Back Bears At Home Against Falcons

Falcons vs. Bears, 1:00 ET

There is a huge schedule of games on Sunday so picking just a couple of games to share plays in is a bit difficult because there are so many. There are no Monday Night Football games as the NFL has done a favor to the college ranks by letting them have the show with their playoffs. So, at least we still get football. Today, I'm looking at a game between the Falcons and Bears for us to try and take a win in.

The Falcons come into this game with a 7-8 record and an outside shot at making the playoffs. They've also won three of their past five games. This season has been very strange overall for the club as they've misused almost everyone on their offense, but still find themselves having opportunities here in Week 17. Two weeks ago they lost to the Panthers in Carolina. That was just the second win for the Panthers this season. It was a rainy day, and they kept it close, but they made mistake after mistake and it ultimately cost them the game. The Falcons started the season with Desmond Ridder under center and they decided to turn to Taylor Heinicke after seven games because Ridder wasn't getting the job done. They then had to go back to Ridder because of injury. He was able to get them two wins and two losses in his return, but Heinicke was back under center last week in a convincing win over the Colts. The Colts are certainly a better team than the Bears are, but the Falcons have won exactly two games on the road this season. Only one of those games came within three points.

TAMPA, FL - OCTOBER 22: Bijan Robinson #7 of the Atlanta Falcons carries the ball during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium on October 22, 2023 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)

In what looked like a disaster of a season for the Bears, they've actually pieced together a reasonable campaign. They started the season with four straight losses before they put together a dominant effort against the Commanders. After those first four losses, they've gone 6-5 and could have reasonably gone 8-3 in that stretch if they didn't find creative ways to lose games against the Browns and Lions. Their defense has improved significantly over the course of the season and has gotten better since they added Montez Sweat to the mix. On offense, they still don't look like they have a fluid and well-put-together plan. Justin Fields is doing a decent enough job of getting the ball out and seems to be doing a better job of not scrambling too soon. Fields has a very strong rapport with DJ Moore and that seems to have strengthened his success this season. The Bears have also been pretty solid at home, especially lately as they have won four straight games.

This game means a bit more to the Falcons but just because it means more doesn't guarantee a victory. These teams are both in about the same rank for power rankings in my book. Sometimes I think it can be rather simple and the Bears have been good at home lately and the Falcons have been bad on the road all season. I don't think the Falcons defense has the pressure to really disrupt Fields and what he is looking to do. I'll take the Bears in this one at -3.

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