2016 Chicago Bears Season Preview: Week 16 vs Washington Redskins

Thanks to the fine folks that work on the individual SB Nation NFL team sites, we have the ability to get the inside scoop on each and every team that the Chicago Bears will face this season.

In this offseason series, we'll lay out a few stats on Chicago's 2016 opponents and have the team sites give us all the info we need to be up to speed on any changes they may have made.

Week 16 - Washington Redskins at Chicago Bears
December 24, 2016 - 12:00 CT on FOX
Games from week 5-17 are subject to flex scheduling

Last year the Bears' offense ranked 21st in total yards (344.6), 23rd in passing yards (228.8), 11th in rushing yards (115.9) and 23rd in total points scored (20.9). Defensively the Bears ranked 14th in total yards allowed (345.4), 4th in passing yards allowed (224.6), 22nd in rushing yards allowed (120.9) and 20th in points allowed (24.8).

In 2015 the Redskins' offense ranked 17th in total yards (353.8), 11th in passing yards (255.9), 20th in rushing yards (97.9) and in scoring they were 10th (24.2). Washington’s defense ranked 28th in total yards allowed (380.6), 25th in passing yards allowed (258.0), 26th in rushing yards allowed (122.6) and they were 17th in points allowed (23.7).

2016 Redskins Preview

From Hogs Haven

Notable free agent additions: CB Josh Norman, DL Kendall Reyes

Notable free agent departures: QB Robert Griffin III, RB ALfred Morris, DT Terrance Knighton, LB Keenan Robinson, WR Andre Roberts

Draft picks expected to contribute as rookies: WR Josh Doctson, S/LB Su’a Cravens, CB Kendall Fuller

Biggest offseason addition: It would be hard not to call the acquisition of an All-Pro CB our biggest addition of the offseason, especially when the secondary has been one of the biggest weaknesses of this Redskins team over the last few seasons. The importance of the insertion of Josh Norman into this defense can not be understated.

Biggest storyline heading into training camp: Will Kirk Cousins play on the franchise tag, and more importantly, will he take a step forward from his meteoric finish to the 2015 campaign? He threw for 23 touchdowns and three interceptions over the last ten games of the season last year en route to both the playoffs and a firm grasp on the locker room. If he continues evolving from there, Washington can call itself a true contender.

Under-the-radar storyline heading into training camp: What is our safety position going to look like? DeAngelo Hall returns as likely the most certain member of our starting safety duo, which doesn’t exactly inspire fear in opposing passing offenses. David Bruton and Duke Ihenacho will certainly factor heavily in the training camp battle to fill out the backside of our defense, but all eyes will be on rookie Su’a Cravens, the hybrid safety/linebacker. If he is able to log meaningful minutes at the strong safety position and make the kinds of plays our coaches feel confident he can make, this secondary could be exponentially better than it has been for years.

Notable injuries heading into training camp: Junior Galette continues to heal from his Achilles injury suffered in August 2015, and all reports seem to lean toward an impressive recovery (EDIT: He’s having surgery on his Achilles). Should he regain his pass-rushing form from two seasons ago, it would be the equivalent of adding a top free agent from our own roster. First-round draft pick Josh Doctson is also being held out of a lot of workouts so far to allow a tender Achilles to heal fully before training camp.