NFL Week 2 Primer: Cincinnati Bengals (1-0) at Chicago Bears (0-1)

The Cincinnati Bengals are coming off the high of winning their season opener against a familiar face in former defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer. The reunion tour continues with a trip to see Andy Dalton as he continues to start for the Chicago Bears.

Chicago has a bit of a quarterback controversy going on (to put it lightly) after the team drafted Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields this offseason, and the rookie balled out this preseason. It also looks incredibly likely that we will see Fields in some capacity as he was played a few times last week when the Bears lost to the Los Angeles Rams.

The Bengals are the farthest thing from having a quarterback controversy as Joe Burrow tossed a couple of touchdowns in his return from his ACL injury. He also ended up making the game-winning play on Fourth-and-inches to setup a field goal.

Cincinnati had more to be excited about as the defense actually played very well Sunday. 14 of their 24 points allowed came via cornerback Eli Apple single-handedly allowing a touchdown drive via missed tackles, penalties and poor coverage and the offense failing to convert on a fourth down on their own 30-yard line. They also created tons of pressure and holding calls on Sunday. Hopefully that is a trend that can continue against Dalton, who has struggled facing pressure in the past,

Here is everything you need to know for when the Bengals travel to face the Bears:

Game: Cincinnati Bengals (1-0) at Chicago Bears (0-1)

Date/Time: Sep. 19th, 2021 at 1:00 p.m. EST

Location: Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois

Series Leader: The Bengals lead the series 6-5

Streak: The Bears have won the past two meetings

Coaches vs. Opponent: Zac Taylor: (0-0). Matt Nagy (1-0)

Television: The game will air on FOX-TV. In the Bengals’ home region, it will be carried by WXIX-TV (Ch. 19) in Cincinnati, WGRT-TV (Ch. 45) in Dayton, WDKY-TV (Ch. 56) in Lexington, and WTTE-TV (Ch. 28) in Columbus.

Broadcasters: Kevin Kugler (play-by-play), Mark Sanchez (analyst) and Laura Okmin (reporter).

Online Stream: Use a free trial of fuboTV to watch the game.

Radio Broadcast: The game will air on the Bengals Radio Network, led by Cincinnati flagship stations WCKY-AM (ESPN 1530; all sports) and WEBN-FM (102.7).

Broadcasters: Dan Hoard (play-by-play) and Dave Lapham (analyst).

SB Nation the Bears’ site: Windy City Gridiron

Weather: Mid 80’s, clear but humid [NFL weather]

Odds: Bengals open, +5.5 [Odds Shark]

Bengals Notes

• Quarterback Joe Burrow completed 20 of 27 passes (74.1 percent) for 261 yards and two touchdowns for a career-high 128.8 passer rating last week. He had eight touchdowns and two interceptions in six road starts last season.
• Running back Joe Mixon had 150 yards from scrimmage (127 rushing and 23 receiving) and a rushing touchdown in Week 1, the most among AFC running backs and his eighth-career game with 150 total yards, tied for sixth-most in the NFL since 2017
• Rookie wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase had five catches for 101 yards and a touchdown in his NFL debut last week. The most receiving yards by any rookie and most by a player in their first-career game in Bengals history. Wide receiver Tee Higgins had 58 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown in Week 1. He had 558 receiving yards (69.8 per game) in eight road games last season. Wide receiver Tyler Boyd aims for his third game in a row on the road with 70 receiving yards.
• Safety Vonn Bell had seven tackles and a tackle for a loss last week. He had a forced fumble, fumble recovery and a pass deflection in his last game against the Bears when he was with the New Orleans Saints (10/20/19). Since 2020, he ranks third among all defensive backs with 121 tackles. Safety Jessie Bates led the team with 9 tackles in Week 1.
• Defensive tackle B.J. Hill had two sacks in Bengals debut last week. He had a career-high three sacks against the Bears when he was a New York Giant (12/2/18). Defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi also had a sack in his Cincinnati debut in Week 1. He had two tackles for a loss and a sack in his only career game against the Bears when he was with the Cleveland Browns (12/24/17). Defensive end Trey Hendrickson aims for his third game in a row against the Bears with a sack. Linebacker Germaine Pratt had his first-career forced fumble and recovery last week.

Bears Notes

• Quarterback Andy Dalton passed for 206 yards in Week 1. He spent nine seasons with the Bengals (2011-19) and is their all-time leader in completions (2,757), passing touchdowns (204) and ranks second in franchise history is pass yards (32,838).
• Running back David Montgomery had 118 total yards (108 rushing and 10 receiving) and a rushing touchdown in Week 1. He aims for his eighth game in a row with 100 yards from scrimmage.
• Wide receiver Allen Robinson had six catches last week. He has at least six receptions in six of his past seven games at home. Wide receiver Marquise Goodwin led the team with 45 receiving yards last week. He had 77 receiving yards and a touchdown catch in his last game against the Bengals when he was a San Francisco 49er (9/15/19). Tight end Cole Kmet had his third-career game with five receptions last week.
• Edge rusher Khalil Mack aims for his third game in a row at home with a sack. He has three sacks and a forced fumble in his past four games against the AFC North. Linebacker Roquan Smith led the team with 11 tackles last week, his 18th-career game with 10 tackles. Edge rusher Robert Quinn had half of a sack last week. Defensive tackle Akiem Hicks also had half of a sack in Week 1. Defensive back Eddie Jackson had five tackles last week. He had a forced fumble, fumble recovery and an interception in the last meeting against the Bengals.