Bears vs. Bengals Preview, Score Prediction, MAJOR Injury News, Joe Flacco | NFL Week 9

Bears vs. Bengals Preview, Score Prediction, MAJOR Injury News, Joe Flacco | NFL Week 9

All right, we’re on to Cincinnati as the Chicago Bears hit the road to face the Cincinnati Bengals this weekend in a I would say pretty pivotal game for both teams. Full preview ahead here on Chicago Bears now. My name is Harrison Graham. If you want the Bears to bounce back, they had won four in a row, had that snapped in Baltimore. looking to get back in the win column. Hit that like button. Good vibes only. Let’s get win number five. We said it. You split Baltimore and Cincinnati. Get to five and three. Come home. Face the Giants. Let’s go. Great opportunities ahead. Uh if you’re with me, hit that like button. All right, let’s break down these teams a little bit. If you look at some team stats here, uh with the Bears only scoring 16 last week, they dropped to 24 points per game, which is 16th in the NFL. Points per game allowed, 26.4, that is 25th. Not a great game for the defense against Baltimore, obviously. Uh turnover margin still first in the NFL. When you get 15 takeaways in a four- game span, that’s going to boost those numbers. Uh we’ll see if they can start getting those again this week. Uh 11th and third down offense, 41.1% solid. Uh second and third down defense. This defense is very feast or famine. They’re great on third down. They get a lot of takeaways. Other than that, they do give up a lot of yards. So, you know, it is what it is right now. Bengals team stats, uh, 21st in points per game at 21.8. Uh, 25th, uh, in points per game allowed, 31.6. Uh, turnover margin is minus2. That is tied for 19th. Uh, third down offense, 14th in the NFL, uh, just over 39%. And third down defense has been atrocious. They have not been able to get off the field. Uh, second to last, uh, giving up almost 50% rate on third down. Red zone. This has been a major talking point for the Bears. We did a full video on this. One of the three things they got to fix is their red zone woes. Uh they’re down to 26th in the NFL at under 48% touchdown rate once entering the red area. Uh five for 16 in their last 16 trips. That’s since week four and beyond. Uh red zone defense isn’t great either. 25th in the NFL. So those are areas they got to get better in. Uh Bengals offense eighth in the red zone. So when they’re getting down there, they are they are punching it in. They have been bad on red zone defense uh at 30th in the NFL. So hopefully this is a week for the Bears offense to get back to uh getting sevens and not threes. They’re moving the ball consistently, but you got to get touchdowns in the NFL. All right, let’s take a look at the injury reports from Wednesday. Now, we’ll have more later today, but the top four Bears receivers did not practice on Wednesday. Roma Dun dealing with the heel issue. DJ Moore has been battling this hip groin thing for a few weeks now since Washington. Uh, I expect him to play, but they’re managing him early in these practice weeks. Luther Burden in concussion protocol. I doubt he’s back, but you never know. And then Lamina Zaki is dealing with the knee injury. Not really sure when that one happened. Kind of like with the Dunes heels. So again, today, tomorrow, we’ll see what the uh next couple injury reports show us. DeAndre Swift, kind of like DJ Moore, I think it’s early week management, so I would expect him to do more as the week goes on. Should be fine for Sunday. Roshan Johnson, he’s dealing with that back issue still. missed last week. We’ll see if he does anything today. Uh and then Dominic Robinson, he’s going to miss a few weeks for sure this game. So, uh he will not be out there with that high ankle sprain. Uh guys who are trending up, Cole KT with that back injury, uh did not play uh for the first time in his career last week. He talked to the media on Wednesday. To me, that’s a signal that he will likely be back. And then Tyreek Stevenson dealing with that shoulder trending up as well. Both of them were limited. So, would be huge to get both back. KT because you might be a little thin at receiver, might run some more 12 personnel and then Stevenson uh because you’re going to need some help on the back end. So, uh that is definitely important also. And then the Bengals injury report is as follows. Uh Joe Flacco dealing with that AC joint sprain. Uh Kevin or not Kevin Stfansky, his former head coach, Zack Taylor called him uh daytoday called it 5050 for Sunday. So, we’ll see today and tomorrow if he does anything. Trey Hendendrickson with that hip. That’s one to follow. Obviously, Daltton Risner was sick yesterday. He should be fine. Logan Wilson with that calf. He’s kind of been in and out of the lineup. They kind of benched him, but then he started playing again. So, we’ll see what his situation is. And then Marco Wilson dealing with the hamstring injury as of now. We’ll see how their injury report progresses over the next two days as well. All right, our week nine sub battle. We’re actually trailing early to the Bengals breakdown. 