Bears vs. Colts: 3 keys, prediction, odds
Bears Insider JJ Stankevitz makes his pick for Sunday's Bears-Colts game.
Spread: Bears: +3.5 (-110)
Moneyline: Bears +160
Over/under: 43
*Odds as of Sunday at 2 p.m.
Odds provided by our partner, PointsBet.
Now on to my three keys:
Since the start of the 2019 season, Philip Rivers has a 120.8 passer rating when blitzed, per Pro Football Focus. He’s thrown 11 touchdowns against two interceptions and five sacks against the blitz in that span, with all those interceptions and sacks coming last year with the Los Angeles Chargers.
So, to me, this is where Sunday’s game will really be won and lost: How the Bears’ front seven fares against one of the best offensive lines in football. Chuck Pagano probably will need to rush four most of the game; if Akiem Hicks is able to get pressure in Rivers’ face and Khalil Mack affects the pocket from the 38-year-old’s blind side, the Bears’ defense should have some success. If not? It might be a long, frustrating day.
I was trying to find a weakness in the Colts’ defense when diving into this game, and outside of Gardner Minshew slicing them up in Week 1 (which feels like a fluke), I'm not sure there is one.
So I settled on this for my offensive key, which is in the same vein as the first key here: Have your great players beat the Colts’ great players. In this case, that means Allen Robinson becoming Nick Foles’ best friend with a second consecutive 100-plus-yard game.
The Bears can line Robinson up all over the field, so he won’t necessarily be matched up against former Minnesota Vikings corner Xavier Rhodes, who’s off to a fantastic start to the season. But wherever he lines up, the Bears will need him to win his matchups more often than not to have a chance to beat a really good Colts defense.
