Bears and Chargers Game Day Outlook

Chicago Bears (2-5) at Los Angeles Chargers (2-4)

When: 7:20 p.m., Sunday

Where: Sofi Stadium, Los Angeles

TV: NBC (Mike Tirico, Cris Collinsworth, Melissa Stark)

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

Westwood One (Ryan Radtke, Mike Golic)

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

Digital Radio: SiriusXM (Channel 83 or 226)

Streaming: fuboTV (free trial)

The Line: Chargers by 8 1/2 (over/under 46 1/2)

BearDigest Pick: Chargers 27, Bears 17

The Matchup: Undrafted Division II QB Tyson Bagent tries to lead the Bears to their first winning streak since 2021 after winning last week over the Las Vegas Raiders 30-12. Justin Herbert and the Chargers come in off a 31-17 loss to the Chiefs, their second straight loss.

The Series: The 14th meeting. The Bears lead in the series 7-6. The Chargers took the last game 17-16 at Soldier Field in 2019 as Eddy Piniero missed a 41-yard field goal with four seconds remaining after the Bears turned it over twice in the fourth quarter.

The Coaches: Bears coach Matt Eberflus has 5-19 record in his second season and has not faced the Chargers. Chargers coach Brandon Staley is 21-19 in his third season and has not faced the Bears, a team he coached for as an assistant from 2017-18.

Last Week: The Bears had 21-of-29 for 162 yards with a TD from Bagent in his first NFL start and 89 yards with two rushing TDs and a TD catch from D'Onta Foreman to beat the Las Vegas Raiders 30-12. Jaylon Johnson intercepted two passes and Tremaine Edmunds added an interception.

The Chargers were tied at 17-17 but QB Justin Herbert struggled in the second half by completing 7 of 16 for 100 yards with two interceptions and the Chiefs won behind four TD passes by Patrick Mahomes.

Matching Up: The Bears are 18th on offense, 27th in passing and fifth in rushing. They are 13th in scoring. Chicago is 18th on defense, 29th against the pass and fifth against the run. The Bears are 28th in scoring defense.

The Chargers are eighth on offense, eighth at passing and 16th in rushing. They are 11th in scoring. L.A. is 31st on defense, 32nd (last) against the pass and 10th against the run. The Chargers are 25th in scoring defense.

Stat Leaders: For the Bears, Bagent is 31 of 43 (72.1%) for 245 yards with a TD and INT. His passer rating is 84.0. WR DJ Moore has 40 receptions for 636 yards and five TDs to lead the Bears in all receiving categories. D'Onta Foreman has 170 yards on 36 carries with two TDs to lead Bears in the game in rushing. On defense, LB T.J. Edwards has a team-high 72 tackles while DT DeMarcus Walker leads in tackles for loss with five. Edwards and Yannick Ngakoue lead the Bears in sacks with two and CB Jaylon Johnson leads in interceptions with two.

For the Chargers, QB Justin Herbert is 142 of 212 (67%) for 1,592 yards with 10 TDs and four INTs. His passer rating is 97.1. RB Joshua Kelley leads the Chargers in rushing with 284 yards on 65 carries and two TDs, WR Keenan Allen leads the Chargers in receptions with 46, receiving yards with 574 and four TD catches. On defense, LB Kenneth Murray leads in tackles with 43 and is tied with Khalil Mack in tackles for loss with six. Mack leads with seven sacks and Asante Samuel Jr. leads in interceptions with two.

Injury Report: For the Bears, S Jaquan Brisker (illness), QB Justin Fields (thumb), G Nate Davis (ankle) and CB Terell Smith (illness) are out. G Dan Feeney (knee) and S Eddie Jackson (foot) are questionable.

For the Chargers, WR Josh Palmer (knee), TE Gerald Everett (hip), S Alohi Gilman (heel), WR Jalen Guyton (knee), DB Deane Leonard (hamstring), DT Otto Ogbonnia (knee) are questionable.

Notable: Bagent, the undrafted Division II QB from Shepherd, became the first Bears rookie QB to win his first start since Craig Krenzel in 2004. ... Herbert was sacked five times by Kansas City last week. ... The Chargers have 10 takeaways and have scored an NFL high five touchdowns after their 10 takeaways. ... Herbert has a broken left (non-throwing hand) middle finger and has failed to complete 60% of his passes in the last three games since the injury ... Chargers WR Mike Willliams out for the year due to an ACL tear. ... The Chargers have five turnovers, tied for second fewest in the league, and have recovered six fumbles, tied for third most. ... The Bears are third in sacks allowed with 27 and have allowed 220 and 235 yards of offense in their last two games.

Key Individual Matchups

Bears LB T.J. Edwards vs. Chargers RB Joshua Kelley

The Bears weakside linebacker is graded 20th of 83 players graded by Pro Football Focus. He's leading the Bears in tackles and is fourth in the NFL with 72, and has a forced fumble on a sack. Edwards is coming off his quietest week of the season and will be tasked with stopping Kelley, who is 5-foot-11, 212 pounds and in his fourth season. His career high in yards is 354 and he has 284 already, as he had to pick up the slack when Ekeler had an injury. Kelley is a hard runner with good speed who is not used as much as a receiver. He has just two catches this year.

Bears CB Jaylon Johnson vs. Chargers WR Keenan Allen

Johnson, looking for a new contract, had his second and third career interceptions off backup QBs last week for the Raiders and could be covering Allen all over the field. Allen is 31 and ran a 4.58-second 40 when he was younger and Johnson can match his speed but the question is whether he can stay with Allen as a route runner. Allen had 215 receiving yards on 18 catches against the Vikings and eight for 111 against the Titans in September, but in his last three games had four catches for 55 yards, seven for 85 and three for 32 yards.

Bears DE Yannick Ngakoue vs. Chargers RT Trey Pipkins II

Ngakoue's slow start with two sacks could end as Pipkins has allowed five sacks this year and is ranked 49th among tackles by Pro Football Focus. Ngakoue has never had less than eight sacks in a year so he has a ways to go to get back on track. Pipkins is a bit lighter than many right tckles at 6-6, 307 and moves well. Pipkins had been a backup his first three years and became a starter last year.

Bears WR DJ Moore vs. Chargers CB Asante Samuel Jr.

Moore seems to have needed just one game to essentially fit in with the Bears offense and has since taken off as their top receiver. He'll be all over the formation but usually in X-receiver position and currently has the best catch percentage (78,4%) and yards per game (90.4) of his career. Moore needs three TD catches for a personal high of eight TDs.

Bears RT Darnell Wright vs. Raiders OLB Khalil Mack

Mack will go from side to side in the formation but usually is on the left side of the defense as he was in Chicago. He isn't having a season as great as his statistics suggest. He had sacks in only two games, it's just that six of his sacks came in one game against the Raiders. Besides his ability to get around the corner or bullrush tackles, Mack is a stout run defender who sets an edge and more. Wright is suffering from a left shoulder injury and was only able to practic on a limited basis initially this week. He appears over the injury as he went through a full practice on Friday. Wright will out weigh Mack by about 40 pounds in this matchup. He has a 79.1 PFF pass blocking grade, which is No. 1 among all rookie tackles and No. 1 on the Bears.

Bears LT Larry Borom vs. Raiders OLB Joey Bosa

Bosa has had better years. He has three sacks after a 2022 season when he was plagued by injury. Borom is probably more of a right tackle than left as it's where he played the most at the start of his career, so being pressed into playing for injured Braxton Jones has been testing his skills. PFF grades him 63rd of 74 tackles graded, 61st as a pass blocker. Bosa has been coming off the bench with just one start.

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