66- 59 and new subscribers so far this week. I know the vibes are a little down after a loss. Let’s pick them back up. Let’s take down the Bengals breakdown so we can take them down on Sunday as well. If you want free and daily Bears content, hit that subscribe button. It’s free. All right, who has the edge at head coach? I’m going to go Bears. I I’m not a Zack Taylor guy. I know they went to the Super Bowl back in 2021, but I think that’s more Joe Burrow. And quite frankly, their former defensive coordinator, Louis Anarumo, I think he’s a better coach than Zack Taylor is overall. the defense has gotten even worse. And um you know, while Joe Flacco and the offense has done some nice things, I’m just not a big believer in Zack Taylor. I think the Bengals would tell you they’d rather have Ben Johnson than Zack Taylor. So, I’m going to give Ben the edge here, even though he is a very young head coach. Okay, quarterback, I’ll go push. Now, don’t freak out on me, but Joe Flacco has given that team life. He’s playing smart, throwing the ball to Jamar Chase. And for Caleb, it’s been a little up and down. So, obviously we would all take Caleb Williams over Joe Flacco, but in a 60-minute game, uh, either guy could play better than the other. There’s there’s no doubt about that. So, I’ll go push. Uh, skill guys, I’ll go Bengals. I I think that Chase Higgins, uh, and now Chase Brown reemerging here. Uh, that’s that’s that’s pretty damn good. And outside of Roma Dunay and DeAndre Swift, I’ll add in there, it’s been pretty inconsistent. You’re not getting enough out of your tight ends. uh secondary receivers. DJ’s had some good moments, but you need more out of him. Obviously, Luther’s got the concussion. Amade Zakias has been a safety valve, but not much more than that. Uh I will give the edge to the Bengals and a lot of it is just Jamar Chase. He is absolutely unbelievable. Uh offensive line pretty easily the Bears. Uh the Bengals unit is not great. It’s been a little better lately. Uh they’ve opened up some running lanes for Chase Brown. Joe Flacco’s doing a good job of kind of protecting the pass protection by getting the ball out quickly. Uh but uh the Bears unit is is better. Okay, defensive line, I will go Bears here. Now, if Trey Hendrickson plays, which he probably will, I would guess it’s closer to evenish. You know, Shamar Stewart’s had some okay moments. Um but even though the Bears Dline isn’t great, I still do think uh it is better than Cincinnati’s. Linebackers is also advantage Bears. Logan Wilson’s not having a good year. They recently benched him. Now, since then, they’ve kind of started to play him again. So, they’re still looking for answers at that position. Uh, he also requested a trade, so keep an eye on him. Uh, potentially getting moved before the deadline, unlikely before this game, but something to monitor. All right, when it comes to the secondary, I’m going to give the edge to the Bears. Obviously, last week they were beat up. Had to play Nick McCloud, had to play Jaylen Jones, but with the addition of CJ Gardner Johnson, and hopefully Tyreek Stevenson coming back, I do think the Bears have uh the advantage here as well. I’m going to give special teams to the Bengals though. McFerson’s an excellent kicker. Their punters been really good this year and the Bears coverage units have just not been that good. So, uh I will give uh that nod to Cincinnati when it comes to special teams. All right, we’ll get to some keys to victory in a second, but first got to tell you about today’s sponsor. That is Ethos. Life insurance is one of the most important investments you can make in your family. 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That is ethos.com/nflaily. Application times may vary, rates may vary. That link is in the comments and description of this video. Our first key to victory, you got to find a way to slow down Jamar Chase. Ben Johnson called him a problem on Wednesday. That’s exactly what he is. And now the Bears secondary has been beat up again. You’re hoping to get some key uh cogs back in. Tyreek Stevenson and Gardenner Johnson helps, but Nan Wright on uh T. Higgins and Jamar Chase. That’s still a tough battle here. And especially if Joe Flacco’s able to play, he’s been a major problem. Joe Flacco’s going full Madden and just peppering Jamar Chase. First game with him, 12 targets, 10 catches, 94 and a tad. Second game, 23 targets, 16 catches, 161 yards, and another touchdown. 19 targets, 12 catches, 91 yards against the Jets. Now, in week six and week eight, you’re not uh seeing those major explosives. So, I think you would live with those type of numbers and not give up the big play. But Jamar Chase is a major major problem. Now, we’ll see if it’s Joe Flacco or Jake Browning. I still think it’s going to be Flaco, but he is dealing with that shoulder injury. Uh Jake Browning had not been playing well when he was out there. He had not had the same connection with Jamar Chase that Joe Flacco has seemingly built uh instantaneously. So, obviously that does play a factor. But regardless of them playing better with Joe Flacco, number one, you better know where he is on the field at all times because uh he can change the game uh on any given play. What is your concern level of defending Jamar Chase? Scale it from 1 to 10. One being not at all, 10 being very. He’s a concern. There’s no question about it. Okay, stick with the running game. You know, the running game has been a lot