Bears vs. Ravens Preview, Score Prediction, Injury News & Lamar Jackson Update | NFL Week 8

Bears vs. Ravens Preview, Score Prediction, Injury News & Lamar Jackson Update | NFL Week 8

I’m Harrison Graham. Coming up on Chicago Bears Now, we take a look at a Bears Ravens preview for NFL Week 8. Can the Bears win five in a row? They got four in a row. If you want that fifth straight win, get the fives going in the comments. Four, just not enough. I need five. I need another win here. That would be awesome. Chance to make a statement against Baltimore, who’s a healthy favorite in this game. So tight five if you hope the Bears get that fifth straight win. All right, Bears at Ravens coming up this Sunday at noon central, 1:00 if you’re on the East Coast. Like I said, Baltimore 6 and a half point favorites. That’s a big number. I get uh the Ravens are getting reinforcements back. Um, you know, they’re they’re still close to AFC North favorites despite being 1 and5, but that’s a large number. Maybe a little motivation for the Bears seeing that. A little disrespect factor there. Overunder between these two teams. 50 and a half points. Uh, so we’ll see if Chicago can pull off the betting upset this weekend. You look at some team numbers here. Bears still 10th in scoring. They’ve kind of hovered around that number for a few weeks now. 25.3 points per game. Uh the points per game allowed is skewed. It continues to trend in the right direction. Remember they gave up 52 to Detroit, but every other opponent they’ve held to less than 27. So uh that’s uh been good in five out of six games. Uh turnover margin plus 11, best in the NFL. It’s a big reason why they’re on this winning streak right now. 15 takeaways for the defense in the last month. Uh third down offense, uh just over 40%, 14th in the NFL. Last couple weeks haven’t been as good there. So that’s an area to get back on track on. Uh third down defense continues to be excellent giving up first downs only 30 and a half% of the time. That’s third in the NFL. Uh the Ravens uh as you guys know disappointing season. They still have flashed a lot obviously. I mean week one they put up 40 points but middle of the pack in scoring at 16th uh in the NFL 24 a game. They’re dead last in points allowed but they are getting some pieces back. I think they’ll be better moving forward here. Turnovers have been a huge reason why they’ve been losing these tight games. minus 7 in the turnover margin. That’s uh second worst in the NFL. Uh similar to the Bears on third down, 40.6%. Uh third down defense also uh a problem, 44 and a half%. When you really look at these two teams, turnover margin, third down defense, that’s major advantage Bears uh through the first six games for each team. And uh you know, those key downs, those takeaways, that’s that’s a bigger reason why teams win or lose in the NFL. You look at the red zone, this has been trending down for the Bears offensively. The first three or four games, they were top 10 in red zone touchdown rate. The last few weeks, uh, they have trended down, kicking too many field goals. So, that’s got to be an area where they convert. I I think especially in this game, you’re going to need to score points. So, hopefully they can do better. Tied for 21st, scoring touchdowns half the time once they get inside the 20. Ravens have also struggled in this area, less than 50%, tied for 29th. Uh, and both defenses have not been great in red zone uh, defensive uh, touchdowns allowed. Bears more than twothirds of the time. Good news is teams recently haven’t been getting into the red zone a ton. So, uh, you know, it’s a lower volume in terms of that stat. Uh, Lamar Jackson obviously all eyes on him. He’s missed the last couple of games. Did not practice on Monday, which was a surprise because John Harbaugh before the by-week, his last presser heavily hinted that he would return. And then when he spoke to the media on Monday, it was kind of mums the word like I’m not going to comment on specific players. Uh uh did not say if he would practice this week and uh when he was asked if Lamar would play, he said same answer. So I don’t know if he’s kind of trying that play dumb strategy to keep the Bears off balance. I think it’s silly when we do that in professional sports. This isn’t high school. It’s there’s the Bears are preparing for Lamar Jackson. If Cooper Rush plays, I I don’t think they’re going to panic. So, uh, we’ll find out more on Wednesday when the first injury report comes out for each team. I think he’s playing. Vegas clearly thinks he’s playing if they’re almost a touchdown favorite. I’ll tell you this, if he’s ruled out, that spread will change. Uh, so we’ll see how that shakes out. But, uh, I will say this, if he was for sure 100%, I think he would have been out there Monday. So, you know, maybe he hasn’t progressed as much as, uh, the Ravens were hoping uh, he would have up to this point with that hamstring injury. Uh some Bears injuries to watch. Again, we’ll have the first report of the week on Wednesday. Uh Tyreek Stevenson and Cole KT who left uh last week’s games with various