Cody Whitehair (knee) has missed extensive time and Teven Jenkins, one of the bright spots up front this season, suffered what appeared to be a scary-looking neck injury last Sunday. Fortunately, the injury doesn't appear to be serious but he and Whitehair are both considered doubtful to play. The Bears activated running back Khalil Herbert (hip) from injured reserve this week but No. 1 wide receiver Darnell Mooney remains out for the rest of the season and neither Chase Claypool (knee) nor Equanimeous St. Brown (concussion) will play on Saturday.
The Bears are largely on the opposite end of the defensive leaderboards. They are 30th in scoring (25. 6 ppg) and 22nd in total (356. 6 ypg) defense. Chicago has fared better yardage-wise against the pass (211. 7 per game, 13th) compared to the run (143. 9 per game, 26th), which is a little surprising considering the Bears have the least productive pass rush in the league (17 sacks). That means it will probably be very hard to get much pressure on Allen, who may be able to hang out in the pocket and pick Chicago apart, that is if the Bills aren't stampeding on the ground. 3.
Impact While Herbert was sidelined for the past four games, Montgomery averaged 14. 3 carries and four targets per contest, with both figures being marginally ahead of his season-long averages (13. 2 carries, 2. 5 targets). Herbert shouldn't be much of a threat to poach work from Montgomery on passing downs, but he'll likely earn more carries than the five per game that Darrynton Evans and Trestan Ebner combined for over the past four weeks. Even if the arrival of Herbert results in Montgomery forking over more snaps, there's a decent chance that both backs push for double-double digit touches against the Bills.
3 HOURS AGO • ROTOWIRE Khalil Herbert - Comes off IR Chicago reinstated Herbert (hip) from injured reserve Friday, Larry Mayer of the Bears' official site reports. Impact After missing the minimum four games while on IR, Herbert was cleared to resume practicing Tuesday and checked out fine during the Bears' three sessions this week, prompting head coach Matt Eberflus to sign off on the running back's return to the 53-man roster ahead of Saturday's game versus Buffalo.
6 ypg) and fourth-ranked scoring offense (27. 5 ppg) in the league, an attack that ranks in the top 10 in both passing (265. 7) and rushing (134. 9) yards per game. Meanwhile, Fields continues to be a one-man show for the Bears' offense as the injuries pile up. Last week he became the first quarterback in franchise history and just the third ever (Lamar Jackson, Michael Vick) to reach 1, 000 rushing yards in a season. Fields is seventh in the league in rushing and is just 206 yards away from tying Jackson's single-season mark from his 2006 MVP season. In the loss to Philadelphia, Fields accounted for 247 total yards (152 passing, 95 rushing) but his net passing yards were 91 due to six sacks. The offensive line has been an issue all season and right now the challenge is just putting together a complete unit.
Saturday's forecast in Chicago calls for sustained winds around 20 to 25 miles per hour as well as temperatures around 10 degrees Fahrenheit, which could prompt both teams to largely eschew intermediate and deep passes and favor the ground game more heavily. 3 HOURS AGO • ROTOWIRE Nsimba Webster - Elevated to active roster again Chicago elevated Webster from its practice squad to the active roster Friday ahead of Saturday's game against Buffalo, Larry Mayer of the Bears' official site reports. Impact With Chase Claypool (knee) doubtful and Equanimeous St.
Bills Wesco (calf) is listed as out for Saturday's game versus Buffalo. Impact Wesco will miss his second consecutive game as he works to recover from a calf injury he sustained in Week 13 versus Green Bay. In his absence, Ryan Griffin should see more snaps as a blocker. 1 DAY AGO • ROTOWIRE Kindle Vildor - Won't play vs. Buffalo Vildor (ankle) is listed as out for Saturday's game versus the Bills. Impact Vildor will miss his third consecutive game as he works to recover from a lingering ankle injury.
Buffalo Bills vs. Chicago Bears Prediction: AFC's Top Team Takes on the NFC's WorstFrom the NFC's best team to the AFC's top team, that's how the 2022 NFL schedule works out for the Chicago Bears, who this week welcome the Buffalo Bills to Soldier Field. The stadium could look more like the North Pole as Chicago was hit by a strong winter storm this week. The Bears (3-11) suffered their seventh straight loss last week, falling 25-20 to the Philadelphia Eagles, who have the league's best record at 13-1.
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Diggs is third in the league in receptions (99), receiving yards (1, 299), and touchdown catches (10, tied). Fellow wideout Gabe Davis and tight end Dawson Knox serve as very capable complementary pass catchers. On the ground, Devin Singletary and rookie James Cook share the carries that Allen doesn't get and both running backs also contribute to the passing game. Put the pieces all together and you get the No. 2 total offense (400.
His emergence following the midseason trade of Roquan Smith has been one of the highlights and his presence and production (64 tackles, 5 TFL, 2 sacks) will be missed the rest of the way. On Friday, cornerbacks Kindle Vildor (ankle) and Jaylon Johnson (rib) also were put on IR, which leaves the Bears very thin at the position heading into this matchup against Diggs and the Bills' receiving corps. Linemen Justin Jones and Armon Watts also appear on the injury report but don't carry a designation so they should play. On paper, the Bills have a significant advantage as they rank ninth in total defense (325.
