Key fact: The Ravens’ defense has had its way with rookie quarterbacks at home (11-0 in the Harbaugh era.)
WHAT: Week Six vs. Chicago Bears
WHEN: 1 p.m. (ET); Sunday, October 15
WHERE: M&T Bank Stadium; Baltimore (71,008)
RECORDS: Bears, 1-4; Ravens, 3-2
LIFETIME SERIES (regular season): Bears lead, 3-2; home team has won every game
TV: WBFF-TV (Channel 45) (Sam Rosen, Ronde Barber, booth; Kristina Pink, sidelines)
RADIO: WIYY-FM, 97.9 (Gerry Sandusky, Stan White, Todd Heap)
REFEREE: Ed Hochuli
About the Bears
—The Chicago Bears are the league’s charter franchise, having operated in each of the league’s 97-plus seasons. The team began as the Decatur Staleys, the nickname taken from the surname of the team owner and sponsor. Chicago has won nine overall NFL championships, the second-most of all-time (Green Bay, 13) and two Super Bowl appearances. The Bears won Super Bowl XX over New England and fell to Indianapolis in Super Bowl XLI.
—Chicago has finished first in its division 22 times, tied with Pittsburgh for third-most (three behind record-holder Green Bay), and has made a total of 25 postseason appearances (tied with San Francisco for fifth-most). Since the NFC North was formed in 2002, the Bears have won it three times (2005, 2006, 2010). The Bears have not made the playoffs in seven years. They finished 10-6 in 2012 but lost out on tie breakers.
—When the Baltimore Colts were part of the NFL, they were part of the Western Conference alongside the Bears. That was before the 1970 merger. The Colts were 21-13 against Chicago. The Bears haven’t won a game in Baltimore since 1965 and haven’t beaten a Baltimore-based NFL team since 1966.
—Chicago was the first team the Ravens faced in 2001 when Baltimore began defense of its Super Bowl XXXV title. The Ravens won, 17-6, just two days before the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Recently, bad weather has been a hallmark of the meetings between these two teams. There was raw, steady rain at Soldier Field in 2005; back-to-back blizzards in 2009 that forced the Bears to delay their flight to Baltimore; and a nearly two-hour tornado-provoked weather delay in Chicago in 2013 when the Bears rallied to beat Baltimore in OT.
—The Bears make no bones about celebrating their rich history, having officially retired 14 jersey numbers, which is more than any other franchise. They also lead the league in Pro Football Hall of Fame players. Twenty-seven inductees have played for the Bears at some point in their careers. Chicago also has 745 regular-season wins all-time, which also ranks first in the league.
—Last year, the Bears finished 3-13 with three losing streaks of three games each, broken up by wins. That performance was followed by four straight losses to end the campaign. One of their biggest weaknesses was fading late in games. The Bears allowed 123 fourth-quarter points in 2016. Despite leaky late-game defense, only six of their losses were by double-digit margins.
—Third-year head coach–and Virginia Beach native–John Fox (10-27 with Chicago, 137-123 career) is only the 15th man to hold the job in Bears history. He served as DC for the New York Giants when they lost to the Ravens in Super Bowl XXXV. As head coach, he is 4-2 against Baltimore. Fox has also made two Super Bowl appearances–losing both with Carolina in Super Bowl XXXVIII and Denver in Super Bowl XLVIII. Among his assistants are former Baltimore Stars and Ravens assistant, Vic Fangio (DC), and ex-Ravens assistant Jeremiah Washburn (O-line).
—Through five games, Chicago is ranked 27th in total offense (12th rushing, 28th passing, 30th scoring) and sixth in total defense (13th vs. rush, eighth vs. pass, 12th scoring). The Bears have the league’s second-best red-zone offense (66.7 TD percentage) but are fifth-worst in third-down defense. The team allows conversions on 45.5% of those plays. They also don’t start halves well, having scored just nine-first quarter points all year and seven in the third. Chicago has scored only 78 points all season. On the road, Chicago has allowed 26.8 points per game over the past four years–the league’s fourth-worst rate during that span.
—The Bears have committed 38 accepted penalties through five games, three more than the Ravens and tied for the league’s fifth-most with Houston and the Los Angeles Chargers. Chicago has had nine offensive holding calls (tied for the third-most) and nine defensive holding penalties (tied for the league high with Kansas City). The Bears’ minus-9 turnover ratio is the league’s worst. They are one of three teams without an interception this year (Miami and Oakland are the other two teams), and Chicago’s 12 total giveaways are second only to Cleveland’s 13.
