The Falcons fell to the Ravens in overtime on Sunday Night Football in Week 5, breaking a two-game winning streak where the offense averaged a blazing 40 points per game. Atlanta came back down to earth against an injured but still extremely well-coached Baltimore team, falling to 2-3 with the most difficult stretch of the schedule still to come. It’s a disappointing result for the Falcons, but hopefully a learning experience for the new coaching staff.
Attention now shifts to Week 6’s matchup with
the Bears, who possess one of the league’s most fearsome offenses. Chicago is the only team in the NFL that has rushed for more yards than Atlanta, and should see starting quarterback Caleb Williams return to the lineup after a three-week absence. This is likely to be the toughest test yet for the Falcons defense, who are very shorthanded at cornerback and edge rusher. Unlike the Ravens, however, the Bears defense is quite vulnerable to both the run and pass.
Despite Williams’ return and the Bears offensive prowess, the Falcons are just 1.5-point home underdogs in Week 6. The over/under of 51.5 suggests an offensive showcase, and Atlanta is going to need to put up points and control the clock to keep pace with Chicago.
Falcons vs Bears Week 6 predictions
This matchup presents a major opportunity for the Falcons to step up and win the trenches on both sides of the ball—similar to how they dominated both the Packers and Saints earlier in the season. The Bears have a good offensive line, but are likely to be missing bruising running back Kyle Monangai for the game. D’Andre Swift is a good runner himself, but Chicago has been most effective with the two-headed attack of Swift and Monangai—who is responsible for nearly as many yards and TDs as Swift. Caleb Williams will also factor in as a runner, but there’s no telling how he’ll perform in his first game back from injury.
On the other side of the ball, the Bears will be without top edge rusher Montez Sweat due to a PED suspension. Veteran Dayo Odeyingbo is also in danger of missing the game with a quad injury. At linebacker, starter T.J. Edwards and reserve Keyshaun Elliott also missed practice for most of the week. That’s a lot of injuries piling up the in front seven against a Falcons team who would love nothing more than to run the ball. While former Falcons Grady Jarrett and Kentavius Street are performing well as pass rushers, neither has been an impact run defender.
If Atlanta’s offensive line can bounce back and dominate the way they did back in Weeks 3 and 4, that’s a pathway to success for the Falcons. We all know this offense is a lot better when Bijan and Brian Robinson and getting chunk yardage on the ground, and that’ll be the most important thing to establish early in the game. Long sustained drives will also help keep Chicago’s offense off the field and the defense fresher over the long haul.
On defense, this is another big test for a Falcons front that got beat up by the Ravens. I think Atlanta can get pressure, but they’ll have to also play disciplined football against the rushing threat of Caleb Williams. I’d expect a different approach this week than what we saw against Baltimore, perhaps with a QB spy involved on the majority of plays. It’ll be significantly easier to defend just D’Andre Swift versus Swift and Monangai, so that could also be a boon for the Falcons.
At the end of the day, Atlanta’s depleted secondary presents some issues. I expect the Bears to have success in the passing game, and that means this could turn into a shootout. In that scenario, it’ll be hard for the Falcons to keep pace with Chicago. This will be the offense’s biggest test yet, as it might require a more pass-heavy approach from Penix throughout the game.
All that being said, I think the Bears with Caleb Williams at the helm are possibly the most dangerous offense in football. Atlanta goes back and forth with Chicago throughout the game, but the defense can’t stop Chicago enough thanks to their secondary injuries. The Falcons fall to Chicago, 31-27, but do show some really nice things in the process.
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