The Chicago Bears are in a veritable slump after they lost their third game in a row in Week 6. As such, they will travel to Foxboro with hopes of arresting their slide as they square off against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. Despite their struggles, a win here may actually potentially push the Bears into second place in the NFC North. Here are our Chicago Bears Week 7 predictions as they take on the Patriots.
The Bears' terrible season continued last week as they lost 12-7 to the Washington Commanders, extending their losing run to three games. The Bears have been one of the NFL's worst teams this season, averaging only 15.5 points per game (second-lowest) and scoring 20 or fewer points in four games.
Meanwhile, the Patriots had a lot to celebrate after defeating the Cleveland Browns, 38-15. Bailey Zappe, the backup rookie quarterback, had the greatest game of his short career. He finished 24-of-34 in the pocket for 309 yards and a touchdown pass.
With all these in mind, here are our four bold predictions for the Chicago Bears in their Week 7 game against the Patriots.
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4. N’Keal Harry gets a few yards on his former team
Bears wide receiver N'Keal Harry will make his Bears debut against his previous team on Monday Night Football. This summer, Chicago traded a 2024 seventh-round pick to New England for Harry. He was, however, placed on injured reserve after suffering an ankle injury on August 6.
N’Keal Harry is slated to make his Bears debut against his former team, the Patriots. “I’m sure he’ll play hard,” Bill Belichick said. https://t.co/ph0Q1Gh1dG
— Bears Wire (@TheBearsWire) October 20, 2022
Harry returned from IR last week, but due to the short week, he did not make his debut. He has surely marked this game on his calendar, and it'll be interesting to see how he performs.
In 2021, Harry saw action in 10 games. He averaged just 18.4 yards per game last season, but Bears fans hope he can their air game a bit of a jolt in Week 7. When he did catch the ball last year, he impressed, averaging 15.3 yards per reception. We see him getting two to three catches in this game for around 30-40 yards.
3. Khalil Herbert and David Montgomery combine for 150+ rushing yards
When healthy, David Montgomery has been the starting RB for the Bears. In fact, he averages two carries for every one carried by Khalil Herbert. Their most recent game against Commanders serves as an example. In that contest, Montgomery had 15 carries to Herbert's seven.
However, Bears head coach Matt Eberflus has a different plan for the two running backs.
“Yeah, we're just going to go with the hot hand,” Eberflus said. “Who's ever hot right there we're going to stay with him and go from there.”
If that's the case, we certainly expect that Herbert will be getting more touches than he did before. That makes perfect sense given that he leads all NFL running backs by averaging 6.4 yards per rush. Montgomery, for his part, has a 4.0-yard-per-carry average.
In total, they both have about the same number of carries, although Montgomery missed almost two complete games due to an ankle ailment. Herbert has rushed for 403 yards and three touchdowns on 63 attempts, while Montgomery has rushed for 246 yards on 62 attempts.
In this game, at least, both will see significant action. We expect them to combine for 150+ rushing yards against the Patriots.
2. Justin Fields loses no matter who plays QB for the Patriots
This Bears-Patriots game was undoubtedly advertised as a primetime showdown because of quarterbacks Justin Fields and Mac Jones. Recall that they were the fourth and fifth quarterbacks selected in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft.
The Bears moved up to 11th overall to get Fields, while the Patriots got Jones four selections later. Unfortunately, we don't know for sure if this game will feature a duel between the two because Jones' condition is unknown following a high ankle sprain in Week 3. If he cannot make it, it'll be fourth-round rookie Bailey Zappe, who's off to a fast start and will make his third start.
Regardless of who gets to be under center for the Patriots, however, Bears QB Justin Fields stands to lose. He just has not been very good this season. He enters Week 7 with an average passer rating of under 73, and he has just one game where he finished with a triple-digit passer rating (Week 5 versus the Vikings). We have him going under 150 yards in the air, although he may go over 50 yards on the ground. We also have him for one touchdown and one INT.
1. The Bears will continue to be winless in primetime this season
The Bears will meet the Patriots in New England in their third and final primetime game of the season. That is both a good and bad thing. It's good because the Bears get to play on the big stage. It's bad because they will very likely suck on the big stage.
Given how dreadful Chicago has been in prime time this year, they're probably looking forward to this last time they will be in this position. The Bears are 0-2 under the lights, having lost 27-10 to the Packers in Week 2 and 12-7 to the Commanders in Week 6. That doesn't bode well for the game against the Patriots on Monday night.
As banged up as the Patriots have been, they're still favored in this one. They're also playing at home, which should give them a boost. Take note that the Bears are 0-3 on the road in 2022.
Again, these Bears have just looked so lost this season. We think the Patriots will win by at least two scores. There's also the added incentive of giving coach Bill Belichick his 325th career victory. That would bring him up to No. 2 on the all-time coaching ladder.
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