Bears vs Ravens Preview: Predictions and Best Bets | NFL Week 8

This matchup between the Bears and Ravens, it’s a tale of who has the better streak. And that of course would be the Bears four straight W’s while the Ravens are trying to get off of a four-game losing streak coming out of the buy. All right, back here on set with the guys and we’re going to discuss it. Two teams trending in very different directions. We want to start start with Lamar Jackson because as you mentioned, Tiffany dealing with that hamstring injury and his status is still up in the air. We keep talking about this game and how it is so important as they’re coming off of that buy. But Pete, how detrimental is it going to be for the Ravens if Lamar Jackson cannot give it a go in this game? I mean, it’d be horrible. But if he does play, is he Lamar Jackson? That’s the other part of the question because he moves so well and it’s such a big part of what he does as a quarterback. If he can’t move because of the hamstring, what is he? I mean, you know, so it changes who he is as a player in a big way. So, that’s a concern as well. I do think this line, the fact it’s six and a half kind of hints that he’s going to play and that’s a good thing cuz this team is in desperation mode. Their season is on the line Sunday. And I’m saying you look at look at their schedule, it softens out a little bit. You win this game, you start feeling good about yourself. You get right smack dab back into the middle of this race. You lose, you’re in a giant hole because, you know, the Bengals are also going to starting to come a little bit too. And so it’s a problem if they lose. I think he’s playing. I’m just curious to see what kind of Lamar Jackson we get. Yeah. The the competitor he is. It’s gonna be hard for me to think Lamar is not going to roll out there with three weeks of rest on a hamstring. And he didn’t practice Monday. And Pete, you were going to say what type of Lamar we going to get. Even if he’s like 70 80%, it’s better than what Cooper Rush was out there because he was turning the ball over left and right. And they had no chance with him at the quarterback position. And you know, when you have your guy out there, it just lifts everybody up. Not just on the offensive side, the defensive side. Rocoan Smith came back to practice. Ronnie Staley uh Stanley has dealing with some issues. He was back at practice. Chedda Wooi, the starting corner, he was back at practice. So, they’re starting to get some of those frontline starters back. They just need their Superman back under center Lamar Jackson. They do. But you’re talking about Pete, is he going to be able to move the same? Like, this is a one in five team, right? And now you have your quarterback that might be coming back, might not, but he may not be the same. How pivotal is this game for them this week? Because you mentioned it’s going to be a huge hole. Can they dig themselves out of it if they if they lose? Oh, I think this is they they’ve taken I think they’ve taken the approach this week that this is our season. No question. And you have guys who have had great success. They haven’t, you know, they haven’t really won titles, but they’ve had great success. I think this team is in large part a victim of who they are. And I say this because I think all anybody talks about is, well, they’ve had great regular seasons. Lamar Jackson’s been the MVP a couple times, but when they get to the postseason, they don’t win. And when that happens, you’re apt to take the eye off what’s happening right now to look to the future and say, “Well, we got to get to the postseason again, cuz that’s where everything’s going to be decided.” When the reality is they got to worry about right now. And I think right now, this is when this team looks in the mirror and they say, “Look at all these guys around here. We have to go right now. We have talent on this team and we’re going to find a way to win this game. If Lamar Jackson’s limited, so be it. We are going to win this game. and hand it off to Derrick Henry 25. We are going to find a way to win this game. And that’s where I think the veterans and where you’ve been in the wars and in the trenches will be decided in this will decide this game. This is a playoff game for sure. Noah, can you put back up their upcoming schedule over the next five cuz Pete, you talked about it softening up. They’re playing the Bears this week who are 4-2 and have four consecutive wins, right? They win this game. You talked about feeling good about yourself. Lamar never loses at home. And I say at home because he’s from South Florida. He’s coming back to Miami next week. The Minnesota Vikings, they’re kind of in quarterback influx right now, not knowing who’s going to start. Like Carson Lynch is starting on Thursday night. The Jets are on that schedule. I believe the Browns are on that schedule. So like it does soften up. So if you beat a playoff caliber team in the Bears, you feel good about yourself. Like we have the talent on this roster. A lot of people say going into the season, this was the best talented roster in all of football. Our stars got to play like stars. Even if Lamar’s not 100% healthy, if he’s able to go, that’s going to uplift the rest of us. So to answer your question, Tiff, this is a playoff game for them because the schedule does open up for them, but they have to win this game. Yeah. And it is interesting because Vegas, I feel like they know something because they’re still the co-favorites to win the division even though the record says what the Steelers lost went a long way in the power, but they allowed they allowed the Bengals back in. The Bengals have an easier schedule, too, for a couple weeks. If we get to the Bears side of things, because they’re trending in the completely opposite direction. They’ve won four straight games after starting this season 0 and2. Le, how has Ben Johnson as a first year head coach been able to really turn things around? Because if you’re in an O2 hole, it’s so easy to say like, hey, it is what it is. And to completely turn that around, what does that say about Ben Johnson? I would say the last two weeks, it’s kind of been who he was in Detroit as far as them running the football. DeAndre Swift has been masterful the last few weeks cuz Caleb the last two weeks actually hasn’t played that well, especially last week. uh he had an interception that he threw the ball late to the outside. You know that Pete, you can’t do that in the NFL. He gets picked off every time, but his numbers weren’t that great. He missed a couple guys high, missed a couple guys low. And the one thing is, yes, we see the numbers from DeAndre Swift the last two weeks, back-to-back 100 yard games. They have been outstanding on defense, Pete, the last four weeks, 15 turnovers in four weeks. But that’s also concerning for me, too, right? You know why, Pete? That’s not sustainable in the NFL, right? averaging four turnovers a game is not sustainable. So kudos to them because like you said after going 0 and2 the walls are falling down everybody was Ben Johnson the right guy right so many question marks which I thought was asked nine it was two games into the season I knew he would get things turned around but they’ve been able to win in multitudes of ways right Caleb Williams for majority of the season has taken care of the football they’re plus 11 in the turnover margin which was total opposite last year they kept fumbling the ball left and right so to me Ben Johnson has done a masterful job but that defense has been the story the last four weeks but getting the run game going the way he’s got it going. Takes all the pressure off of Caleb Williams, you know, and and they went into the season, the whole talk was Ben Johnson, can he fix Caleb Williams? And he’s done a nice job with him, but in large part because now you’re running the ball and he doesn’t have to do it. If you watched the tape last week, there’s still plays where Caleb Williams does his backward thing running outside. Doesn’t need to doesn’t need to do that. So, he still has flaws in his game that haven’t been fixed, but when you can run it, it kind of overcomes that and allows you to be an offense that can move the football. That’s the biggest difference. So, the Ravens are six and a half point favorites again. Your picks for this game. I believe Superman is coming back this week. I’m going to give it to the Ravens and Lamar Action Jackson. I think they get it done this week. More of their frontline starters are coming back and they’re at home. That crowd would be rockus, especially with Lamar coming back. Give me the Ravens to cover the minus 6 and a half. Desperation is an amazing thing in the NFL. We’ve seen it over the years. And when a team is desperate, they find a way to make it happen. This team is going to find a way to make it happen. They’re desperate. They will win this game. I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t win this game by 10 points. And to that point, we were talking about the lack of the run game from the Ravens. They actually got that going right before the buy versus the Rams, right? Derek Henry was able to run the ball. Pat Ricard, people don’t talk about him enough. They’ve sorely missed him. He’s been able to practice all week. That will be a major upgrade for them running the football if he’s able to go this week. All right, Le P, we certainly appreciate it previewing the Ravens and the Bears as we still don’t officially know if Lamar Jackson is coming back, but Vegas seems to think that he is, right? All right, so looking at that slate 1 p.m. Eastern, of course, the Bears and the Ravens. And then at 4:25 Eastern time, the Cowboys and the Broncos. You can stream all of these on Paramount Plus as well.

