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The Chicago Bears travel to East Rutherford to face the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in Week 4. The Bears hope to win their second game in a row, while the Giants want to rebound from a Week 3 loss. Here are our Bears Week 4 predictions as they take on the Giants.
Though their style of football hasn't been the prettiest, the Bears are above .500 following their 23-20 victory over the Houston Texans. That's courtesy of a game-winning kick from Cairo Santos.
With the rate the Bears' passing offense has been performing, they might have easily started the season 0-3. However, Chicago's defense and rushing attack has done a terrific job at having folks forget the Bears are currently putting forth a historically bad aerial display with just 78.3 passing yards per game.
With that in mind, here are our four bold predictions for the Bears in their Week 4 game against the Giants.
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4. Bears D on the prowl for more turnovers
The Bears' defense has established itself as a unit capable of taking the football away from its opponents. They have had five takeaways after three games, and they have recorded at least one takeaway in each game. However, the Giants have only turned the ball over three times this season. This means that the Bears will have to work extra hard to force turnovers rather than waiting for them to come to them.
Still, if this Bears D can put pressure on Giants QB Daniel Jones, they can compel him to make mistakes. Keep in mind that he has been one of the league's most turnover-prone quarterbacks. Look for Chicago to force at least two Giants turnovers in this game.
3. Bears' ground D gets punished by Saquon Barkley
The Giants, like the Bears, don't have a strong passing game, but they can run the ball well (interestingly enough, just like the Bears, too). In fact, the Giants boast the NFL's fourth-best running offense. They have averaged 169.3 rushing yards per game.
The biggest reason for that has been Saquon Barkley's resurgence. Barkley is on a tear this season, sitting second in the league in rushing yards. He has 317 yards on 53 carries and two touchdowns. There is no question that he is crucial to the Giants' offensive success. Now he'll face the Bears, who gave him his only 100-yard rushing game of the season when they met in 2021.
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The Giants are certainly going to assault a Bears run defense that has been one of the worst in the league, surrendering 157 running yards per game. The Bears will have to do all they can to limit Barkley if they want to stop the Giants' ground attack.
2. Field day for Justin Fields (hopefully)
Another week, another dreadful passing effort by the Bears. In last week's win over the Texans, quarterback Justin Fields completed 8-of-17 passes for 106 yards and two interceptions. It should come as no surprise that Chicago boasts the league's worst passing offense, but it is not even close. The Bears' 78.3 passing yards per game is not even half as much as the next closest team (Carolina Panthers with 161.3).
There is plenty of talk regarding Justin Fields and the offense’s troubles. Fields deserves plenty of the blame for this, but plenty of blame can go around to the lack of talent and play-calling question marks.
No matter what, though, Fields does have his own strengths. He's actually a good ground QB. He has averaged 31.7 rushing yards per game so far this season. That will be his main weapon against the Giants. Fields should also rediscover the form that gave him an 85.7 passer rating in Week 1. If he can do that on top of getting 30+ rushing yards, we may yet see a good outing from Fields in Week 4. Good means 160+ total yards and two TDs.
1. Khalil Herbert rushes for 100+ yards again
While both the Bears and Giants are dreadful through the air, there's a reason they're 2-1. Both clubs are among the best running offenses in the league. Chicago ranks second in the NFL in rushing yards per game with 186.7. Chicago should then be able to find success on the run against a New York team that allows 138.3 yards per game.
Earned it 👏@JuiceHerbert is your @FedEx Ground Player of the Week! pic.twitter.com/8KhrBPQWHR
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) September 28, 2022
Assuming David Montgomery, who is day-to-day with an ankle injury, can’t go this week, Khalil Herbert should lead the Bears' running attack. Herbert had a great performance against the Texans on Sunday, and he was a significant reason why the team was able to move the ball despite issues in the passing game.
He came in for an injured David Montgomery in the first quarter and led Chicago's offense with 157 yards on 20 touches. He had an average of 7.9 yards per carry and also got two touchdowns. Herbert will have a chance to improve on his career performance against a leaky Giants run defense.