better since the byee, especially in those first two games. I thought last week uh Ben kind of got away from it uh too early, but also the opponent you’re playing this week just got torched by the Jets. And look, Justin Fields uh poses a problem as a QB run guy, but Bree Hall had a field day. Isaiah Davis ran for about 100 yards uh for the Jets as well. Seven yards per carry basically uh for New York last week. Uh, I think if you commit to the run game with Swift and Manungi, uh, mix in a little Caleb here and there, I think you should average well over five yards per carry in this game. And again, I think last week against Baltimore, uh, the Bears kind of got away from it. Now, that game just got weird where the Ravens had these long drawn out possessions and you didn’t have the ball a ton in the middle two quarters of the game. So, I think part of that was game flow, but they were still having enough success on the ground that they should have stuck with it more. Uh I would expect uh to be uh a little more stubborn in that regard this week uh and commit to running the football. Uh on the flip side, you got to contain Chase Brown. He was ice cold to start this year. I I don’t think he was seeing uh the running lanes that way uh that well, the Bengals were not opening up running lanes. And also once Jake Browning was in there, I think teams were just teeing off in the run game because Browning can’t push the ball downfield. Then now that Joe Flacco’s in the mix, I don’t think it’s a coincidence in the three starts that Flaco has started. Teams have to respect the pass game now. And Chase Brown looks like the Chase Brown we saw the second half of last year. Seven yards a carry, over 220 yards, has a touchdown. He averaged two and a half yards per carry the first uh three weeks. I mean, just abysmal. But uh since then, he has been a whole lot better for Cincinnati. So, um if he’s getting 5, six, seven plus, it’s going to be tough. I mean, I know it’s Joe Flacco, but he has been more than functional since taking over for Jake Browning over the last three weeks. Okay, got to take a step forward for Caleb. Uh, I actually thought he did play better against Baltimore than he did the prior week and Ben Johnson echoed those sentiments, but we need another step, right? For one, he’s just got to keep taking steps. And two, the Bengals defense is not good. doesn’t mean every play is gonna every play you call is going to uh you know have wide open receivers and all of that but there will be opportunities uh to generate big plays uh in this game. So he should have a good game. I’m not going to set a stat I’m looking for necessarily. I mean obviously the efficiency uh you want that to uh continue to improve and last week was a good step close to 66% completion. Uh but there should be plays out there to be made uh for this passing offense. And if there’s not, that’s not going to be fun to watch and to break down because uh that would be shocking if we just broke it down and the Bengals had some great defensive game. I don’t see that happening. And then lastly, we always do this. Uh it’s more of a theme on the last line in their season. The Bengals when they beat the Steelers two weeks ago were backed alive. Like they saved their season. It’s like, okay, we’ll beat the Jets. We’ll be four and four. Well, they they choked against the Jets. They choked and now they’re three and five. You beat them and knocked them to three and six, fenito. They are finished. So, you got an opportunity to bury this team this week. Obviously, you got an opportunity to boost your season back up as well, but uh you bury this team, you end their season. Maybe Trey Hendrickson becomes available. I don’t know if that would be for the Bears or someone else, but um this is an opportunity to bury an opponent coming off a devastating loss. I mean, for them to blow that game, a two-score lead to the Jets in the fourth quarter uh is demoralizing for that team. Take them down. You would think they’re going to come out inspired kind of like the Ravens last week knowing their season’s on the line, but they’re not the Ravens. They’re just not the Ravens. Um even with Tyler Huntley, Tyler Huntley, that last version of the Ravens last week is better than this Bengals team. you should be able to win this game and bury this team. Predict the score. Bears, Bengals. Will the Bears bounce back? Who wins? What’s the score going to be? Get your predictions down below. I I I feel a big bounceback coming. Ben Johnson’s not happy. He let that be known uh with his players. We heard it in the media. Uh you know, he wants that, you know, accountability, that back and forth street to happen here. I I think these players respond. I think the Bears win 3120. Uh, I’m not saying it’s going to be easy. Maybe it’s 24-20 and you ice it late with the touchdown drive, but um I think this is a team you should beat and uh I expect the Bears to do that. Salvage the split, which is what you know the baseline goal was, and then come home 5 and three and take on the New York Giants as the month of November arrives. All right, that’s going to do it for this edition of Chicago Bears. Now, plenty to come as we get you ready for kickoff on Sunday. So, don’t go anywhere. Subscribe to the channel and bear down.

