they forced 10 turnovers in their first two games. However, the Ravens have only forced one fumble and one interception over the last three weeks.

Baltimore is a team that relies on a conservative offense and elite defense to win games. That is a formula that works best if the defense is able to force more turnovers than the offense has. Joe Flacco has thrown four interceptions in the same span that the defense has forced one. If the plan is to rely on their defense for wins, Baltimore needs to prove they can still force turnovers.

Betting Odds

Point Spread: Baltimore -6
Moneyline: Baltimore -280, Chicago +23-
Over/Under: 39.5

All betting odds provided by BookMaker via Sportsbook Review

Next: NFL 2017: Picks against the spread for Week 6

Score Prediction

While Trubisky looked promising in his NFL debut, the Bears haven’t been great on the road this season. The Bears have been outscored 64-21 in just two road games this season, compared to being outscored 60-57 at home. The Ravens are also a team known to play better at home, with a 7-3 record since the start of 2016. Trubisky may be the future of Chicago football, but he struggles this week on the road.

Final Score: Chicago Bears: 10, Baltimore Ravens: 24