My morning started on a positive note with word on Rome Odunze’s status leaning toward an increasing possibility that the Chicago Bears rookie wide receiver would give it a go on Sunday Night Football against the Houston Texans.
Unfortunately, that does not seem like it is the case for Keenan Allen:
During the NFL On FOX pregame show, league insider Jay Glazer said that Allen was “really more on the doubtful side” when it came to his game-day designation. More concerning is Glazer’s expectation that Keenan Allen won’t play tonight. Sure, Glazer believes that Odunze will play — but only after the team puts him through warm-ups and tests out that troublesome knee injury.
What will the Bears do without Keenan Allen?
At the start of this week, I would’ve thought the opposite of what we’re projected to see would be happening. Earlier in the week, I would’ve leaned toward there being a higher probability of Keenan Allen playing and Rome Odunze sitting out. But here we are on Sunday afternoon with the forecast looking better for the odds of Rome suiting up than they are for Keenan. Following the NFL can be such a fluid thing.
So … how does the cookie crumble if Keenan can’t go? Well, we began exploring what the Bears could do to fill the void if Rome Odunze was going to be out and I feel as if we can apply the same logic even if put Keenan Allen’s name in place of Rome Odunze’s.
If Keenan can’t play, the Bears should lean heavily on DJ Moore and Cole Kmet. Moore missed some time due to injury last week, but wasn’t on this week’s injury report and appears to be all-systems-go. Kmet was healthy last week, but played less than 50 percent of Chicago’s offensive snaps. Bears Offensive Coordinator Shane Waldron offered up an explanation and it seems as if the play-caller will look to right some wrongs this week. Frankly, I don’t care how the Bears offense scores. Whether it is by hook or by crook, just do it.