The midway point of the 2025 NFL season is here, and the Chicago Bears are still relevant when it comes to hopes of making the postseason, though they did hit a snag last week. The Bears (4-3) had their four-game winning streak snapped when they lost 30-16 against the Baltimore Ravens. In order to get things back on track, they will need to face another AFC North opponent—the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Bengals (3-5) have been a fairly hot-and-cold team throughout the last few weeks. Despite losing quarterback Joe Burrow early on in the season, they’re playing competitive football thanks to Joe Flacco at the helm. Like the Bears, they too are hoping to bounce back from a loss and keep their postseason hopes alive in a weak AFC North.

These two teams don’t meet often, and we’ve seen memorable games from them in the past. The multi-interception performance from Charles Tillman in 2013, the river dance celebration from Chad Johnson/Ochocinco in 2005, and a revenge game from the late Cedric Benson in 2009. What will we see this year? Here are our bold predictions for Bears vs. Bengals:

1. Caleb Williams has 120 passer rating

It’s been a while since Bears quarterback Caleb Williams had a stellar performance. You have to go back to mid-September when he dismantled the Dallas Cowboys defense with four touchdowns and a passer rating of 142.6. Outside of that, he has been fine overall, but not the difference maker many had hoped they would see under Ben Johnson. At least for this week, though, Williams will shine in Cincinnati.

The Bengals defense as a whole is one of the worst in the league, and they’re likely going to be missing their best player, Trey Hendrickson, due to injury. With how little pass rush the Bengals are getting, Johnson should be able to design any type of offense he wants and build in slow-building routes to burn the defensive backs. In turn, Williams will be able to take advantage and push the ball down the field with ease, producing his first passer rating greater than 120 since September. And with Cincinnati having the third-worst red zone defense by scoring percentage, according to Team Rankings, he and the offense should finally put some touchdowns on the board.

2. Kyle Monangai gets his first 100-yard rushing performance

Truth be told, I had this bold prediction in the chamber even before D’Andre Swift was ruled out with a groin injury. I’ve had my doubts regarding Kyle Monangai’s ability to make a difference at the NFL level, but he’s slowly winning me over. And now that he’s the primary ball carrier in the backfield against a woeful Bengals run defense, this is the game where he goes nuclear.

The Bengals are dead last in rushing yards allowed per game (152), and the Bears have a top-10 rushing offense. Monangai has gotten more comfortable on offense, as evidenced by his snap percentage increasing every week, and he’s a hard runner who doesn’t go down on first contact. Even with Swift out, Johnson will lean on the run game with Monangai, where he will earn his first career 100-yard rushing performance.

3. DJ Moore goes over 100 receiving yards

After nearly half a season, there’s no question that Rome Odunze has overtaken DJ Moore as the team’s top receiver. He leads the team in every receiving category, while Moore is a distant second. In fact, Moore’s 47.3 yards per game are the lowest of his career and he has yet to eclipse 75 yards in a game this season. This is the week all of that changes.

Moore’s and Williams’ chemistry has been under the microscope the last week after the two failed to connect in the end zone near in the closing seconds of the loss to the Ravens. Johnson challenged the players to fix those communication errors and it seems this could be the turning point for these two to get back on the same page. With the attention Odunze will command and how Moore can be utilized all over the field, I believe this will be his best game of the season with a 100-yard performance and a touchdown.

4. Austin Booker gets a sack in his return to action

The Bears’ pass rush has been anemic for much of the season, and it showed last week when they couldn’t pressure Ravens quarterback Tyler Huntley. Fortunately, they’re getting some reinforcements on the defensive line that should be able to help. Edge rusher Austin Booker is officially back after remaining on injured reserve for the first eight weeks of the season with a knee injury, and he could provide a spark for this pass rush.

Booker hasn’t proven much at the NFL level, producing just 1.5 sacks and three tackles for loss. But he has a speed element that no one on the line currently has, and the Bears are facing Flacco, who doesn’t move all too well inside the pocket. Booker may not see too many snaps in his return, but he’ll win at least one rep against either Orlando Brown or Amarius Mims, who have allowed a total of eight sacks, to take down Flacco for his first sack of the year.

5. Jaquan Brisker gets an interception

This prediction is less about a certain matchup and more about just hoping the recent trash talk gets backed up. Jaquan Brisker made news this week when he discussed the trash talking that was going to happen with him, Tyrique Stevenson, and CJ Gardner-Johnson all in the same secondary. He mentioned that receivers were crying about how it became too much on the field.

Those comments circulated on social media, and many have panned Brisker for them. The vocal safety put a target on his team’s back, and now he has to step up his game. With Flacco dealing with a shoulder injury, his passes won’t be as accurate, and Brisker will have opportunities to cash in. I think he catches an off-target pass for a pick and backs up his comments in the process. At least I hope he does, for the sake of his teammates.