Bear Digest

Chicago Bears at Indianapolis Colts Game Day Preview

A look at key statistics, injuries trends and matchups in the Sunday game at Indianapolis between the Bears and Colts.
Gene Chamberlain|
The Bears try to end a two-game Colts winning streak in a series dating back to 1953.
The Bears try to end a two-game Colts winning streak in a series dating back to 1953. | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears (1-1) at Indianapolis Colts (0-2)

Kickoff: Noon Sunday

Where: Lucas Oil Field, Indianapolis

TV: CBS (Andrew Catalon, Tiki Barber, Jason McCourty and AJ Ross)

Radio: ESPN AM-1000 (Jeff Joniak, Tom Thayer, Jason McKie)

Sirius XM Radio: Channel 160 or 382

Spanish Radio: Latino Mix 93.5 FM (Omar Ramos, Miguel Esparza)

The Line: Colts by 1 1/2, over/under 43 1/2

Bears On SI Pick: Colts 23, Bears 19

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The Matchup: Two teams who started preseason against each other in the Hall of Fame Game, with the Bears winning 21-17 in a contest shortened to less than three quarters due to storms. .The Bears come in off of their season-opening 24-17 win over Tennessee needing an infusion of offense. They scored no offensive touchdowns, Caleb Williams threw for 93 yards and they became the first team in NFL history ever to come back from a 17-point deficit with only 148 yards of offense. An MCL injury to wide receiver Rome Odunze at the end of the victory took away a weapon from the offense as they got ready to face the Texans. On the other hand, their defense played spectacular football in the second half and their three takeaways plus a blocked punt for a TD showed their resiliency. They face C.J. Stroud and a Texans offense coming off a 413-yard effort against the Colts in a 29-27 win, including a 159-yard rushing effort from Joe Mixon in his Texans debut. Stroud was impressive, with a 115.9 passer rating on 24 of 32 for 234 yards and two TDs in a road game.

The Series: The Colts own a 25-19 lead. The Colts won the last matchup in 2020 at Soldier Field, 19-11.

The Coaches: Bears coach Matt Eberflus owns an 11-25 mark in his third season and is 3-15 on the road. He hasn't coached yet against his old team, the Colts. He was defensive coordinator there from 2018-21 but did lose a 2023 preseason game to the Colts.

Colts coach Shane Steichen owns a 9-10 record in his second season and has not yet faced Chicago. His team was 9-8 last year but missed the playoffs.

Matching Up: The Bears are 31st on offense, 32nd in passing (last) and 28th in rushing. They are 18th in scoring. On defense Chicago is eighth overall, 12th against the pass, 13th against the run and they are sixth in scoring defense.

The Colts are 14th on offense, 18th in passing and 16th in rushing. They are 18th in scoring. Indianapolis ranks 31st on defense, ninth against the pass and 32nd (last) against the run. They are 20th in scoring defense.

Injury Report: For the Bears, wide receiver Keenan Allen (heel), defensive tackle Zacch Pickens (groin) and fullback Khari Blasingame (knee) are out. RB Travis Homer (finger) has been placed on injured reserve. Guard Nate Davis is questionable and the Tribune's Brad Biggs has reported it's expected Matt Pryor will start in his place. Pryor is a former Colts player. ... For the Colts, defensive end Laiatu Latu is questionable (hip) and wide receiver Michael Pittman (back) is questionable. Buckner, a three-time Pro Bowl DT (ankle) and CB starter JuJu Brents (knee) have been placed on IR.

Of Note:  Of their last 10 road games, the Bears have won twice. ... DJ Moore leads all players from the 2018 draft class in receiving yards with 6,654. ... The Bears are tied for the most sacks allowed in the league (9) and have given up 117 sacks since the start of 2022. ... Opponent have only three points against the Bears defense in the second half of games. ... The Bears are tied with the 49ers for most interceptions (24) since the start of the 2023 season. ... Richardson has five TD runs in his first six NFL starts. The Colts are 2-4 in his starts. ... RB Jonathan Taylor needs two TD runs to pass Marshall Faulk (42) for fourth most in franchise history. ... P Rigoberto Sanchez's 48.8-yard net average is tied for the league lead.

Next Week: The Bears host the Rams in a noon game Sept. 29 and the Colts host the Pittsburgh Steelers at noon Sept. 29.

Key Individual matchups

Bears CB Jaylon Johnson vs. Colts WR Michael Pittman

Johnson still has no passer rating against for the season and allowed just one reception. The Bears could put him on Pittman all over the field . Pittman has been held to seven receptions for 52 yards so far and is nursing a back injury. Pittman had only 3.0 and 3.9 yards per target in his two games.

Bears CB Tyrique Stevenson vs. Colt WR Alec Pierce

Pierce, the Glenbard West grad from Cincinnati, has been the big-play target for the Colts with 181 yards on catches and two TDs while Pittman has been getting over his injury. The third-year receiver has had two TD catches now in each of his first three years and does it with speed and leaping ability (40.5-inch vertical leap). Stevenson is one of the league's more physical cornerbacks but one week after his impressive season opener, he struggled against the Texans and now has a solid 72.9 passer rating against. He has given up one TD and 10 for his two seasons.

Bears DT Gervon Dexter vs. Colts LG Quenton Nelson

The 6-5, 330-pound, six-time Pro Bowl blocker has drawn the Bears' second-year defensive tackle, who is off to a strong start in his second season

Nelson hasn't allowed a sa``ck this season but did commit two penalties. Pro Football Focus grades him the No. 1 guard as a pass blocker this year. Dexter has stepped up his game this year and has Pro Football Focus' 29th highest grade as a interior b

Bears WR DJ Moore vs. Colts CB Jaylon Jones

That's the Colts' Jaylon Jones, not the one the Bears have on their roster. Jones is graded 95th out of 96 NFL cornerbacks in pass coverage and has definitely struggled. Jones is 6-foot-2, 203 pounds and ran 4.57 in the 40 after playing at Texas A7M. He has been a better run stopper than pass stopper. Moore is looking to break out and has 11 catches for 89 yards. He was just missed on a few plays for deeper gains last week.

Bears LB T.J. Edwards vs. colts RB Jonathan Taylor

A 5-foot-10, 226-pound workhorse type of back, Taylor has been effective this year but hasn't been overworked with 28 rushes for 151 yards. He has the speed to go outside or the rapid burst needed to break into the secondary inside. Edwards, the weakside Bears linebacker, already has 23 tackles on the season and two for loss. He'll be the critical linebacker in stopping the run from the Bears' Tampa-2 style scheme.

Bears DE Montez Sweat vs. Colts RT Braden Smith

The Colts' seventh-year tackle comes in at 6-6, 312 and has had a PFF grade of 72.2 or higher every single season until this one but is 27th in the league at 68.1 this year. Sweat hasn't had a sack this year as he fights off double teams and teammates have benefited from the attention going away from their pass rushes.  Sweat has been held to two tackles, one pass deflection and three pressures so far and is due to break out.

Twitter: BearsOnSI

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.