In writing up the preseason position-by-position previews last summer, we circled the Chicago Bears’ wide receivers as a strength on the offensive side of the ball. And while it hasn’t received too many opportunities to prove itself in the first two weeks, the group is well-positioned to put on for the Bears on Monday Night Football.
It’s just up to Mitch Trubisky to find them. And if ever there was a night to spread the wealth, tonight would be it.
Allen Robinson has emerged as Trubisky’s most targeted pass-catcher, and with good reason. Robinson runs every route from every possible spot on the field and has reliable hands. Even when he isn’t open, Robinson finds a way to get open. He has that kind of ability to make things happen when it doesn’t look like things will happen. With that in mind, Robinson is probably going to be shadowed in coverage by Josh Norman — Washington’s most talented cornerback.
According to Pro Football Focus’ data, Norman played shadow coverage in each of his first two games. In Week 1, Norman followed Alshon Jeffery on 94.4 percent of his routes and limited him to four catches and 44 yards. A week later, Norman was the primary coverage guy on Amari Cooper for 60.6 percent of his routes. On those plays, Dan Prescott threw at Cooper just once (and it was an incompletion).
In short, be careful throwing in Norman’s direction because it could end with great disappointment.
Game Info
Chicago Bears (1-1, 4th NFC North) at Washington (0-2, 4th NFC East), 7:15 CT, ESPN, WGN-TV (Joe Tessitore, Anthony “Booger” McFarland, Lisa Salters), WBBM-AM 780 and WCFS-FM 105.9 (Jeff Joniak, Tom Thayer, Mark Grote), Westwood One Radio (Kevin Harland, Kurt Warner, Ross Tucker)
Odds: Bears (-5), Over/Under 42.5, via the Westgate Superbook in Las Vegas.
Game Thread and Week 3 Preview
Your game thread is down in the comments, so let’s have some good, clean (safe-for-work) fun. And hopefully, the Bears can bounce back and give us something fun to talk about.
Your Week 3 Preview lives here.
Coaches
Matt Nagy (13-5) vs. Jay Gruden (35-46-1)
Starting Quarterbacks
Bears: Mitch Trubisky
Last week at Broncos: 16-27 (59.3%), 120 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, 70.0 rating
versus
Washington: Case Keenum
Last week vs. Cowboys: 26-37 (70.3%), 221 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT, 103.5 rating
Bears Inactives:
Inactives for #CHIvsWAS: pic.twitter.com/wza1XsP8Hc
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) September 23, 2019
Bears Expected Offensive Starters
Bears Expected Defensive Starters
Bears Specialists
Washington’s Inactives:
#Redskins inactives#CHIvsWAS pic.twitter.com/ax11xAvOhO
— Washington Redskins (@Redskins) September 23, 2019