The Cincinnati Bengals took a 20-10 lead into the fourth quarter against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday night, with only 15 minutes separating them from a 6-6 record that would’ve put them squarely in the AFC playoff hunt.
But after blowing that 10-point lead in a gutting 23-20 loss to the Steelers, it’d only be natural if the Bengals had a letdown on a short week, right?
Add to it the mess of key players (running back Joe Mixon, linebackers Vontaze Burfict and Nick Vigil, cornerbacks Dre Kirkpatrick and Adam Jones) who will miss Sunday’s game at Paul Brown Stadium, and this could be a good opportunity for the Bears to sneak away with a win.
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Except the Bears should’ve beat the 2-10 San Francisco 49ers last week, are on a five-game losing streak and may be in a more gloomy mood than the one in Marvin Lewis’ locker room. While the Bears’ injury report (Adrian Amos, Eddie Goldman and Pernell McPhee are doubtful, DeAndre Houston-Carson is questionable) may look smaller than that of the Bengals, the Bears have 17 players on injured reserve, with the most recent additions being Kyle Long and Mitch Unrein. Those 17 players account for a cap hit of $22,862,135 being on injured reserve.
Not having Long could be especially problematic given the presence of Bengals standout defensive tackle Geno Atkins, who has seven sacks, eight TFLs and 17 hurries. While Bengals’ linebacker and secondary units may be decimated by injuries, Atkins’ presence could be enough to slow the Bears’ running game and put pressure on Mitchell Trubisky.
But more than anything, this game may be a battle between two teams merely playing out the stretch.
Prediction: Bengals 17, Bears 10