injuries. Ben Johnson said on Monday, initial testing suggests that they’re dayto-day, not week to week. So, that’s a positive sign. Hopefully, uh they can go this week. Grady Jarrett likely would have played last week, but they held him out another week with that knee injury uh because uh it was pouring rain, older player. They decided to play it safe. I think he goes Kyro Santos. Obviously Jake Moody’s had a couple of good weeks here. The Bears have one more game day elevation for him off the practice squad. So we’ll see if it’s Santos or Moody this week. Uh then Austin Booker and Aean Agbog Bamiga who are on short-term IR, but their practice windows have been opened. Uh they could be activated this week and obviously if they are, they will then have to cut players or place someone on IR uh to make room for them. So keep an eye on that, especially with Booker. All right, before we get to uh some keys to victory and who has the edge, sub battle, Bears now, Ravens rundown. Let’s take these guys down. I’ll tell you what, during this four-game winning streak, I think we’ve won the sub battle every single weeks. Coincidence, science, I don’t know. But let’s not test fate here. If you want to beat the Ravens on Sunday, let’s beat the Ravens rundown and new subscribers this week. We got a healthy lead so far. Let’s keep it rolling. Free and Daily Bears content and let’s take down the Ravens rundown. Hit that subscribe button. Okay, who has the edge at head coach? Uh, I’ll go Ravens. I don’t think John Harbaugh is having a great year. I know, you know, some diehard Ravens fans are wondering, is it time do you go with the split? But this guy’s been a head coach for a long time. He’s won a Super Bowl. Like, he deserves uh to get the nod here. Although, I’m thrilled with what we’ve seen from Ben Johnson. The Bears have a real offense. He’s also brought juice and uh culture to this team, which has been nice to see. Uh, you know, I think longterm he could be a big-time head coach in this league, but he’s coached six games. John Harbaugh’s coach for like 15 years, so I will give Harbaugh the edge in that regard. Uh, quarterback, clearly Lamar, um, you know, he he he’s had a couple games here before the injury where he hasn’t played his best, but you’re talking about a two-time uh, MVP, guy who’s been there and done that. Caleb’s doing some nice things, but he’s not on Lamar Jackson’s level. We don’t have to pretend he is right now. Uh, okay. Uh, skill group. I’ll go push. You know, on paper, I would probably lean Chicago, but Dererick Henry is still a monster. He has had a bit of a fumbling issue this year, but he’s still averaging five yards per carry. Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely, two good tight ends. Bear Ravens receivers are underrated, too. I would lean the Bears at the receiver position, but I think the other two spots you would lean Baltimore. Uh, so it kind of evens out when you add it all up. I will go push at the skilled positions. Uh offensive line, I will go with the Bears, believe it or not. Who would have thought that? That the Bears have a better offensive line than the Ravens. Now, where Baltimore has a huge advantage as left tackle. Ronnie Stanley is a much better and more proven left tackle than Theo Benedict. Hopefully, Benedict plays better this week. I thought he was good against Washington, not great uh this past week. So, big test on Sunday. Uh but I think in the interior especially is where the Bears uh have the advantage. And Darnell Wright’s better at right tackle than Roger Rosenard as well. So, advantage Bears. Uh, defensive line, actually the Bears. Now, if Nami Matabke was playing, I would lean Baltimore. I don’t think the Bears Dline is great, but it’s playing a little bit better. Montes Sweat’s been good the last couple of weeks. Uh, Javon Dexter’s having a pretty good season, and the Ravens are beat up, and the guys who are playing aren’t playing that well. So, uh, I will lean Bears in this one. Linebackers, I’ll go push. I think Rocoan Smith is the best linebacker that either of these teams have, but the combination of Tmaine Edmonds and TJ Edwards kind of evens that out. Trenton Simpson’s been pretty good for Baltimore, too. So, pretty even. I love the way Edwards and Edmonds are playing, especially these past couple of weeks together. So, I’ll go push overall. Secondary, I’ll go Bears. Obviously, Kyle Hamilton’s a special player and he’s back and healthy, but uh Chicago secondary, even without Jaylen Johnson, has been really good recently. Now, Tyreek Stevenson, if you tell me he doesn’t play in this game, probably shifts more push or even Baltimore cuz then you’re pretty thin at corner. But if he plays and continues to play like he has, he’s been good. Nan Wright’s been up and down, but he’s uh been good enough. And Marlon Humphrey is having a really bad year for Baltimore. Gyra Alexander seems cooked. Uh so, uh and Kevin Bard at safety, Jaquan Brisker, they’ve been awesome. So, I’ll lean Bears here. Uh I’ll go push at special teams. Um neither teams getting a lot of production uh out of the return game and uh both teams in the kicking and punt game are uh pretty even. So uh I will go push in that category as well. All right, we will jump to some keys to victory plus talk to Rocoan Smith angle in a minute. But first want to tell you about our awesome sponsor Mando. Fellas, you can get 20% off all of their odor products right now. Code chat at checkout. Fall is here. Football is in full force. In other words, it’s the best time of year for the fellas. It’s a great time to be out and about. And if you’re like me, that includes being outside a lot with my son, doing stuff around the house. Don’t let body odor sideline you. 