3 causes for concern as the Bears face the Falcons in Week 6

After their debacle against the Green Bay Packers, the Chicago Bears are trying to get their fourth win of the season against the Atlanta Falcons. On the bright side for the Bears, it seems like they will have starting quarterback Caleb Williams back for the first time since Week 2.

Chicago is currently favored over Atlanta. While the Falcons are sitting at 2-3, they are not a team the Bears should take lightly. Frankly, after last week, Chicago cannot take any team lightly. Atlanta lost their first two games of the season with a backup quarterback. With their starter, Michael Penix Jr., back in the lineup, the Falcons are 2-1 with the only loss being in overtime last week when backup Tua Tagovailoa threw the game-losing interception because Penix was injured.

However, Penix is expected to play this week. On the other side, Chicago is still dealing with some injury concerns, including defensive lineman Dayo Odeyingbo, who is week-to-week, running back Kyle Monangai, who has turf toe and linebacker T.J. Edwards who suffered a hamstring injury against the Packers.

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If the Bears are going to win this game and get to 4-2, they must address these concerns:

Easily the most difficult player to deal with on Atlanta’s roster is running back Bijan Robinson. Through the first five games of the season, he leads the NFL in rushing yards with 580 and has five touchdowns. He was already a massive problem for the Packers a few weeks ago with nearly 200 rushing yards and two touchdowns in that game. Chicago needs to contain Robinson and prevent him from getting in the open field if they are going to have a chance of winning this game. 

Ironically, one of the best pieces of Atlanta’s run defense is Gervon Dexter, who they acquired in a trade with the Bears for a fifth-round pick and a cornerback who has yet to play on defense. So far, the Falcons have certainly won his trade and the Bears now have to deal with the consequences. Chicago’s run game had their worst day of the season against the Packers last week and, if Monangai still cannot play, the Bears are at risk of having that be a problem again. Ben Johnson’s offensive scheme requires two healthy running backs and Roschon Johnson is not a good fill-in at that second running back spot. Having Williams back should help with this because of his ability to pick up yards on the ground. Still, Chicago will have to find a way to get the run game going, whoever the running backs end up being. 

Atlanta’s defense has generated a turnover in four out of five games this season. Meanwhile, the Bears turned the ball over five times in their last game and had multiple turnovers nullified by penalties in their Week 4 game against the New York Jets. Chicago’s turnovers put them in a hole early against the Packers and made the deficit impossible to come back from. If the Bears have the same problem against the Falcons, they could find themselves in a similar situation.

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