The Chicago Bears pulled off a huge win in Minnesota. Suddenly just when their season appeared dead, they have a clear path to the playoffs. It comes down to this. They must win their final two games and need the Arizona Cardinals to lose one of their final two. Simple, yes. Easy? That’s another story. One of those victories the Bears need will be against Green Bay, a team that has owned them for years now and just got done dismissing them 41-25 in their first meeting.
Yet the Bears know they can’t afford to think about the Packers right now. They have business to take care of first this Sunday. It involves a trip down to Jacksonville for a game against the Jaguars. Now anybody and everybody will say the Bears will win this matchup. For good reason too. Jacksonville is 1-13 this season and currently in control of the #1 overall pick in 2021.
They have very little incentive to go out and win.
That being said, head coach Matt Nagy is no fool. He understands the very real threat of “trap games” in the NFL. Everybody saw what happened last week when the winless New York Jets stunned the Los Angeles Rams 23-20. The Bears can’t afford to look past the Jaguars regardless of what their record is. That being said? It appears their odds of winning just went up.
Last week the Jaguars suffered a big setback when star rookie running back James Robinson left the game with an ankle injury. While there’s no official update yet, Dr. Jesse Morse of Fantasy Doctors revealed the man appears to have suffered a high ankle sprain. This means he is likely to miss the Bears game.
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Chicago Bears have one less headache to worry about
Things have proven tough for the Bears defense in recent weeks. They’ve suffered some injuries and continue to struggle to stop the run. Dalvin Cook racked up 132 yards and a touchdown on Sunday in Minnesota. Green Bay railroaded them for 182 yards on the ground a few weeks ago. So make no mistake. Stopping Robinson was going to be a major focus for them in this game.
The rookie had rushed for 1,070 yards this season including seven touchdowns. He also scored three additional touchdowns as a receiver. A true complete threat out of the backfield. Not bad for an undrafted free agent. With him out, the team will have to turn to backup Dare Ogunbowale who has just four carries this season. He’s averaged 2.7 yards per carry for his NFL career.
Translation? Expect Gardner Minshew to throw a lot.
Jacksonville also may play into the Chicago Bears hands another way. Their run defense is 30th in the NFL this season. David Montgomery just got done trampling the Vikings for 146 yards and two touchdowns. Presuming the Bears maintain their identity of feeding him the ball? They could end up having another big afternoon on the ground. The bottom line is if this team plays at the same level they have the past two weeks, they should not only beat Jacksonville but beat them handily.