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That is code chat at shopmando.com for 20% off plus free shipping. That’s sopo.com. Please support our show. Tell them Bears now by chatports sent you. Mando’s got you covered. Protect your pets. Smell great doing it. All right, Rocoan Smith revenge game. It was a bit of an ugly divorce between the Bears and Rocoan. Uh Rocoan wanted to reset the linebacker market. Ryan Ples in his first year as a GM in a rebuild did not want to commit to that. It was a tough call at the time. I would say the way it’s aged out. I think Baltimore has probably won that deal. Um, but I don’t know if you paid Roco Quuan if things would have really gone super different the last few years either. So, it’s kind of hard to say. Uh, had TJ and Tmaine the last couple years played this good together as they are this year, I think you would have felt a lot better about it. So, um, you can’t say you won the trade, but uh, at the same time, uh, Roan Smith’s a hell of a player. So, um, you know, you know, he’s motivated to play in this game. Yesterday, he kind of downplayed it. uh said it’s just about me doing my job to the best of my ability. He’s going to be juiced up for this game. He wants to beat the Bears. He was pissed that polls didn’t give him the money he wanted. Baltimore did. He’s been a multi-time allp pro up there since. So, uh going to be interesting to see how he plays uh coming off that injury cuz he’s missed the last couple of weeks. All right, some keys to victory before we get to my score prediction and ask for yours. Keep Lamar contained. I know he’s coming off a hamstring injury. He may not look to run as more as much as he used to. And again, this is all assuming he plays. I think he’s playing. Um the rush lane integrity is critical. This is actually a game like you you’re not you’re not hunting for sacks. You are trying to keep him contained. I thought the Bears did a pretty good job against Jaden Daniels. He rushed for like 50 52 yards. Got loose a couple times in the second half, but no major runs. Couple like 10 12 yarders. If you can keep him in that range and not let him get too loose, I think uh that’s a win for the Bears. Uh overall, okay, number two, Caleb’s got to be more efficient. Um before the byee, uh I actually really liked how he was playing in structure within the pocket. Uh I think the last couple of weeks, especially against the Saints, um he got a little he feels a little sped up uh to me. You know, you look at his numbers the last two games, he’s just under 60%. 212 passing yards per game, one touchdown, one pick, 81 rating. You know, not horrendous by any means, but uh not as well as he was playing before. uh the by-week. So, uh I’m looking to get him back on track. Uh just, you know, slow down a half second. You know, sometimes he gets a little amped up and he throws the the rifle like you don’t you don’t have to throw every pass 100 miles per hour. Uh I again I think he’s just been a little sped up since Dubai. Has he been horrible? No. But uh I think he could play better. We’ve seen him play better. And in a game like this where Baltimore is going to throw the kitchen sink at you, he’s going to have to play better than he did against the Saints. If you want to go up to Baltimore and win, I don’t care what their record is, they’re going to play better. They’re getting key players back. Do you think Caleb will bounce back this week? Type Y for yes, type in for no. One prediction I’ll have, I think he’ll do a better job of just playing within structure, you know, getting to the checkown. He was doing that better uh in the first few games of the season. Sure, Ben Johnson said it on Monday. You don’t want to neuter his ability to make big plays on the move, but you got to thread that needle. So, I think you’ll see him hunt less of those this week. Okay, number three, continue the run game split between DeAndre Swift and Kyle Manungai. The Bears have done a fantastic job of flipping the script on the running game. The last two weeks, uh, they’ve been the best rushing attack in the NFL. Uh, the first four games, they were one of the worst. And uh against the Saints specifically, they really found a good split uh with DeAndre Swift and Kyle Manung about a 554 455 60/40 split. Uh Swift had 19 for 124, 6 and a half average. Manungai had his breakout game as the seventh round rookie, 13 carries, 81 yards over six yards per carry as well. They each give you a little something