Caleb Williams, Kyle Monangai lead the way in Bears vs. Bengals Week 9 prediction

The Chicago Bears (4-3) travel to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals (3-5) in a game that will offer coach Ben Johnson and quarterback Caleb Williams a great opportunity to start another 2025 winning streak.

The Bears' four-game winning streak was snapped by the Baltimore Ravens in Week 8.

Chicago is a popular choice this week. Almost 70% of experts have picked the Bears to defeat the Bengals.

The reason for this level of confience in the Chicago Bears is obvious: The Bengals' defense is the worst in the NFL, and with Jonson dialing up plays, there's an expectation that the Bears will have a very real breakout performance on offense.

Chicago's offense feels like it's a Bengals matchup away from that explosion. They enter Week 9 ranked 15th in the NFL in scoring offense (24 points per game) and 10th in passing yards per game (225.6 yards per game). The Bears sport a top-10 rushing offense, too, averaging 124.6 yards per game.

Compare that to the Cincinnati Bengals' defense, which ranks last in points allowed per game, last in rushing yards allowed per game, and 30th in passing yards allowed per game.

Yep. Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams (and Kyle Monangai!) should have a banner day.

Monangai has a very real chance to announce his arrival as an NFL starting running back. The seventh-round pick from the 2025 NFL Draft will make his first career start in place of the injured D'Andre Swift, who will sit this game out to allow his groin injury to heal.

Monangai has 42 carries for 186 yards and one touchdown (4.4 yards per carry) so far this season.

Still, while all signs are pointing in the Bears' favor, Johnson knows the Bengals are a Ja'Marr Chase big play away from flipping Week 9 upside down.

"Talk about a complete problem," Johnson said this week. "He is that. I don't know how much you can slow him down. I don't know anything that he doesn't do well. Yeah, I think he's a complete receiver. I think it's all hands on deck to try to slow him down. I think we have to do a great job of marrying up our rush and our coverage and make it as difficult as we possibly can for this offense."

There's no easy way to stop Chase from compiling stats and even touchdowns over four quarters. And that's not really the goal. Instead, it's to contain him; to force the Bengals to lean on someone else on offense to win the game.

The good news for the Chicago Bears is that I don't think the Bengals will be able to do that. The Bears will push the 30-point mark in Week 9, and even if Cincinnati has a few solid possessions that lead to touchdowns, it won't be enough to keep the pace the Bears will set.

Bears win. Final score: Chicago Bears 31 Cincinnati Bengals 20

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