Bank It With Tank: Week 16 Bills vs. Bears Betting Breakdown
While Herbert was sidelined, Darrynton Evans and Trestan Ebner handled limited roles behind top running back David Montgomery, but expect Herbert to push for a larger share of backfield snaps and touches now that he's healthy again. Over the last six games in which both Montgomery and Herbert were available from Weeks 5 through 10, Herbert saw snap shares ranging between 22 and 41 percent and averaged 9.
Buffalo Bills: 3 bold predictions for Week 16 vs. Bears
However, the third-year defensive back was downgraded to a limited participant Thursday and drew a questionable tag for Saturday's matchup against Buffalo. The finger issue appears to be worse than initially thought, as coach Matt Eberflus said Johnson may be dealing with a broken ring finger after practice Thursday, per Adam Hoge of AllCHGO. com, but the exact extent of the issue remains unclear. Nonetheless, Johnson will be forced to miss Chicago's final three regular-season matchups after landing on IR. He'll end the 2022 campaign with 35 tackles, seven pass deflections, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery across 11 appearances.
3 carries per contest. 3 HOURS AGO • ROTOWIRE Cody Whitehair - Deemed doubtful for Saturday Whitehair (knee) is doubtful to play Saturday against Buffalo. Impact Whitehair hasn't practiced at all this week, putting his status for Saturday's contest in serious doubt. Fellow starting guard Teven Jenkins (neck) is also doubtful, so Chicago's offensive line will likely be significantly shorthanded in a tough matchup against the Bills. 20 HOURS AGO • ROTOWIRE Bills try to clinch AFC East against Bears, eye No. 1 seed The Buffalo Bills can clinch their third straight AFC East title when they meet the Bears in frigid Chicago on Saturday23 HOURS AGO • ASSOCIATED PRESS Trevon Wesco - Won't play vs.
Final AnalysisBuffalo is 2-1 against NFC North teams this season, beating Green Bay and Detroit while losing to Minnesota. Chicago is 1-2 against the AFC East, beating the Patriots and losing to the Dolphins and Jets. That Oct. 24 road win over New England on "Monday Night Football" also was the last time the Bears were victorious. Stranger things have happened this season (just take a look back at some of last week's games), but Chicago was already at a big disadvantage entering this game and that's before you add in the numerous injuries. Unless the Bills simply implode, they should coast to a relatively easy win on Christmas Eve in the Windy City. Prediction: Bills 28, Bears 14— Written by Gabe Salgado, who is part of the Athlon Contributor Network. He's also written for NBC, Fox, The Sporting News, The Sports Journal, The Undefeated and Complex.
Brown (concussion) out for Saturday's matchup, Webster will be elevated to the active roster for a second consecutive week. The undrafted wideout out of Eastern Washington caught two of three targets for 14 yards across 10 offensive snaps during last week's loss to Philadelphia, marking his first career NFL receptions.
Given Chicago's depleted wideout corps, Webster figures to garner a similar role in Week 16. 3 HOURS AGO • ROTOWIRE Kindle Vildor - Heads to IR The Bears placed Vildor (ankle) on injured reserve Friday, Larry Mayer of the team's official site reports. Impact Vildor was slated to miss a third consecutive game Saturday against the Bills due to an ankle injury, but he'll now be sidelined for the remainder of the 2022 campaign after landing on IR. He'll finish his third NFL season with 34 tackles, five pass defenses and one interception across 11 appearances. Jaylon Johnson (finger/ribs) was also placed on injured reserve Friday, paving the way for Jaylon Jones and Kyler Gordon to garner major roles in Chicago's secondary. 3 HOURS AGO • ROTOWIRE Jaylon Johnson - Out for season The Bears placed Johnson (finger/ribs) on injured reserve Friday, Larry Mayer of the team's official site reports. Impact Johnson was forced to leave the Bears' Week 15 loss to Philadelphia early due to rib and finger injuries, but he logged full practices Tuesday and Wednesday, suggesting he was going to be fine moving forward.
ETTV: CBSLive Stream: fuboTV (Start your free trial)Spread: Bills -9. 5Tickets: As low as $23 on SITickets. com*Three Things to Watch1. Allen vs. FieldsBetween Jalen Hurts last week and now Josh Allen, Bears fans are hoping Justin Fields will follow in both's footsteps as he continues his development. Hurts, arguably this season's front-runner for MVP, threw for 315 yards (with two interceptions) and also had three rushing touchdowns to lead his team to a 25-20 win in Chicago last Sunday. Allen shares many similarities with Hurts in that he can win games with his arm or his legs and he's also an MVP candidate. However, both also are prime examples of what the Bears' offensive could possibly become if the team continues to build a stronger supporting cast around Fields. Allen is fifth in the league in passing (3, 857 yards), third in touchdown passes (30), and passer rating (97.
Everyone knows that the focus has already shifted to the offseason and what moves general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus will orchestrate to bolster this roster. But for the present, it would be a huge morale booster to end this seven-game losing streak and be able to celebrate Christmas with a big W. And it wouldn't get much better than getting one by beating the mighty Bills at home.
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