different. Obviously, Manungai has better contact balance. He’s better between the tackles. Swift out in space is obviously a really good back as well when you get him uh going downhill with those uh kind of wide zone concepts. I like kind of that 6040 split. Uh I’m liking that we’re seeing more manunga and I’m liking how more efficient Swift has been and obviously been in this offensive line. They have found solutions after not really being able to generate big plays in the running game the first month of the season. So hopefully they can continue to pound the rock pound the rock effectively. Uh, okay. A couple more here. Get Roma Adun back on track. Uh, Roma Adun through the first month of the year was playing awesome. I mean, he had five touchdowns in the first four games. He got one taken away from him against Washington. That was a bogus illegal formation call uh where they said Benedict was lined up in the backfield. He was not. Uh, but still, even in that game, not a super high volume. You look at the first four games compared to the last two. What stands out to me is not even necessarily like the yards, the lack of touchdowns. It’s they haven’t thrown to him as much the last two games. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Caleb has not played as good since the buy from an efficiency standpoint as he did before the buy. He’s thrown to Rome less. Now, listen, you know, teams might be bracketing him more. There could be a lot of reasons for that, but I think you got to get this connection back on track uh over uh starting this game and moving forward because Rome was on pace to, you know, potentially be an allp pro and he’s still, you know, having a good season, on pace to have over a thousand yards and all that stuff, but it has stalled out the last couple of weeks. So, get him more targets. I’d like to see 10 plus targets for him. Let’s get him back into the end zone. We know he could be a red zone threat. And uh I think this Caleb Rome connection is the key to the passing game uh really flourishing. And then lastly, as we do every week, this last one isn’t really a specific key, but more of kind of a theme. Last week it was focus. Don’t overlook the Saints. They did a pretty good job with that. Make a statement. Listen, Vegas doesn’t think you’re winning this game. You’re a six and a half point dog. That’s like in college being a two touchdown dog. Like in the NFL, most point spreads are, you know, less than four or five points. So, they think Baltimore uh could cruise in this game. And listen, there’s a lot of reasons to think the Ravens are going to win this game. They’re coming off a by-week. Lamar’s likely coming back. This is it. They lose and fall to one and six. Their season’s over. You’re not recovering from one and six. This is an empty tank game for Baltimore. I understand all of that. But if I’m a Bears player and I see, wait a second, we’re a touchdown dog. We’ve won four in a row. They’re one and five. that. Let’s go make a statement. that that would be my mindset. Uh if I was the Chicago Bears. Now look, if I was handicapping it, I would make Baltimore a favorite, too, because for all the reasons I said, they’ve been there. They’ve done that. Key players coming back. Huge game for them. It’s more important for them to win than the Bears. Who would have thought that coming into the season, but listen, the opportunity is still there. Even with these key guys coming back, Mabake is still out for the year. They still have a couple guys banged up, other guys not playing as well as previous seasons. You should have a chance to win this game if you play well. We’ll see if they can go out and do it. Predict the score. Bears Ravens in Baltimore. And I know you guys are probably going to be upset, but I want to be honest when I make these predictions. I think the Ravens win a close one. I like the Bears to cover. I think this will be a good game. But again, this is the Ravens season. This is the Ravens season. They have to win this game or they’re done. I like the Ravens 2724. I should I should say I dislike it, but that that’s my pick. I I I think the Ravens win this one. Uh I think the Bears will be competitive. I think it’ll be close. Um you know, if they lose a tight game like this, I’m not going to be devastated by it. You need to split these next two. You’re in Baltimore, you’re in Cincinnati. You got to get one of these uh get to five and three right before the trade deadline and uh kind of go from there. So, could they win this game? Absolutely. I think six and a half is egregious, but I do think Baltimore is and should be a favorite. I’ll give them a slight advantage here. Ravens win 2724, assuming Lamar plays. If Lamar does not play, I don’t see the Bears losing to Cooper Rush or Tyler Homley. So, uh, we’ll see how that plays out. Obviously, keep an eye on the injury report this week and we’ll have it all covered here on Chicago Bears. Now, if you want to get mad at me in the comments, hey, it’s a free show, baby. Go ahead and do so. Hit that subscribe button. Coverage all week long. See you guys soon. Bear down.

