Week 6 Preview: Bears vs Ravens

The Mitchell Trubisky era finally began in Chicago last week, even though it started off with a 17-20 loss against the Minnesota Vikings. In true rookie fashion, Trubisky’s first touchdown came off a tipped pass that found its way to his receiver; but this Sunday, he may want to avoid tipped passes against the Ravens defense. Baltimore is coming off of a convincing road win against the Derek Carr-less Raiders, and Joe Flacco was able to find his stride with the deep ball again, which may start to open up this offense that has been pedestrian as of late. The Bears, however, have already beaten a tough opponent in the Steelers, and could make this another trap game for the Ravens.

How The Bears Win:

Trubisky will get his first official start this Sunday against Baltimore, but keeping his passing attempts to a minimum will be a key in this game. The less chances he has to make mistakes, the better. Running backs Tarik Cohen and Jordan Howard are going to need to have at least 40 combined carries between them in order to tire out that Ravens defense and open up the play action game. The Bears defense only allowed 70 rushing yards last week, and making the Ravens one dimensional is vital.

How The Ravens Win:

The Ravens are 11-0 against rookie quarterbacks under John Harbaugh, and have a whopping 17 takeaways in those games as well. I would expect veterans such as Eric Weddle and Tony Jefferson to cause confusion for Trubisky in the secondary, and Terrell Suggs is seemingly always ready to be a one-man welcoming crew for rookie signal callers.

The deep ball proved fruitful for the Ravens against the Raiders, and they will need to replicate that formula this Sunday, as the Ravens are not a team that can play well from behind. The offensive line of Baltimore played well against the Oakland, but being consistent enough to win down the stretch has not been the Ravens strong suit.

Prediction: Ravens 30, Bears 10