Bears-Chargers: Keys to the Game Roundtable

The Chicago Bears are hitting the road and attempting to win their second straight game.

The Los Angeles Chargers, on the other hand, are trying to get their season back on track.

Both teams have just two wins to their seasons, but the Chargers had far higher expectations before the season and have a better top-to-bottom roster. That makes their record all the more disappointing.

Is this a winnable game for Chicago? It probably depends on who you ask.

Our group weighs in here wit what it’s going to take to defeat the Chargers on Sunday Night Football.

Sam: The defense has been improving each week and it’s going to be important that they carry that over this week. Get pressure on Justin Herbert by blitzing and the secondary has to contain Keenan Allen and the Chargers’ receivers.

On offense, continue doing what works for Tyson Bagent. Lean on the ground game and use the quick passing game to get the ball out fast. Work in more play action to take deeper shots this week.

Lester: While I want to see a healthy dose of D’Onta Foreman and the running game, if the Bears have any chance to win this game, they’ll need to air it out with Bagent. The Chargers give up the most yards in the league through the air, and their secondary has struggled all year. The pass protection needs to have a lot of seven-man with the tight ends and backs, and then take some shots downfield with the speedy Darnell Mooney and Tyler Scott.

Josh: Keep the game simple for Bagent by leaning on the run and playing aggressive defense. Open the playbook up to some intermediate passes just to give the other guys something new to worry about. Play a clean game.

ECD: Offense - Don’t be afraid to mix it up in the passing game. The Chargers happen to have one of the absolute worst secondaries in all of football. Scheming DJ Moore and Tyler Scott open should be a piece of cake. Also, start with a power run game between the tackles, and keep it up throughout the game. Wear Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa out as much as possible.

Defense - Don’t allow extra yardage after the catch, and force turnovers at every possible chance. Justin Herbert will get his production, and getting pressure on him is fairly hard as is. Instead, make life hard for everyone else on the Chargers offense, and effectively take 10 out of 11 starters away from the game plan.

Special Teams - Don’t allow for a short field to happen. Pin their offense deep with corner punts all day. They have a lot of speed available in the return game, so corral those kicks.

Taylor Doll: It’s been fun to watch the improvements across the board, especially defensively. Now, we just have to hope those continue. Continue to win the turnover battle, create whatever pressure you can against Herbert (he was sacked 5 times last week.) Let the offense do what they did last week, as in getting the ball to multiple weapons and using those weapons in multiple ways. I would say we will need to get the deep pass a bit more involved and not rely on the run as heavy but let Foreman do what he does.

Jack R Salo: Offense: A full-package rushing attack. Foreman could have another big game with 15+ carries and touchdowns, but Bagent’s mobility will be key here as I expect the Chargers to try to take the short passing game away. If the Bears don’t force him to stay in the pocket, they can keep getting 4-5 yards per play by any means necessary and stay in this one.

Defense: 3rd downs. Herbert is talented and has good targets to throw to, and Austin Ekeler is a machine, but eventually, they’re going to come to third downs and the Bears need to get off the field when they have the chances. If the Chargers move the sticks more than 50% of the time, the time of possession and field position battles could dictate this game.

What do you think are the keys to the game? What’s it going to take for the Bears to beat the Chargers?