Four Keys to Ravens Victory vs. Bears

Even when Jackson was healthy and in the lineup, the Ravens were their own worst enemy during their poor start to the season. They've committed crucial mistakes late in games and at other inflection points earlier in the game that might've swung the pendulum in their favor. Henry's fourth-quarter fumbles against the Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions played a massive role in their losses to those two contenders. Pro Bowl wide receiver Zay Flowers' fumbles on back-to-back drives in the third quarter of the Rams game put what was a one-score game out of reach.

On offense, taking care of the ball and avoiding negative plays such as sacks and unforced errors like penalties will be paramount in staying ahead of the chains and in a positive game script. The Bears' defense leads the league with 16 takeaways but ranks near the bottom in sacks with just 11, so Huntley shouldn't try to force the ball into any window where it could be put in jeopardy and should take off with his legs on scrambles when no one is open instead of holding onto the ball.

Defensively, going up against a dynamic dual-threat quarterback like Caleb Williams could lead to extended plays in the passing game or back-breaking scrambles for first downs on the ground. Maintaining rush-lane integrity up front is of the utmost importance, as is plastering in coverage in the backend. Since Bears head coach Ben Johnson is one of the most innovative minds in football, the Ravens need to be ready for well-timed and crafted tick plays at any time, which will require discipline and not getting caught up with misdirection or any other kind of eye candy or window dressing.

Stifle Bears' ground game

After struggling to establish a consistent rushing attack to open the season, Chicago has been much better and highly efficient at running the ball since returning from their bye week. In their last two games alone, they set a new single-game season high in back-to-back weeks. While their offensive lines deserve a lot of credit, Pro Bowl running back D'Andre Swift has been running the ball harder than he ever has at any point in his career.

The Ravens' defense ranks just one spot ahead of the Bears in total rushing yards allowed, but they are coming off a strong performance against the Rams that should inspire confidence after they gave up just 74 yards on the ground. It marked the first time this season that they didn't let an opposing offense eclipse or even reach the century mark in rushing. The first step toward making their opponent one-dimensional on offense is stopping the run and forcing them into more frequent passing situations.

Keep Caleb Williams from getting settled

If the Ravens are successful in taking away or at least slowing down Chicago's rushing attack, they'll have to make sure the former No. 1 overall pick doesn't get into a rhythm as a passer because he is more than capable of making big plays through the air. Since the second-year signal caller is still young and relatively new to playing the game at its high level, he could be baited into making some costly mistakes.

It could be forcing him to hold onto the ball a little longer for the pass rush to get home because they showed a certain look pre-snap and ran something totally different once the ball was snapped. Heating him up and forcing incompletions and errant throws by generating quick or completely unblocked pressures using simulated looks. Ravens second-year defensive coordinator Zach Orr claims that he spent a lot of the bye week concocting more creative ways to generate pressure after losing sack leader Tavius Robinson in Week 6 to a broken foot. He can't afford to hold anything back in this must-win game, so throwing everything he's got could give his team an advantage.