Leger Douzable and Pete Prisco join CBS Sports HQ to preview the NFL Week 8 Matchup between the Bears and Ravens.

(00:00) Lamar Jackson
(02:12) What this game means for the Ravens
(04:37) Ben Johnson
(06:40) Picks & Predictions

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46 comments

  4. The game scares me as a Bears fan for 3 reasons. Lamar Jackson is coming back. The Ravens are coming off a bye with players coming back on defense, and I really don't know how good we really are if we don't get the turnovers. I wouldn't be shocked at all if this game gets away from us early. Don't sleep on a 1-5 Ravens team with all that talent playing in Baltimore. Yes I know they lost 2 straight in Baltimore but that was without Jackson and a bunch of key players on defense.

  5. To not even give Chicago a chance is baffling to me

    If Lamar plays then the Ravens will most likely win, but I cannot fathom it being a wash

  10. They are not taking into account of how "desperate" Da Bears also are for this win.

    Losing this game will traumatize the fanbase especially, as it reflects the same point where we had last season's meltdown of losses.

    So, this is a must win , as far as Da Bears are concerned.

    🐻🐻🐻🐻⬇⬇⬇⬇

  13. Astounding that the Ravens are given so much grace No mention of a very lackluster defense Bears beat the Cowboys handily & the Commandos who have everyone's darling Daniels who fumbled the game away Love the underdog label tho Bears go in w/ chip on shoulder and come out w/ a big win against a Ravens team that has only squeaked out one win

  20. Speaking as a Bears fan I wouldn't mind that much if we lost, seeing how overhyped some Bears fans have been recently some fans need to be humbled and this would be a humbling loss

  22. Proof that the National guys make stuff up to fill time?
    Leger: “they (Bears) kept fumbling the ball left and right”
    The reality is the Bears had 19 fumbles last season which puts them in top half of the league for the least amount. Of those 19 fumbles 9 were lost which was middle of the league in 2024.
    The Bears were also top 10 in turnover margin in 2024 finishing at +8. Not “the complete opposite” of +11 like Leger said.

  23. If Bears score more than 25 points aint no way they're losing. The defense have been monster's! 15 takeaways in 4 games?! Not sustainable my ass, hold my beer! We'll see Sunday.

  24. Ima have to disagree. This game is gonna prove the bears are a real play off team. If Caleb could play like he did against Dallas. And swift need to get the running game going like he has been the past 2 weeks. The bears could definitely pull the upset. Ravens are all bums

  25. Still have problems with Caleb’s inconsistencies, I hope Loveland, Burden, and Roschon are given a chance to contribute. Just keep Lamar off the field

  27. We absolutely must stop Derik Henry hes a tank & I actually think we’re gonna have a problem with him our dline doesn’t tackle well on running plays that worries me im65 lifetime fan & I don’t remember many bear defenses sucked against the run the gotta zero in on the ball wherever the ball goes all 11 helmets should go there also & wrap up the runner & drive him to the ground if not hang on for help too many arm tackles and that shit don’t work

  30. Lol no credit to a Bears offense that is the only team that have scored 21+ over the course of the season. But yall keep going against the bears, we keeping receipts!

  32. Every week the Bears are doubted. Every week the media says the Bears will lose… but this is exactly the fuel Johnson and his boys need to keep winning games.

  39. I'd bring Lamar back vs Miami. Dennis Allen is a scary DC. Bears are starting to look like the Defense we are used to Bears having. Plus Bears play Cincinnati the next week so should keep it even.

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