The Chicago Bears look to rebound from an ugly, humiliating loss to the Green Bay Packers while going on the road for the second straight week.
This time, they should get starting QB Caleb Williams back. But he’s going to have a fight on his hands.
The Atlanta Falcons have an explosive offense with stars Drake London and Bijan Robinson.
Robinson is making a case for being one of, if not the, best running back in the league. Certainly among elite company like Kenneth Walker III, Jahmyr Gibbs, Derrick Henry and James Cook.
Michael Penix Jr., the quarterback taken seven spots after Williams, is a great facilitator for Kevin Stefanski’s offense. He looks set to play despite a rib injury suffered late against the Ravens last week. Penix’s biggest issue over his first three seasons has been availability. Sunday will be his 16th start and 18th overall game.
Let’s dive a little deeper into the Falcons and their history against Chicago.
Atlanta Falcons
SB Nation site: The Falcoholic
Record: 2-3, second in the NFC South
Last week: 30-23 loss in OT to the Ravens
Game day, time, TV: Sunday, noon CT, FOX
Spread: Bears -1.5
Bears all-time record against: 16-14
Historical meetings: The Bears and Falcons met in week 6 of the 2013 season with both teams at 2-3.
The teams traded field goals, but Chicago found the end zone first with a 3-yard pass to Josh Morgan from Jay Cutler.
This game ended up being a Bears-career high in passing yards for Cutler. He threw for 381 yards but just one touchdown.
However, they had two 100-yard receiving games from Brandon Marshall (113) and Alshon Jeffery (136). Matt Forte rushed for two touchdowns.
A late Matt Ryan interception helped seal it and the Bears won 27-13.
Last meeting: Remember when there was very brief excitement that Matt Eberflus was building something?
Week 17 of the 2023 season, the Bears moved to 7-9 when they stomped the Falcons 37-17 at Soldier Field.
Taylor Heinicke threw three interceptions and was eventually benched for Desmond Ridder, who also threw a pick.
Justin Fields threw a touchdown to DJ Moore, who had 159 yards. Fields also rushed for a touchdown, along with Khalil Herbert and Roschon Johnson. Herbert also had 124 yards.
Injury report: The Falcons had three players on their Wednesday injury report.
Did not participate
- CB C.J. Henderson (groin)
Limited participation
- LB Divine Deablo (hamstring)
- DE Za’Darius Smith (concussion/neck)
Offense: The Falcons offense ranks 13th in points and 10th in yards.
Their rushing offense ranks second and their passing offense ranks 21st.
The Falcons have gotten hot offensively since Michael Penix (67.5 pct. cmp./719 yds./3 TD/1 INT) came back.
It helps to have Bijan Robinson (102 att./580 yds./4 TD), who leads the league in rushing.
And Drake London (27 rec./488 yds./0 TD), who averages 18.1 yards per reception but somehow has no touchdowns.
Bijan (18 rec./152 yds./1 TD) is actually their second-leading receiver. Followed by TE Kyle Pitts (10/109/1) and Jahan Dotson (8/149/1). Austin Hooper (5/40/1), Zachariah Branch (7/46/0) and former Bear Olamide Zaccheaus (4/17/0) are also role players.
Behind Bijan is the other B. Robinson, Brian (51/210/4), who gets a fair share of carries inside the red zone.
Defense: The Falcons defense ranks 21st in points and 16th in yards.
Their rushing defense ranks fourth and their passing defense ranks 27th.
S Xavier Watts (34 tkl/1 INT/2 PD/1 FF), LB Divine Deablo (16 tkls/1 PD/1 TFL/2 QB hits), CB Mike Hughes (25 tkls/1 TFL/3 PD) and CB C.J. Henderson (25 tkls/1 TFL/6 PD/1 FF) are the tackling leaders.
S Jessie Bates III (24 tkls/2 PD/1 FR) and Za’Darius Smith (2.5 sk/4 TFL/3 QB hits) are two of the bigger names on the unit, but there is plenty of talent elsewhere, too.
Cameron Thomas (2 sk/10 QB hits/1 TFL/1 FF) and Samson Ebukam (2.5 sk/9 QB hits/2 TFL) are among the leading pass-rushers.
Gervon Dexter (0.5 sk/2 TFL/3 QB hits) is making himself comfortable in Atlanta’s defensive scheme, too.
Key matchups: The defense is going to have its hands full with Atlanta’s playmakers. Bijan is tough for any team to contain. Combine him with London, who is a threat all over the field, and Dennis Allen’s unit will have its hands full.
Until last week’s Ravens game, the Falcons have held opponents’ rushing attack in check. It was opponents’ aerial attacks that were doing damage. Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams will have to find the right balance to keep the Bears on the field, minimize Atlanta’s time of possession, while scoring as many points as they can. The Bears can hang in a shootout, but Chicago will want the ball last.
Key stats
- The Falcons’ offense has turned the ball over in four of their five games.
- Atlanta has allowed nine passing touchdowns to three rushing touchdowns. The nine passing TD is tied for the fifth-most in the league.
- Opponents have the second-most pass attempts in the league against Atlanta, behind only Detroit. Atlanta has just one interception on the season, as well.
- The Falcons offense has the second-fewest pass attempts in the league and the second-most rushing attempts.
- While Chicago’s red zone offensive woes are well-documented, Atlanta ranks seventh in offensive red zone scoring, getting in 69.2 percent of their trips.