Chicago Bears: Keys to Victory in Week 2 vs. The Cincinnati Bengals

The Chicago Bears have their home opener against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 2. They want to atone for their loss in Week 1. Here are some ways they can do just that.

The Chicago Bears have their home opener against the Cincinnati Bengals this Sunday. The Los Angeles Rams had their way with Chicago in their Week 1 matchup. The Bears try to bounce back after they gave a bad showing on primetime television.

This is the second time quarterback Andy Dalton faces his former team. He led the Dallas Cowboys to a 30-7 victory last season, completing 16 of 23 passes for 185 yards and 2 touchdowns. He looks for another victory this week.

It will be interesting to see what reception Dalton receives when he hits the field. Chicago Bears fans continue to voice their desire for rookie Justin Fields to be the starter. The calls keep getting louder by the day. If he struggles on Sunday, it could get ugly.

Many people consider this a fairly easy game for the Bears to win. Yes, the Bengals won just six games in the past two full seasons. They went 1-6-1 on the road last season and own a record of 1-14-1 on the road in their two seasons under head coach Zach Taylor. However, they already won their first game of this season. They beat the Minnesota Vikings 27-24 in overtime. They hope to get their first road victory as well. This could very well be a close game throughout.

Here are some keys for the Bears to come away with a victory.

The defense must bring a lot of pressure

The Chicago Bears were unable to get to Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford. They sacked him just once and he had enough time to throw bombs downfield. This week, that has to change.

If the Bears want to protect their porous secondary, the guys up front need to get to Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow. This is a great game for the Bears pass rush to look good. Burrow suffered 32 sacks last season, ninth-most in the NFL. That happened despite Burrow playing only 10 games. The Bengals allowed 48 total sacks last season. Things haven’t changed much in the season opener. The Bengals’ offensive line gave up five sacks in Week 1.

The pass rush is very important. The Bears’ secondary got embarrassed by Stafford and the Rams receivers. The Bengals’ rookie wide receiver, Ja’Marr Chase, had an amazing debut. He had 5 catches for 101 yards and a touchdown. Tee Higgins had 4 catches for 58 yards and a touchdown himself.

Joe Mixon had a big game as well. He rushed for 127 yards and a touchdown. Also, he had 4 catches for 23 yards out of the backfield.

The Bears’ front seven did a good job containing the Rams’ running game (at least until late in the game). They could contain Mixon, especially if Eddie Goldman returns. He missed last week’s game due to an injury.

Dalton should get more chances downfield

One of the biggest criticisms of Chicago’s game plan was all the short routes. The Bears were the only team that didn’t attempt a pass over 15 yards downfield. Dalton completed 71.1 percent of his passes but finished with just 208 passing yards. The main reason for that, however, was the Rams playing a four-man deep shell all game long. They weren’t allowing the Bears’ speedy receivers to make big plays downfield. They gave the Bears the short passes.

Things should be different this week, though. The Bengals secondary is nowhere near as good as the Rams. Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins completed four pass plays of over 20 yards.

We’ll get a better idea of how good (or bad) the Chicago Bears offensive line is. The unit gave up three sacks against the Rams but three sacks but one of them was late with the game pretty much decided. With the short passes, Dalton got rid of the ball very quickly. The line has to give him some time for the receivers to get downfield and for Dalton to get them the ball.

Dalton needs to have a big game to lower the volume on the “Put Fields in!” chants. Every game that passes where he doesn’t play big, the calls for Fields will grow louder.

Feed the running game

The Bears did a great job of running the ball last week. The Rams have an exceptional defensive line that doesn’t give up many rushing yards. Last season, no running back rushed for 100 yards against them. The Rams ranked third last season in rushing yards allowed with just 95. Additionally, opponents averaged just 3.8 yards per rush.

David Montgomery and the Bears blew all that away last week. Montgomery rushed for 108 yards and a touchdown. He also averaged 6.8 yards per run.

While most people criticized the offense for their short routes, my criticism is that they didn’t run the ball more. Montgomery had 16 carries and the team had 26 carries total. If Montgomery had more touches and continued his success, perhaps the Rams have the secondary come in closer. That would then open up things downfield.

Montgomery announced with his play that he wants to be considered among the elite backs. He worked hard in the offseason and even claimed that he increased his speed. He did break away from some would-be tacklers last week. Maybe he was right. With his great balance and ability to break tackles, if he can continue to run away from defenders, he’ll likely have a big season.

The Bengals’ defensive line isn’t as strong as the Rams. They did hold Dalvin Cook to just 61 yards, but let’s see if they can continue that. Matt Nagy talked about having Montgomery more involved in the offense. He needs to keep his word.