The Chicago Bears take on the Cincinnati Bengals during NFL Week 9 in hopes of getting back to winning ways after falling to the Baltimore Ravens last week. How will Chicago look to contain Bengals star WR Ja’Marr Chase with their injuries at CB? How should Ben Johnson look to use D’Andre Swift and the Bears running game against Cincinnati? Chat Sports host Harrison Graham is back with a full Bears vs. Bengals preview on Chicago Bears Now.

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Bears team stats (NFL Rank):
– Points Per Game: 24.0 (16th)
– Points Per Game Allowed: 26.4 (25th)
– Turnover Margin: +10 (1st)
– 3rd Down Offense: 41.1% (11th)
– 3rd Down Defense: 31.2% (2nd)

NFL Red Zone stats (TD-Rate):
– Bears Offense: 47.8% (26th)
– Bears Defense: 64.0% (25th)
– Bengals Offense: 68.2% (8th)
– Bengals Defense: 70.3% (30th)

Enjoyed today’s episode of Bears Now? Find more Chicago Bears YouTube videos below:
– Chicago Bears Trade Rumors: TRADE For Giants’ EDGE Kayvon Thibodeux + Today’s Bears News – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRjA3TRrZiY
– Ben Johnson Is PISSED OFF! Chicago Bears MUST FIX These 3 Things – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auBPUGl2oYU
– Chicago Bears Just Got A BUNCH OF NEWS – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNZp-HW43g8

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Ja’Marr Chase’s stats with Joe Flacco:
– Week 6 vs. Packers: 12 TAR, 10 REC, 94 YDS, 1 TD
– Week 7 at Steelers: 23 TAR, 16 REC, 161 YDS, 1 TD
– Week 8 vs. Jets: 19 TAR, 12 REC, 91 YDS, 0 TD

Let your voice be heard by commenting on today’s Bears Now episode:
– Concern-level of defending Ja’Marr Chase? Scale of 1-10
– Predict the score! Bears-Bengals

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Chicago Bears 2025 NFL Schedule (4-3):
– Week 1: vs. Vikings (MNF) | 27-24 LOSS
– Week 2: at Lions | 52-21 LOSS
– Week 3: vs. Cowboys | 31-14 WIN
– Week 4: at Raiders | 25-24 WIN
– Week 5: Bye
– Week 6: at Commanders (MNF) | 25-24 WIN
– Week 7: vs. Saints | 26-14 WIN
– Week 8: at Ravens | 30-16 LOSS
– Week 9: at Bengals
– Week 10: vs. Giants
– Week 11: at Vikings
– Week 12: vs. Steelers
– Week 13: at Eagles (Black Friday)
– Week 14: at Packers
– Week 15: vs. Browns
– Week 16: vs. Packers (SAT)
– Week 17: at 49ers (SNF)
– Week 18: vs. Lions

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