The Atlanta Falcons are looking to bounce back from a tough overtime loss to the Baltimore Ravens when they host the Chicago Bears on Sunday.
Atlanta will look to earn its first home victory of the season against a Chicago team featuring quarterback Caleb Williams and the NFL’s No. 1 rushing offense. The Falcons On SI staff is unanimous in its prediction.
Falcons SI staff each enter the week with a 3-2 record on the season. Here is what each writer predicts for Sunday’s matchup.
Gerald Thomas, III (3-2)
Atlanta took a tough blow in its overtime loss to the Ravens last week. It was a reality check for sure, but also gave the Falcons direction of where to improve.
The Falcons win by stopping the Bears’ No. 1 rushing offense, led by D’Andre Swift. They will catch a break with the second head of the backfield monster, Kyle Monangai, being ruled out for his second straight game with turf toe and a thumb injury. Stop the run and get pressure on a returning-from-injury Caleb Williams, and Atlanta secures its first win at home for the year.
Prediction: Falcons 35, Bears 24
Scott Kennedy (3-2)
Michael Penix Jr. has been one of the best quarterbacks this season when he’s not pressured. The Bears haven’t been pressuring quarterbacks and are missing edge rusher Montez Sweat.
Penix keeps the defense honest with his arm, while Bijan Robinson does Bijan Robinson things. The defense contains the Bears No.1 rushing offense, but Caleb Williams has a big game on broken plays.
Falcons do enough to even their record.
Prediction: Falcons 27, Bears 22
Darius Hayes (3-2)
Caleb Williams’ return adds another layer to Sunday’s matchup as the Falcons look to respond after a tough overtime loss to the Ravens. Atlanta’s biggest challenge will be slowing down Chicago’s No. 1 ranked rushing offense after struggling to contain Baltimore on the ground last week.
I expect the Falcons to deliver a stronger defensive performance while getting their offense back on track. Atlanta should do enough on both sides of the ball to secure a hard fought victory, earn its first home win of the season and improve to 3-3.
Prediction: Falcons 31, Bears 23
Garrett Chapman (3-2):
The health of the two quarterbacks, Michael Penix Jr. (ribs) and Caleb Williams (hamstring), will ultimately dictate how this game goes. Both are set to play, but how healthy will they be? The Bears have shown some outrageous scoring spurts (59 points in Week 1), but it's been a rocky road since then because of various injuries. Atlanta's defensive line will need another big performance on Sunday.
Both secondaries have shown they can be exploited this season, but Penix needs to stay clean. If he can, the Falcons quarterback has been one of the best quarterbacks when not under pressure. The Bears have some pass rushers who are set to miss this game, so that could be the formula for a Falcons win.
Prediction: Falcons 24, Bears 20
Jerry Jones, Falcons Podcast (3-2)
As long as Penix is healthy (and plays like it), the Falcons offense is going to be tough for the Bears to match up against. The Bears are without their best defensive lineman, Montez Sweat, and honestly, their d-line is pretty bad even when he's healthy. The Bears' top corner, Jaylon Johnson, is having a bad start to the year, so I look for Drake London to have yet another big game.
While Caleb Williams' return is the big headline, the biggest test for the Falcons' defense will be whether they can contain the Bears' rushing attack. The Falcons' run defense got gashed by an elite Ravens rushing attack, and now they'll face a Bears rushing attack that's just as good.
Ultimately though, I trust the Falcons defense and Jeff Ulbrich to get some stops when they need them.
Prediction: Falcons 27, Bears 23
The game kicks off at 1 p.m. at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on FOX.
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