Chicago Bears: 5 Bold predictions for Week 3 vs. Cardinals

The Chicago Bears defense dominates…again

The Chicago Bears’ famed Monsters of the Midway are here again. Through the first two games, they lead the league with 10 sacks. They ranked seventh last season with 42. They’re sure to surpass that number. Also, they already have two interceptions. They’ve had just eight in each of the last three seasons (all franchise lows).

That dominance should continue in Week 3. The defense is on a mission to show how great it can become. They’ll have plenty of opportunities to show it against Arizona. As I mentioned, Fitzgerald will probably not be at full strength.

No one else on that receiving corps is anyone to be worried about. Fitzgerald leads all Arizona receivers with 104 yards in two games. No one else has more than 39. In fact, the Cardinals are so desperate for receiving they called in former Chicago Bears receiver Kendall Wright for a look.

Look for Mack and company to overwhelm the Cardinals’ offensive line and get to quarterback Sam Bradford. Bradford isn’t a very mobile quarterback, a departure from Week 2 when the Bears had to deal with Russell Wilson‘s escapability. Watch for Bradford to take a lot of hits. With his injury history, we may see Josh Rosen take his first professional snaps.

David Johnson hasn’t shown much since coming back from his injury. He has just 85 yards in two games. One positive that’s gone unnoticed this season is the Bears rush defense. The unit ranks fourth in rushing attempts and yards, and ranks at the top in rushing touchdowns allowed — they haven’t allowed any yet. If he can’t get anything going, the Bears defense can just go after Bradford.

Hopefully, with the pass rush getting through, the secondary gets its act together. They’ve given up way too many big plays. On the touchdown to Seattle receiver Tyler Lockett in Week 2, Kyle Fuller was right on him. Yes, it was a good throw, but Fuller never looked back for the ball. If he turns his head, he can intercept the pass (maybe, since he has trouble grabbing passes), or at least breaking up the pass.

If there is one thing the defense needs to work on it’s giving up touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Of the 41 points the defense allowed, 35 of them came in the fourth quarter. That needs to change. I don’t believe they’ll have trouble with fourth-quarter scoring in this game, though.

Prediction: 156 total yards of offense allowed, 9 points allowed, 7 sacks, 2 interceptions