After an 0-2 start to the season, the Redskins will look to rebound against the Chicago Bears of the NFC North.
The Washington Redskins haven’t had a successful start to the 2019 season, but they haven’t gotten a lucky draw, either. Their first two matchups were against the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys, both divisional opponents who’d appeared in the playoffs last year.
Still, this tough draw can be used as an excuse for the bad product put on the field, and it shouldn’t be. The Redskins have had it tough on the football field, but they’ve also been kind of bad to start the year. These two truths can coexist with one another, and against the stingy Bears defense, there’s a chance the theme continues.
That said, the 2019 Bears have shown themselves to be more vulnerable than the 2018 Bears team that went 12-4 en route to a three-seed in the playoffs. How do the Redskins match up with the Bears, and are there any weaknesses they can exploit? Will Chicago’s defense be as suffocating as it was last year? Take a look!
Redskins offense vs. Bears defense
The Bears defense isn’t quite as dominant as it was in 2018, but that shouldn’t be the standard in this case. Why? Because the 2018 Bears defense was historically good. And even if the 2019 Bears defense isn’t *that* good, it’s still very, very good.
The numbers back that case up. While the 2018 Bears haven’t been as adept at generating turnovers, they’ve been getting to the quarterback quite a bit, and they’ve been suffocating drives from even the best quarterbacks. Aaron Rodgers’ Packers only scored 10 against Chicago in the NFL season debut, and the Broncos put up a measly 14 points, after Joe Flacco passed it 50 times.
The Bears defense, currently ranked No. 4 in the NFL in least yards allowed, forces an offense to work for their success, and so far, no one has cracked the code. It’ll be tough for the Redskins to break the trend. On the line, Akiem Hicks, Khalil Mack, Roy Robertson-Harris, and Leonard Floyd wreak havoc. In the linebacking core, Roquan Smith has the speed and physicality to be an eventual All-Pro. And the secondary, Kyle Fuller, Eddie Jackson, and Prince Amukamara feast on opportunities created by the front seven.
There are some weak points in Chicago; we all remember Ha Ha Clinton-Dix’s sorrowful stint in Washington D.C. But overall, this is a very good defensive unit, coached by Chuck Pagano, who still has his chops as a defensive coordinator. The plan will be to get pressure early against the Redskins line, and disrupt Case Keenum, whose volatility shows when he’s rushed. Terry McLaurin and other Redskins receivers will likely continue to find separation, but the Bears will make sure the ball doesn’t have the chance to reach them.
Redskins defense vs. Bears offense
If there’s one area where the Washington Redskins might be able to gain a competitive advantage, it’s this one.
The Bears offense, one year removed from a breakout season under Matt Nagy, has stalled quite a bit to start out 2019. In a two-game sample, the Bears are third-to-last in the NFL in yards-per-game, with just 263.5, and they’ve only averaged 9.5 points per game in their first two outings.
These numbers, in a sense, are misleading. The Bears offense has talent. Allen Robinson is a top-flight receiver, and the running back duo of David Montgomery and Tarik Cohen has potential. The offensive line is an unequivocal strength, with Bobby Massie, Kyle Long, James Daniels, Cody Whitehair, and Charles Leno constituting a top ten unit, and Nagy, as a coach, far exceeds Redskins defensive coordinator Greg Manusky.
The Bears offensive line should put up a fight against Washington’s front, and if Jonathan Allen isn’t back from his injury, they might set the tone early. But the most important cog of any offense is the quarterback, and so far in 2019, Mitchell Trubisky hasn’t given the Bears what they’re looking for.
If the Redskins secondary can come together and shore up communication concerns, and if the defensive line can will its way to more pressure, then perhaps they could make life harder for Trubisky, and prevent him from getting comfortable. Trubisky’s line will give him a chance to be successful, and his supporting cast will as well, but ultimately, it’s Trubisky who needs to take advantage of opportunities. He hasn’t done so yet. Still, against a Redskins defense that’s reeling and falling below expectations, now is as good a time as ever for a Trubisky breakout.
Score Prediction
This should be the easiest of the Redskins first three 2019 matchups, but that isn’t necessarily saying much. The Eagles and the Cowboys are both complete teams, and even while the Bears offense hasn’t been as good as they’d hoped, the defense is still menacing, and the coaching staff in Chicago has a better feel for the game than those in Washington.
For the Redskins, going up against a limping Bears offense should give a coveted chance to the defense, to step back up and amount to the expectations placed on them before the season. But even then, it will be tough to make a lasting impact across from Chicago’s offensive line. They’ll have to force Mitchell Trubisky to make mistakes. And if Jay Gruden lets Chicago get ahead early, they’ll take advantage of a spotty Redskins run defense.
It should be a relatively close game, but I see the Bears taking this one on the road. The Bears have the edge on defense and on the coaching staff, and while their offense has produced a subpar output overall thus far, the Redskins offense doesn’t have an insurmountable edge, if they even have an edge at all. This game will be marred by inconsistency on offense and splash plays on defense, and by the end, the Redskins will still be searching for their first win.
Final Score: Bears 19, Redskins 15
Agree or disagree with our production? Be sure to let us know in the comments section below, and stay tuned with us here at Riggo’s Rag for all the latest news, analysis, and game content. We’ll keep you in the loop!