The Unavoidable Comparison Game: CHIEFS at BEARS – December 22, 2019

The Bears aren’t going to the playoffs, but they still get the prime-time treatment from NBC.

What a time to be alive.

It’s a battle of the first two quarterbacks taken in the 2017 NFL Draft led by head coaches who are close friends and former co-workers. So even though the Bears don’t have much to play for, this should be an easy game to get up for when it kicks off on Sunday night.

Never Tell Me The Odds:

The Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas lists the Bears as a 6-point home underdogs against the Chiefs with an over/under set at 44.5. That is as high of a total we have seen in a Bears game for a while. Proceed with caution.

Series History:

The Bears lead the all-time series 7-5, which is impressive if you consider the Bears have been outscored 224-185 over the course of the series between the two teams.

Game Time, Broadcast Info, Officiating Crew:

Location: Soldier Field

Broadcast Info: Sunday, December 22 at 7:20 CT on NBC-TV (Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Michelle Tafoya), WBBM-AM 780 and WCFS-FM 105.9 (Jeff Joniak, Tom Thayer, Mark Grote), Westwood One (Kevin Kugler, Brian Griese)

Referee: Carl Cheffers

Expected Starters and Lineups:

Bears Offense Expected Starters:

QB Mitch Trubisky

RB David Montgomery

WR Allen Robinson II

WR Anthony Miller

WR Javon Wims

TE Jesper Horsted

LT Charles Leno Jr.

LG James Daniels

C Cody Whitehair

RG Rashaad Coward

RT Cornelius Lucas

Bears Defense Expected Starters:

DT Roy Robertson-Harris

NT Eddie Goldman

DE Bilal Nichols

OLB Khalil Mack

ILB Nick Kwiatkoski

OLB Leonard Floyd

CB Kevin Toliver II

CB Kyle Fuller

CB Buster Skrine

S Eddie Jackson

S Ha Ha Clinton-Dix

Bears Specialists: 

Eddy Piñeiro (kicker), Pat O’Donnell (punter, holder), Patrick Scales (long snapper), Cordarrelle Patterson (kick returner), Tarik Cohen (punt returner)

Chiefs Offense Expected Starters:

QB Patrick Mahomes

RB Damien Williams

WR Tyreek Hill

WR army Watkins

WR Demarcus Robinson

TE Travis Kelce

LT Eric Fisher

LG Andrew Wylie

C Austin Reiter

RG Laurent Duvernay-Tardif

RT Mitchell Schwartz

Chiefs Defense Expected Starters:

LDE Tanoh Kpassagnon

LDT Chris Jones

RDT Derrick Nnadi

RDE Frank Clark

WLB Anthony Hitchens

MLB Reggie Ragland

SLB Damien Wilson

LCB Bashaud Breeland

RCB Charvarius Ward

FS Juan Thornhill

SS Tyrann Mathieu

Chiefs Specialists:

Harrison Butker (kicker), Dustin Colquitt (punter, holder), James Winchester  (long snapper), Tyreek Hill (kick, punt returns)

Keep An Eye On …

Bears Offense: Mitch Trubisky has been far more successful at home (63.2%, 32 TD, 15 INT, 91.2 rating) than on the road (63.7%, 16 TD, 14 INT, 81.3 rating) in his career. So while he didn’t put up a big game when the Bears needed it against the Packers, I’m curious to see how he does in this prime-time affair.

Bears Defense: Kyle Fuller isn’t having a great year, but still landed a spot among the Pro Bowl alternates. A strong game against the likes of Tyreek Hill and Sammy Watkins would go a long way toward justifying his selection.

Chiefs Offense: Patrick Mahomes is the obvious choice here, if only because there isn’t a Bears fan around who hasn’t wondered what this thing would look like had the Bears nabbed him and not Mitch Trubisky.

Chiefs Defense: Kendall Fuller is Kyle’s brother and has traditionally been a darn good slot corner. But as we pointed out in a piece highlighting Anthony Miller’s excellence, slot receivers have been doing work against their counterparts. It will be up to Kendall Fuller to put Miller off his game. If he can’t, another breakout performance for the Bears’ second-year receiver could be on the horizon.