Final prediction for Bears vs. Chiefs Week 3 game

It’s been quite the week for Chicago Bears fans, and it culminates Sunday afternoon in Kansas City against the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs.

The Bears aren’t expected to win this game. In fact, almost no one thinks they will. Literally.

But there’s more at play beyond just the final score in Week 3. Coach Matt Eberflus will be under the microscope to see how his team responds to all the chaos inside Halas Hall over the last few days. Fans, and more importantly, ownership, want to see if he has control of this team and if his message still resonates in the locker room.

Not many coaches could hold onto their locker room after the last few days’ events. Defensive coordinator Alan Williams resigned, Justin Fields called out his coaches (sort of) and left tackle Braxton Jones was placed on injured reserve.

Each of those issues would knock a team off track if they were the only thing to happen to a club during the week. All three happened in the span of 36 hours. Brutal.

If Eberflus’ Bears play hard and keep the game close, he’ll deserve Coach of the Week honors. If they somehow pull off a win, he’ll move from the hot seat to a very safe position as the head coach of this squad.

I think the end result on Sunday will fall somewhere in the middle for Eberflus. I don’t see the Bears winning the game, and while I don’t think it’ll be a humiliating blowout, it won’t be the kind of game Bears fans thought they had a chance to win, either.

The Chiefs are only averaging 18.5 points per game through the first two weeks of the season, which, shockingly, is the same as the Bears. But Kansas City (No. 5 in the NFL) is much more efficient on offense than the Bears (No. 27), and it’s just a matter of time before the points begin to light up the scoreboard.

The Chicago Bears offer the Chiefs an excellent opportunity to put up a season-high in points. Safety Eddie Jackson will miss the game with a foot injury, and cornerback Kyler Gordon will miss his second game with a hand injury. The Bears rank 27th in the NFL against the pass (277 yards allowed per game) and are 31st in the league in passing yards allowed per attempt (9.1).

Those are less-than-ideal numbers after facing Jordan Love and Baker Mayfield. In Week 3, they face Patrick Mahomes. He could go for 400 yards.

It doesn’t get any easier for the Bears’ offense. The Chiefs’ defense is No. 3 in the NFL in points allowed and have been above-average against the run. If Chicago wants to score points, they’ll have to push the ball downfield with Justin Fields, DJ Moore, and Chase Claypool.

We haven’t seen the Bears consistently play that kind of game under Eberflus and offensive coordinator Luke Getsy. And until we do, we can’t expect they will.

As a result, Chiefs win. And they win big.

FINAL SCORE:

CHIEFS: 34
Bear: 17

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