The Chicago Bears (6-9) are going up against the Detroit Lions (2-13) on the road Sunday and both teams are missing the playoffs once again this year.  The Bears are coming off one of their best games of the year after beating the Minnesota Vikings in overtime last week, and if they play like that this week the Lions have no chance.  The Bears defense needs to be ready to stop the run, something they have not done a good job of this season.  They give up 128 rushing yards per game, but the Lions don’t have much of a passing game so the Bears should be able to key in on stopping the run.  Mathew Stafford is out for the Lions, so it will be either Drew Stanton or Daunte Culpepper taking the snaps.  The Bears will be without cornerback Charles Tillman, but neither Lions’ quarterback has done well in limited playing time this season, so it could be a good day for the Bears’ defense.

The Bears may be without Danieal Manning and Johnny Knox, who both have been big threats in the return game.  Knox has been a threat in the passing game too, and with Devin Hester still out the Bears will be very depleted at receiver if Knox cannot go.  That will make things harder for Jay Cutler, but he and receiver Devin Aromashodu had a lot of success last game.  Matt Forte will have to step up, and although it has been a disappointing season for Forte, he did have his best game of the season against the Lions in their last matchup with 121 yards and a touchdown.  The Bears should definitely win and head coach Lovie Smith needs a convincing win if he wants any chance of returning next season.

PREDICTION:  Chicago Bears 24, Detroit Lions 13

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 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

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 Chicago Bears (4-6) have been quite a disappointment this year and they will be taking that disappointing play to the Metrodome against the Minnesota Vikings (9-1).  The Bears will be facing an old rival in Brett Favre, who is having a great year for the Vikings.  The Bears are holding teams to under 200 passing yards per game, but they are giving up too much on the ground.  That doesn’t give me too much confidence in the Bears, especially since the Vikings have Adrian Peterson who is the best running back in the game.  Hopefully for the Bears, Favre will fall into some of his old habits and throw some erratic passes that turn into interceptions.  If the Bears don’t get some turnovers, I don’t think they will have a chance in this one.

The Bears’ offense has been flat out embarrassing lately, most notably quarterback Jay Cutler.  Cutler has 18 interceptions this season and a lot of them have been coming in the red-zone.  Cutler needs to snap out of the funk he is in or this game could get ugly for the Bears.  It will not be easy for Cutler since the Vikings have a very strong defense led by Jared Allen.  Allen has been a quarterback’s nightmare this season and Cutler doesn’t need any more reasons to doubt himself.  The Bears have been on a downward spiral and I don’t see them all of sudden playing great, because they will need to play great if they want to even come close to winning this one.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Minnesota Vikings 31, Chicago Bears 17

The Chicago Bears (4-5) have been terrible lately and will be trying to salvage their season as they host the Philadelphia Eagles (5-4) on Sunday.  The Eagles have not been playing well lately either, so the Bears may have a chance despite their two terrible losses in a row.  Jay Cutler needs to stop throwing interceptions, as it is getting a little ridiculous.  With all the Cutler hype and money given to Cutler coming into this season, it is unacceptable the way he has played.  Rex Grossman played better for the Bears than what Cutler has shown lately.  The 5 interceptions was embarrassing last week, and only putting 6 points on the board against a .500 team was pathetic.  I’m guessing Cutler will be throwing a bunch of screen passes to Matt Forte again, as that is the only positive thing that has come out of the Bears’ offense lately.  Forte caught 8 passes for 120 yards last week, so hopefully for the Bears’ sake they can continue that success.

The Bears defense played well last week, but with the offense as bad as it is they weren’t given much of a chance.  The Eagles are still without Brian Westbrook, so LeSean McCoy will be the starting running back for the Eagles.  He probably wont get too many carries anyway though, as McNabb has to throw the ball a lot for the Eagles to put points up.  This could be a pretty ugly game, as both teams have been pretty bad lately.  I’ve been pretty fannish in my Bear’s picks this year, but I have lost all faith in them (especially Cutler) so I am going with the Eagles.  Who knows though, Cutler could decide to show up and put his money where his offseason mouth was and finally have a good game.  I wouldn’t bet on it though.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Philadelphia Eagles 28, Chicago Bears 24

The Chicago Bears (4-4) and San Francisco 49ers (3-5) are playing Thursday night on the NFL Network.  Both teams have been under-performing after promising starts, and their playoff chances are slipping away.  The Bears defense was embarrassed last week against the Cardinals, who put up 41 points on the Bears.  The Cardinals have lost four in a row and the Bears have lost their last three out of four games.  Bears’ legend Mike Singletary is the head coach of the 49ers, and this will be his first game against his former team.

