Mike Preston: Ravens need to beat Bears, but it won't be easy

Mike Preston, The Baltimore Sun on Oct 22, 2025

Published in Football

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BALTIMORE — Chicago’s football franchise is no longer the sad news Bears.

They aren’t going to win a Super Bowl title in 2025, but Chicago is good enough to cause a lot of problems for the Ravens on Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium in a “must-win” situation for Baltimore.

Since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, only four teams have started the season 1-5 and made the NFL playoffs, but a 1-6 record is a journey into no man’s land. The Ravens’ remaining schedule is just the 23rd toughest in the NFL.

But the Bears (4-2) won’t be pushovers. Chicago is on a four-game winning streak after a 0-2 start with losses to NFC North rivals Minnesota and Detroit. The Bears have beaten Dallas, Las Vegas, Washington and New Orleans and forced 15 turnovers in those victories.

It’s Chicago’s best start since 2018. Meanwhile, the Ravens are coming off a bye week.

“Exhaustive type of review, do it as you go, going through reports, analysis and film study,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Monday. “You get to step back, build where you want to go. You try to make the best of it, I feel great about what we accomplished. It’s a lot of hard work, deferment, judgment, but it’s a chance to play our best football. The opportunity in front of us is great, but we got the people to do the job.”

The city of Chicago is buzzing about the Bears. Their fans are hoping to have a new 60,000-seat stadium constructed in Arlington Heights, Ill., in 2029. Ryan Poles was named the general manager in January of 2022, and Kevin Warren became the president and CEO nearly a year later.

Poles was given permission to make various deals to upgrade the offensive line in the offseason, but the center of attention has been first-year coach Ben Johnson.

He has become the NFL prototype: young (39), detailed, intense and highly competitive. The Bears are ranked No. 14 in offense, averaging 338.6 yards and 25.3 points per game, but have a very high sack percentage (32nd).

The atmosphere in Chicago isn’t like his days in Detroit when Johnson was the Lions’ offensive coordinator. In those times, the Lions had one of the five best offenses every season and were No. 1 in production a year ago, averaging 33.2 points per game and scoring at least 40 points in six games.

But the Bears can still give the Ravens trouble with three new offensive linemen added during the offseason in guards Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson and center Drew Dalman. They also have two good receivers in Rome Odunze (24 catches, 359 yards, five touchdowns) and DJ Moore (22 catches, 258 yards, one TD).

To compound problems for the Ravens, they are last in the league in points allowed at 32.3 per game and 29th in yards allowed at 380.8. The Ravens also have sacked opposing quarterbacks only eight times, one of the worst totals in the NFL.

That’s where second-year quarterback Caleb Williams comes into play. A year ago, he was sacked 68 times (11 this season), losing five of his 10 fumbles. With a revamped offensive line, good receivers and a dual threat in running back D’Andre Swift, Williams might make plays against Baltimore.

Like most games, it comes down to the interior lines, and the Ravens have to find ways to manufacture pressure. So far, that’s been a major missing part of this defense.

Defensively, the Bears have been respectable, holding teams to an average of 346.5 yards and 25.3 points per game, which is No. 21 in the league. To beef up its defense, Chicago added inside linebacker Terrell Edmunds (61 tackles) from Buffalo, even though he appears to have lost a step throughout his seven-year career. Defensive end Montez Sweat (two sacks) and defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr. (2 1/2) are the Bears’ top pass rushers, and free safety Kevin Byard III (31 tackles) can still make plays. He is always around the ball, but doesn’t run as well anymore.

The key is Chicago defensive coordinator Dennis Allen. He still is good at scheming against an opponents’ offense. Allen’s defense forced New Orleans quarterback Spencer Rattler into three interceptions, and Rattler also had a fumble that Chicago recovered. Like a lot of NFL games, turnovers are a factor.

“They have done a nice job,” Harbaugh said of the Bears. “They have a better feel for what they are doing offensively. Defensively, they keep playing better and better.”

Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson didn’t practice Monday, so his status for Sunday’s game debatable.

So is the outcome of this game.

When the 2025 season opened, most NFL observers thought these teams would be on the opposite end of the spectrum. The Ravens were expected to contend while the Bears were going to implode.

But it’s different now.

If the Ravens lose Sunday, the abyss becomes deeper and darker.

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