The Chicago Bears need a win on Thursday night to keep themselves afloat in the NFC playoff chase. Hosting the 1-4 Washington Commanders feels like a good opportunity to get back on track. That said, no game comes easy for a rebuilding team. Washington has enough talent in the right places to give the Bears problems. They also have a quarterback in Carson Wentz, who, for all his faults, has enough ability to go off for big games from time to time.
However, Chicago might not get the best version of the Commanders QB in this game. Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported the veteran is dealing with a tendon strain in his right biceps. It explains why he’s been limited in practice all week and looked in considerable discomfort when spotted by the cameras. That means he might not be able to attack the Bears defense as aggressively as he usually would.
#Commanders QB Carson Wentz is dealing with a biceps tendon strain suffered in last week’s loss to Tennessee, per sources.
Wentz is not 100%, but he’ll start tonight against the #Bears and then try to heal up with extra rest coming off the Thursday night game. pic.twitter.com/IOlRQrrlyU
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 13, 2022
Carson Wentz could be in no-mans-land at Soldier Field.
Not only is he nursing an injury, but his team isn’t well-equipped to ease the burden on him. Washington has one of the worst rushing attacks in the NFL through the first five weeks. Top running back Antonio Gibson is averaging 3.2 yards per carry. So even if they wanted to keep the ball on the ground to protect Wentz, it might not do much good. That means he’ll have to throw the ball often in this game while behind an offensive line that has already gotten him sacked 20 times.
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No game in the NFL is a gimme, especially for a team like the Bears. That said, given the state Carson Wentz is in, they should feel good about their chances of pulling off a victory. All they have to do is stop the run and trust their pass rush to make him uncomfortable. Bang that arm around a bit. If they do that, the chances are he will make one or two huge mistakes. Capitalizing on such mistakes is something the Bears have done pretty well this year.
