The Monday Night Football game this week features the 2-5 Chicago Bears and the 2-6 San Diego Chargers. Vegas predicts this game to be fairly high scoring with an over/under of 49 and the Chargers are favored by four points.
The Chargers are led by quarterback Philip Rivers, who is putting together a very impressive year so far. The twelfth year veteran already has passed for 2,753 yards and 18 touchdowns. Rivers, has been forced to air it out because of the Chargers Defense. According to Pro Football Focus, the Chargers have the worst defense in the entire league with a -43.3 rating.
Rivers will have to find a new favorite target since Keenan Allen was placed on injured reserve with a kidney injury. Allen leads the team with 67 receptions for 725 yards. Danny Woodhead is second on the team in receptions with 39. Steve Johnson (24 catches) and Malcom Floyd (21 catches) will be called upon to replace Allen’s production.
Bears coach John Fox and offensive coordinator Adam Gase are familiar with Rivers and the Chargers over the last 4 years from their time with the Denver Broncos. Fox has a record of 6-2 during that time.
The Bears will also be without their top offensive weapon in Matt Forte. Forte injured his knee and is already ruled out for this week’s game. Rookie fourth round pick Jeremy Langford will replace Forte as the Bears starting running back. Jay Cutler will be looking for Alshon Jeffery, who is finally healthy and looking like his old self. In the last two games Jeffery has 18 catches for 263 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Even though this is a game between two teams with a combined record of four wins, it should be a close game with a lot of touchdowns despite a couple of star players out with injuries.