The Bears defense needs to get their act together, but they do not have as big of a challenge this week against the 49ers.  Tommie Harris can hopefully keep his cool and not punch anyone in this game, as the Bears sorely missed Harris on Sunday after his early ejection.  The 49ers quarterback Alex Smith has been struggling though, so the Bears defense may be able to get back on track tomorrow night.  He had three interceptions and two fumbles last game, so a turnover or two should be expected for the Bears defense.  The Bears don’t have to worry too much about Smith, but they do need to worry about Frank Gore and not just in the running game.  Gore had 158 total yards last week, with 75 coming in the passing game.  Both teams are desperate for a win, but I think Jay Cutler is going to step up in this game and finally lead the Bears the way he should.  The 49ers give up 241 passing yards per game, which makes me think even more that Cutler will have a big game and lead the Bears to a win.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Chicago Bears 31, San Francisco 49ers 24

The Chicago Bears (4-3) and Arizona Cardinals (4-3) face off at Soldier Field Sunday and it is an interesting NFC matchup.  Both teams have been underachieving and inconsistent throughout the season.  The Bears are coming off an easy win against a weak opponent in the Cleveland Browns, while the Cardinals lost to the Carolina Panthers after winning three straight.  If the Bears can establish Matt Forte like they did last week they will be in good shape.  Forte has not been an impact at all throughout the season, but had a 90 yard effort last week.  The Cardinals give up 96 rushing yards per game so Forte could be effective.

It wont matter whether or not Forte has a good game if Cutler keeps turning the ball over.  He has now thrown six interceptions in his last three games.  He only has three touchdown passes in that same period of time and failed to hit the endzone last week.  The Bears defense will have a big challenge in slowing down Kurt Warner and the Cardinals passing game.  Warner has the best receiver in the league to throw to in Larry Fitzgerald.  Warner and Fitzgerald have hooked up 47 times this season for 509 yards and five touchdowns.  The Bears need to do a better job of pressuring Warner than they have done to other quarterbacks lately.  They only have one sack in the past three games, and if they don’t get to Warner he can eat up the Bears secondary.  When pressured Warner does make mistakes.  He threw five interceptions last week and likes to gamble, so the Bears should look to take advantage of any erratic throws by Warner.  This is a tough one to call, but with the Bears coming off their best running performance of the year and being at home, I will give them the slight edge.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Chicago Bears 31, Arizona Cardinals 27

The Chicago Bears (3-3) looked awful last week against the Cincinnati Bengals, losing 45-10, and are looking to bounce back this Sunday against the Cleveland Browns (1-6).  The Browns are not a good team, but with the way the Bears have looked lately they aren’t either.  The defense gave up 448 yards last week, including 198 rushing yards to Cedric Benson.  The defense will have to do better than that, but they should have an easier time slowing down Jamal Lewis who only has one 100 yard rushing game this year, with the rest all under 60 yards.  There is no Carson Palmer to deal with in this game either, as the struggling Derek Anderson is still the starting quarterback for the Browns.  He has thrown six interceptions in the last four games, so if the Bears can get some pressure on him they could get some turnovers.

On offense, Jay Cutler and Matt Forte really need to step their play up.  Cutler needs to take care of the ball and stop throwing interceptions.  He has five picks in the last two games, but he has been doing a good job finding Devin Hester.  Hester was the only good offensive player in last week’s embarrassment for the Bears, catching eight passes for 101 yards and a touchdown.  Cutler should continue to look for Hester since it looks like he is finally coming into his own as a receiver.  Forte continues to be a non impact player, but he may be able to break out of his funk and have a good game against a Browns defense that gives up 170 rushing yards per contest.  The Bears are also honoring Walter Payton before the game, as it is the 10th anniversary of his death.  Hopefully Sweetness can inspire the Bears to play like they are capable of.  The Bears should win this won easily, but it could be close if they play like they did last week.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Chicago Bears 28, Cleveland Browns 14

The Chicago Bears (3-2) are on the road against the Cincinnati Bengals (4-2) Sunday and are looking to shut up running back Cedric Benson.  Benson, who was the Bears’ first round pick four years ago, says the Bears “blackballed” him.  Benson has turned into an elite back this season and is very bitter towards the Bears, and has not been afraid to let the media know about it.  The Bears have denied such accusations, but this has added some extra drama to what should be a close and exciting football game.  Benson was held to only 44 yards last week against a Texans’ defense that gives up an average of 125 rushing yards per game, so I think the Bears will be able to limit what Benson does.

The Bears need running back Matt Forte to have a good game.  Forte has had himself a “sophomore slump” so far this season with only one game over 100 rushing yards.  The Bengals give up 97 rushing yards per game, so Forte should be able to get himself going in this one.  Jay Cutler needs to play mistake free football, as the two interceptions last week really hurt the Bears.  They did a terrible job in the redzone last week, something they really need to do better this week.  Carson Palmer is a very good quarterback and has proven he is very clutch as well.  If the Bears can slow the running game down, they can blitz Palmer into some mistakes.  The Bears really need a win and I am going to keep my faith in “Monsters of Midway” and predict a close win on the road for them.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Chicago Bears 31, Cincinnati Bengals 27