Bears are embarrassingly small favorites over losing team with 40-year-old QB

Coming off its ugly loss to the Baltimore Ravens, the Chicago Bears are favored by less than a field goal over Joe Flacco and the Cincinnati Bengals.

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You go into Baltimore, commit 11 penalties and a turnover, and lose to a 1-win Ravens team without Lamar Jackson and this is the insult you receive:

The Chicago Bears are less than a field-goal favorite Sunday against a team with a losing record that is starting a 40-year-old quarterback and is fresh off a home defeat to the previously 0-7 New York Jets. Ouch. The Bears' four-game winning streak is all but forgotten.

MORE: Bears' ugly loss to Ravens littered with same, old problems

The Bears should get back on track Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium. Joe Flacco has been an upgrade from backup Jake Browning, but he still isn't Joe Burrow. After losing four straight in the wake of Burrow's toe injury, they have put up 33 and 38 points the last two games.

It's the Bengals' horrendous defense that should have Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson licking their chops.

Cincinnati has the NFL's worst unit, allowing a league-high 31.6 points per game. The Bengals rank 30th against the run, 32nd against the pass and surrender 407 yards per game. They coughed up 39 points to the Jets in Week 8 and have allowed more than 35 points three times.

The Bears' offense obviously has to clean up its fundamental flaws such pre-snap penalties, lining up incorrectly, drops and interceptions. But the Bengals present the perfect opportunity to cure what ails it.

MORE: Chicago Bears tumble down ESPN's Week 9 NFL Power Rankings

Flacco, for what's worth, is 2-3 in his career against the Bears, throwing eight touchdowns and eight interceptions in games started for the Ravens, Denver Broncos and Cleveland Browns.

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Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) drops back to throw against the Bengals in a 2024 preseason game. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

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