—Rookie quarterback and 2017 second overall draft pick, Mitch Trubisky, will get his second NFL start against the Ravens, and his first on the road. In his first start–against the Vikings on Monday Night Football–Trubisky was 12-for-25 for 128 yards a TD, an INT, and a passer rating of 60.1. He is quite mobile. Eight of his 25 throws came from outside the pass pocket. Rookie quarterbacks playing in Baltimore since 2008 have thrown just three touchdown passes and 17 interceptions. They’ve also been sacked 30 times. Trubisky and safety Ed Jackson are the only two Chicago rookie starters.
—Jordan Howard, a 2016 fifth-round pick from Indiana, keys the Bears’ ground game. He is one of only four offensive starters to have begun all five games this year. The Bears are injury-riddled with nine players on the IR. Howard, who has rushed for 328 yards and four scores, is averaging four yards per carry. Rookie Tarik Cohen is averaging 5.4 yards per attempt.
—Thanks to quarterback uncertainty and youth, the Bears’ passing game has been dormant. Only four plays have covered 20 or more yards all season, and no play has traveled more than 29 yards. RB Cohen. who’s the team’s leading receiver with 25 catches (second among NFL rookies), is averaging only 5.8 yards per reception. Kendall Wright leads the wideouts with 18 catches for 200 yards. TE Zach Miller, one of only two Bears to join the team before 2014, has 16 grabs. Former Ravens speedster, Deonte Thompson, who’s also a return specialist, has 11 catches.
—The Bears’ offensive line is experienced but hasn’t played to a high level. That line has allowed nine sacks, eight of them under former QB starter Mike Glennon. LT Charles Leno, Jr. has committed three false starts and two holding penalties. Center Cody Whitehair has three holds of his own. LG Josh Sitton is a former Green Bay Packer, who’s in his tenth year in the league; and right-siders Kyle Long and Bobby Massie are, respectively, in their fifth and sixth seasons. Long was the team’s 2013 first-round pick.
—With Fangio as the coordinator, the Bears play a 3-4 defense that has proven effective at stopping the run. Chicago has allowed only six rushes of ten or more yards all year with no rush longer than 14 yards. DE Akiem Hicks (team-high four sacks) and NT Eddie Goldman are two of just five defensive players that have started all five games for the team.
—Nick Kwaitkowski and Danny Trevathan are the Bears’ inside linebackers. Trevathan is returning from a one-game suspension. As a Denver Bronco, he picked off the Ravens’ Joe Flacco in the 2013 season opener–but then mistakenly fumbled the ball before reaching the end zone. An ex-Flacco teammate, Pernell McPhee, moved to Chicago as an unrestricted free agent in 2015 and starts at outside linebacker. He has two sacks and a forced fumble in the last four games.
—The Bears’ secondary has a definite Baltimore flavor. Even though he’s not listed as a starter, CB Kyle Fuller (Mt. St. Joseph’s) leads the team in solo tackles (21) and total stops (23). He backs up Marcus Cooper. New York Giants first-rounder, Prince Amukamara, is on the other side. Rookie safety Jackson starts alongside veteran safety and Calvert Hall alumnus. Adrian Amos, who’s going for a third straight game with at least eight tackles.
—Punter Pat O’Donnell grosses 47 yards per kick but, due to a coverage team that is allowing over ten yards per return, his net average is barely over 39 yards per attempt. O’Donnell engineered a perfect fake last week for his first career TD pass. Veteran kicker Connor Barth has attempted only four field goals all season. He has missed two attempts in the 40-to-49-yard range. A symptom of the team’s poor third-down defense, Bears’ opponents are 9-for-10 on field-goal tries.
—The Bears’ return game is ordinary. Cohen, the principal punt returner, has called five fair catches on 17 punts and has not run any return for more than 17 yards. Thompson has run back 11 kicks at a 20.8-yard pace, but none of them has covered more than 29 yards.
Prediction
Four factors loom large. On offense, the Ravens appeared revived in Oakland. Now they face a Bears defense that isn’t as good as the Raiders’. Baltimore’s own defense usually has its way with rookie quarterbacks at home; they are 11-0 against them in the Harbaugh era. Trubisky is coming off a Monday-night game.
If the Ravens stop the Bears’ run game better than Pittsburgh did, this game should be no contest.
Ravens 23, Bears 10
