Here’s a crazy stat: through five weeks of the season, these teams have combined to have seven different quarterbacks take snaps for them. The Bears had Caleb Williams, Tyson Bagent, and Case Keenum all start games. And the Falcons have had Michael Penix and Cooper Rush start, with Jack Strand and Tua Tagovailoa coming in to take snaps in relief. It’s been an absolute whirlwind for these teams, with both fronts arriving to do battle against each other this Sunday.
And neither team is completely out of the woods yet. The most recent information on Caleb Williams is that he actually tore his hamstring and, despite getting some work in this week, he has not been confirmed as the starter yet for this week. After Tyson Bagent was benched, it sounds like Case Keenum would get the start this week instead.
With Michael Penix, he seems confident that he will be able to go unless there is some kind of setback. He’s dealing with a rib issue, however, which can be a pretty tricky pain tolerance issue on game day. Last week he had to leave the game with discomfort, and Tua Tagovailoa came in and threw the game-sealing interception to Kyle Hamilton. We’ll have to factor all this info into our Bears vs. Falcons predictions, picks, and odds for Week 6!
🏅 Bears vs. Falcons Expert Pick: D’Andre Swift Rushing + Receiving Yards Over 95.5 (-108 on DraftKings)
The quarterbacks aren’t the only ones who have been nicked up this year. Kyle Monangai is also once again unlikely to be playing this week for the Chicago Bears. That should see D’Andre Swift once again get a fairly full workload (forget the garbage time work for Roschon Johnson last week in a blowout). And I don’t think the Falcons are necessarily equipped to stop him this week.
On paper, the Falcons have been solid against the run. But that’s included games against the Packers and Saints where they’ve been without their top ball carrier. Against the Ravens, they allowed over 200 yards on the ground (over 100 to Derrick Henry alone). So I don’t think the Ravens allowing just 80 yards on average on the ground is really indicative of what this team is.
But what I really like about the bet is that receiving work is involved. Despite playing teams like the Ravens and Packers who don’t really throw to the running back much, the Falcons are still allowing over 5 receptions per game to backs, which is the 6th most in the league. The Saints RBs racked up 9 catches against them, and that was without Travis Etienne This same line for Bijan Robinson is set at 127.5 yards, while it’s at 95.5 for Swift, and I think BOTH players have a good shot of getting there.
👀 How To Watch Bears vs. Falcons NFL Week 5
- Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA
- When: 1 PM ET on 10/18
- Watch on TV: FOX
- Where to stream: NFL+
🔢 Bears vs. Falcons Odds, Spreads, Total & Betting Lines
- Point Spread: Chicago Bears -1.5 (-105) vs. Atlanta Falcons +1.5 (-115)
- Money Line: Chicago Bears -118 vs. Atlanta Falcons -102
- Game Total (Over/Under): Over 51.5 (-112) vs. Under 51.5 (-108)
🏉 Bears vs. Falcons Injury Report & Latest News
Obviously, we know the biggest question for Chicago: will Caleb Williams play this week? The second-year quarterback was a full participant in Wednesday’s walkthrough, but there has been no commitment to him playing unless he’s 100%. If Williams can’t go, Case Keenum would get the nod after Tyson Bagent was benched in Week 5 following two interceptions in a blowout loss at Green Bay, where Chicago managed just seven points. Edge rusher Dayo Odeyingbo is expected to miss this game with a quad injury suffered in that contest. The good news is he’s not on IR, but he’ll miss some time. Chicago is also working through questionable designations for Kyle Monangai, Anthony Johnson Jr., TJ Edwards, Tyrique Stevenson Sr., Shemar Turner, and Kyler Gordon heading into the week. As we mentioned with Monangai, it is not trending in the right direction for him.
The Atlanta Falcons have their own quarterback uncertainty, as Michael Penix is questionable with a rib injury after going down in the fourth quarter of last week’s game against the Ravens. The Falcons have looked like a completely different team with him under center compared to the other options. If he can’t go, Tua Tagovailoa would likely step in. Atlanta is also without cornerback A.J. Terrell (IR), while Za’Darius Smith and C.J. Henderson carry questionable tags. Smith is trending the right way in concussion protocol, while it is starting to look like they might be without C.J. Henderson.
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