The Bears have lost Adewale Ogunleye for the rest of the year due to a small fracture in his left fibula.  He played in 14 games for the Bears this season and he made 38 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, forced 1 fumble and he had 6.5 sacks.  This is a big loss for the Bears as Ogunleye was one of the best pass rushers on the team.

Just when I thought the Chicago Bears’ (5-9) passing game couldn’t look any worse, they failed to put up 100 passing yards and threw four interception in their loss to the Baltimore Ravens (8-6) Sunday.  Jay Cutler managed only 98 yards on 10/27 passes, throwing 3 interceptions and 0 touchdowns.  The Bears running game did their best to make up for no passing game, gaining 122 yards as a team.  Matt Forte had 69 yards on 20 carries and lost a fumble, while Kahlil Bell ran much better for 30 yards on 6 carries.  Rashied Davis also lost a fumble, giving the Bears offense a total of 6 turnovers.

The Bears defense were obviously given no help from their offense, but they were pretty bad themselves.  They let Ravens’ quarterback Joe Flacco pick apart their secondary, going 21/29 for 234 yards and 4 touchdowns.  They also let Ravens’ running back Ray Rice break tackles all day, finishing with 87 yards on just 16 carries (5.4 avg).  The Bears took a big step back after playing the Packers tough last game.  It will be interesting to see what the Bears’ plans are for their future, especially their coaching.

The Chicago Bears (5-8) are on the road this week against the Baltimore Ravens (7-6), who are coming off a huge 48-3 win over the Lions.  The Bears played the Packers tough last week, but the disappointment continued for the Bears like it has all season.  On defense the Bears need to be ready to stop the run, something they have struggled with all season.  The Ravens are coming off one of their best running games of the year and with the combination of Ray Rice and Willis McGahee the Bears have a tough challenge.  Joe Flacco is no slouch either, so the Bears can’t just key in on the running backs.  I think the Bears are going to have a hard time stopping this Ravens offense.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Bears really need to establish their running game.  Without a running game, Jay Cutler is a bad quarterback.  If Matt Forte can get some success early, it will make a world of difference for the Bears and their passing game.  The problem is that Forte has been averaging only 3.4 yards per carry and has only 4 touchdowns on the year.  The Ravens still have a pretty talented defense too, and they keep opponents under 100 rushing yards per game, so it doesn’t look good for the Bears.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Baltimore Ravens 28, Chicago Bears 14

The Chicago Bears (5-8) looked like they might be on their way to a blowout loss against the Green Bay Packers (9-4) on Sunday.  Down 13-0 early in the second quarter, the Bears settled in and fought their way back to take a 14-13 lead in the third quarter.  The Bears could not hold them though, and with this loss they were officially eliminated from the playoffs.  They did a very good job keeping Packers’ quarterback Aaron Rodgers in check, but they couldn’t contain their running back Ryan Grant.  Grant rushed for 137 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries, including a 67-yard touchdown run to open the scoring up in the first quarter.  They kept Rodgers out of the endzone and forced two fumbles against him, while allowing only 180 passing yards on 16/24 attempts.

The Bears offense looked out of sync once again and they had 13 penalties for 109 yards.  They also turned the ball over twice, with two Jay Cutler interceptions giving the Bears quarterback a league leading 22 interceptions on the year.  Cutler did throw two touchdown passes and finished with 209 yards on 23/36 attempts.  The interceptions have killed the Bears all season and this game was no different.  The Bears also did not get enough from running back from Matt Forte, which has been the story of his season.  He finished with 51 yards on 12 carries, which is right around his average of about 53 rushing yards per game.  The Bears played their rivals tough, but the lack of execution on offense hurt them like it has been all season.

The Green Bay Packers (8-4) are coming to town, and the Chicago Bears (5-7) are hoping for a better result than their week one loss against the Packers.  It will be difficult though, as the Bears defense was in much better condition back in week one and the Packers have gotten better.  Aaron Rodgers has been getting more protection lately, and he has been putting up some very nice numbers.  Rodgers did throw two interceptions last week against the Ravens, but he may not be throwing as often this week in Chicago’s cold and windy weather.  That means the Bears need to be ready to stop Ryan Grant and the Packers’ running game.  They are ranked 25th at stopping the run though, so the odds are against the Bears in this one

Jay Cutler threw four interceptions in their last meeting, and that was some foreshadowing for how Cutler’s first season with the Bears would go.  He has thrown 20 interceptions this year, but the Bears have been limiting him lately so I don’t expect another four pick day.  Still, the Bears offense has been terrible, and without a good passing game Matt Forte is ineffective.  Maybe the Bears can get some extra inspiration playing their rivals, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

FINALS SCORE PREDICTION:  Chicago Bears 13, Green Bay Packers 28

Although the Chicago Bears (5-7) did get the win over the St. Louis Rams (1-11) on Sunday, it was not a very impressive win.  It was a close game throughout and Bears’ quarterback Jay Cutler looked timid and did not do very much.  He passed for only 143 yards on 8/17 passes, but he did have a touchdown and zero interceptions.  Cutler has been throwing interceptions like it is his job, so it was nice to see him only complete passes to Bears’ players.  The Rams are a terrible team though, so it is not a good sign when your franchise quarterback puts up such unimpressive numbers and was afraid to throw it down the field.  Matt Forte had a solid game, rushing for 91 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries.  Those are decent numbers, but the Bears would have probably liked to see better against such a weak opponent.

The Bears defense did there job and kept the Rams out of the endzone.  They only gave up 233 total yards, but they did give up 112 yards to Rams’ running back Steven Jackson.  Jackson is the only offense the Rams really have though, and he is a talented running back, so the Bears did an okay job not letting him have a huge day.  The Rams’ quarterback Kyle Boler is not a good quarterback and ti showed, so the Bears defense did not have much of a challenge in this one.  The Bears did win, which is all that matters, but I would still have liked to see them play better against such a low-quality opponent.

The Chicago Bears (4-7) need a win desperately and thankfully for them they are playing the St. Louis Rams (1-10).  The Bears are trying to avoid their fifth straight loss, and if they are not able to beat the Rams it will sum up this year’s season perfectly.  I do think the Bears will win this game though, because as bad as the Bears are the Rams are much worse.  Jay Cutler can use this game to build some confidence, as the Rams give up 375 total yards per game.  They give up nearly 150 of that on the ground, so maybe Matt Forte can finally have a big game rushing.

The Bears defense will probably have a lot more to do with the Bears winning this than the offense.  The Rams’ whole offense is basically Steven Jackson, who averages 4.7 yards per carry.  Jackson is battling a back injury, but is expected to play.  Although the Bears are not good at stopping the run, the Rams are a one-dimension offense and the Bears can key in on stopping Jackson.  The Bears should definitely win this game.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Chicago Bears 28, St. Louis Rams 14

The Bears have signed 30-year old linebacker Cato June.  June played in all 16 games for the Bucs last season and he made 67 tackles, defensed 2 passes and he picked off a pass.  He has now played in 88 games in his NFL career and he has 499 tackles, 24 passes defensed, 1 sack, 3 forced fumbles and he has 12 interceptions (2 returned for TDs).  The Bears need all the help they can get so I fully endorse this signing.