Chicago Bears: 5 Bold Predictions For Week 17 Game Vs. Falcons

The Chicago Bears host the Atlanta Falcons in their home finale hoping to build on last week’s win. Here are some bold predictions for the game.

The end of the 2023 season is almost upon us. This week, the Chicago Bears host their final home game of the season. They face an Atlanta Falcons team that, despite owning a 7-8 record, is just a game behind both winning the NFC South title or a Wild Card spot.

The Bears also are technically in the playoff hunt, but their road is a lot more complicated. They need to win out and have a whole lot of help. The chances of them making the playoffs stand at about one percent. To still be in it at this point, however, is a victory in and of itself.

Chicago beat the Arizona Cardinals last week despite not having two of their top receiving targets the entire game. Wide receiver D.J. Moore hurt his ankle on the second play of the game. He was basically a decoy for most of the game, though he did make a big catch late in the game to help seal the game.

Tight end Cole Kmet was having a career game in the first half of the game. He had four catches for 107 yards before he suffered a knee injury. He missed the entire second half.

While Moore has practiced and isn’t even on the injury report this week, Kmet has not practiced and his status is uncertain. To make matters worse, another wide receiver, Darnell Mooney, is now in the concussion protocol. He may not play this week.

Let’s not forget that offensive lineman Teven Jenkins is also in concussion protocol. He missed last week’s game because of it. It will be interesting to see how the offense differs with key players out.

Let’s have some fun and make some bold predictions for the game, shall we?

Scott fills in admirably

With Mooney likely not playing, rookie wide receiver Tyler Scott could be a key player. He is a speedster who can make big plays though he’s had his ups and downs trying to adjust to NFL defenses.

The Falcons will likely place their attention on Moore all game. That should leave Scott available one-on-one. He wants to be considered one of the players the Chicago Bears depend on in this offense so he needs to come up big if the coaches call his name. This could be his best and last chance to make an impression this season.

Prediction: Scott catches 6 passes for 93 yards and a touchdown.

Stevenson gets tested and passes

Cornerback Tyrique Stevenson is another rookie who spent this season trying to adjust to the league. He said one of the reasons he did so well in his final season with the Miami Hurricanes was that he understood what the receivers wanted to do. He understood their routes and jumped them.

In the NFL, he is starting all over again. Being an aggressive cornerback, that inexperience hurt him, especially early. He came close to making several big interceptions. Instead, he misjudged the pass or the receiver and gave up several big plays.

Stevenson’s experience is much like second-year cornerback Kyler Gordon. He had his issues in his rookie season last year. This season, though, he is having a very good season.

Stevenson has gotten better as the season progressed, however. After not getting any interceptions in his first ten games, he now has two in his last four. He is feeling more comfortable and is making plays.

With Jaylon Johnson and Gordon both having good seasons, Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder, who has 10 interceptions to go with his 10 touchdowns, will probably elect to test Stevenson instead of the other two.

Stevenson should be up to the test. He could have his best game this season. If the Chicago Bears pass rush forces Ridder into making throws before he wants to, Stevenson could be the beneficiary.

Prediction: Stevenson has 2 pass breakups, forces a fumble, and gets a pick-six. The defense records three turnovers.

Walker gets to show off his sack dance

The Chicago Bears pass rush has been transformed since the acquisition of Montez Sweat. He has been a force at defensive end and his energy rubbed off on his defensive teammates.

One person who will benefit from that energy is DeMarcus Walker. He signed a three-year, $21 million contract as a free agent this offseason. He’s had a rough first season in Chicago, however.

Walker only has two sacks so far this season. After the signing of Sweat, he was a forgotten player. Now that Yannick Ngakoue is out, Walker needs to step up.

The Bears have a big decision to make on the defensive line. They need someone who can play defensive end alongside Sweat. Walker wants to show that he could be that guy.

If he doesn’t, the Bears could cut or trade him and add more money to an already big salary cap space. The Bears are projected to have about $60.6 million in cap space, ranking them seventh in the league. However, that number will grow with some expected cuts.

Walker wants to avoid being one of them. If he finishes the season strong he could be an asset for the defense.

Prediction: Walker gets two sacks and two quarterback hits. The Bears as a whole register four sacks.

Johnson outshines his Texas teammate

The Chicago Bears once again find themselves among the league leaders in running the ball. After leading the league in rushing last season, they made some changes. Out went David Montgomery and in his place the Bears signed D’Onta Foreman as a free agent and drafted Roschon Johnson.

Johnson looks to be the future RB1 for the Bears. he has the toughness, quickness, and strength to be a good back. Also, he catches the ball well out of the backfield.

Johnson worked himself up from rookie fourth-rounder trying to take some snaps to dependable backup with a chance to start. A concussion suffered during the Week 4 game against the Washington Commanders changed that, however. After that, he has not been the same.

Seeing the player he backed up in college could certainly pump Johnson up. He spent his college career watching Bijan Robinson get all the accolades while he did a great job in a reserve role. This week he has a chance to show how good he is. He could outdo his old teammate and use that to finish the season strong and work on getting that starting job.

Prediction: Johnson rushes for 86 yards and a touchdown. He catches 4 passes for 48 yards. Overall, the Bears rush for 196 yards.

Fields puts together an excellent game

We have all been waiting for Justin Fields to put together an all-around great game. He had one in Week 5 when he had 282 passing yards and 4 touchdowns and added 57 rushing yards. After that, however, he dislocated the thumb on his throwing hand and missed four games.

Since his return, offensive coordinator Luke Getsy has not had Fields throw a lot of deep balls. He has mostly called conservative screen and short curl passes. Against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 12, Getsy called a staggering 16 screens.

Hopefully, Fields gets to air out the ball this week. He does rank eighth in completion percentage on passes 20 yards or more so he can hit the receivers deep.

The Falcons rank eighth in passing yards allowed. However, they struggle against the run. If the Bears have a big game from their rushing attack, it will force Atlanta to creep up and have more defenders at the line of scrimmage. Furthermore, the Falcons have to watch out for Fields’ running ability. Last week, he had 97 yards and a touchdown on just 9 runs.

If the Falcons do try to crowd the line of scrimmage, that will open space for Fields. He should have some open receivers downfield. Moore is an excellent route-runner and can create separation, especially if he is one-on-one.

We already know that Scott has the speed to extend the defense. If he is one-on-one, he can blow past his defender and have opportunities to make huge plays.

That leaves the underneath. Equanimeous St. Brown will likely play more than he has this season. He can make catches underneath. Additionally, he is a very good blocker so he could do that downfield and open space up for the ball carrier.

The tight ends could be crucial. If Kmet plays we’ve seen how important of a security blanket he is for Fields. If he doesn’t play, Robert Tonyan has shown, despite a horrible drop in Week 15 against the Cleveland Browns, that he is a pretty good receiver. You know he is chomping at the bit to get a chance to make up for that drop.

If Fields can make decisions confidently and quickly this could be a huge game for him. He can continue to make the decision to cut him an even more difficult one.

Prediction: Fields passes for 279 yards and 3 touchdowns. He runs for 86 yards.