Bears vs. Ravens NFL Week 8 matchup gives Ben Johnson and the Bears a chance to win their 5th straight game in the 2025 NFL Season! Bears QB Caleb Williams could be dueling it out with Ravens QB Lamar Jackson who is expected be off of the Ravens injury report for NFL Week 8. Is Lamar for sure playing on Sunday? He didn’t practice on Monday and we’ll know more tomorrow when the first Bears and Ravens injury reports come out. Bears fans should keep an eye on Tyrique Stevenson, Grady Jarrett and Cole Kmet this week. Can the Bears beat John Harbaugh and the Ravens? Harrison Graham of Bears Now breaks down this Crucial Bears vs. Ravens NFL Week 8 matchup!

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Chicago Bears injuries to watch:
– Tyrique Stevenson (CB)
– Cole Kmet (TE)
– Grady Jarrett (DT)
– Cairo Santos (K)
– Austin Booker (DE)*
– Amen Ogbongbemiga (LB)*
* = Short-Term IR

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Chicago Bears team stats in the 2025 NFL Season:
– Points Per Game: 25.3 | 10th
– Points Per Game Allowed: 25.8 | 25th
– Turnover Margin: +11 | 1st
– 3rd Down Offense: 30.5% | 14th
– 3rd Down Defense: 30.6% | 3rd

Bear Down in the comments section!
– If you want the Bears to win their 5th straight game, Type ‘5’
– Do you think Caleb Williams bounces back this week?
– Bears vs. Ravens: Predict the score!

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Key Bears 2025 NFL Free Agency & Trade Additions:
– Joe Thuney (OG)
– Jonah Jackson (OG)
– Drew Dalman (C)
– Grady Jarrett (DT)
– Dayo Odeyinbgo (DE)
– Olamide Zaccheaus (WR)
– Devin Duvernay (WR)
– Durham Smythe (TE)
– Nick McCloud (CB)
– Case Keenum (QB)
– Tanoh Kpassagnon (EDGE)

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Hoge & Jahns, CHGO Sports, 670 The Score, ESPN Chicago and several other Bears YouTube channels post videos. Check out the latest from us at Bears Now:
– NEW Chicago Bears Trade Rumors & NFL Trade Intel From Dianna Russini: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTJ_UCT0UCU
– Chicago Bears Get BIG Injury News On Tyrique Stevenson, Cole Kmet + Lamar Jackson Update: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1yVKoiCfj4
– Chicago Bears OVERREACTION Monday: Caleb Williams Concerns? Tyrique Stevenson, Cole Kmet Injury News – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gl4mUMM2KXE

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