Chicago Bears (1-1) at Indianapolis Colts (0-2)
Sunday, noon, CBS
BetMGM NFL Odds: Colts by 1
Series record: Colts lead 24-19
Against the spread: Chicago 1-0-1, Indianapolis 1-1
Last meeting: Colts won 19-11 at Chicago on Oct. 4, 2020.
Last week: Bears lost 19-13 at Houston; Colts lost 16-10 at Green Bay
Bears offense: overall (31), rush (28), pass (32), scoring (18-T)
Bears defense: overall (8), rush (13), pass (11), scoring (6-T)
Colts offense: overall (14), rush (16), pass (17), scoring (18-T)
Colts defense: overall (31), rush (32), pass (8), scoring (22-T)
Turnover differential: Bears plus-1, Colts minus-3.
Key injuries
CHICAGO
The Bears had 12 players listed on their Friday injury report. … WR Keenan Allen, the six-time Pro Bowler acquired from the Los Angeles Chargers in an offseason trade, was ruled out for the second straight week with a heel injury. Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said Allen is improving but that he’s also dealing with a personal matter. “He’ll be ready when he’s ready, when his body tells him,” Eberflus said. … The Bears also have three other players already ruled out for Sunday’s game: FB Khari Blasingame (hand/knee), DL Zacch Pickens (groin) and RB Travis Homer (finger). … OL Nate Davis (groin) was listed as questionable. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune reported that Matt Pryor is likely to start at right guard Sunday in place of Davis.
Inactives: The Bears announced their list of inactives on X on Sunday morning. They are Allen, Blasingame and Pickens, as well as WR Velus Jones Jr., DL Dominique Robinson and LB Noah Sewell. Homer was placed on injured reserve to make room on the roster and must miss at least four games.
INDIANAPOLIS
The Colts already have two defensive starters — three-time Pro Bowl DT DeForest Buckner (sprained ankle) and starting CB JuJu Brents (knee) — on injured reserve. … They had nine players listed on their Friday injury report. … Two, DE Laiatu Latu (hip) and WR Michael Pittman Jr. (back, calf), were listed as questionable.
Inactives: The Colts announced their list of inactives on X on Sunday morning. They are: DE Genard Avery, OL Tanor Bortolini, QB Sam Ehlinger, OL Blake Freeland and TE Will Mallory. That means Pittman and Latu are active.
Bears player to watch
QB Caleb Williams. It’s been a rough start for the No. 1 overall draft pick. Only five QBs have a lower completion rate than Williams (56.1%), and the recently benched Bryce Young is the only starter averaging fewer yards per game than Williams’ 133.5. The 2022 Heisman Trophy winner hasn’t thrown a TD pass and has been sacked a league-high-tying nine times. Perhaps this will be the week he and the Bears turn things around.
Colts player to watch
WR Michael Pittman Jr. Indy’s top receiver showed his frustration following the Green Bay loss, and it had nothing to do with his role in this offense. He’s been targeted a team-high 15 times and is second on the team with eight receptions. The previous time Pittman spoke out, in October 2023, he responded by catching 53 passes and helping Indy go 4-2 over the next six games.
Key matchup
Bears running game vs. Colts run defense. Williams isn’t the only one struggling in Chicago. The offense has just one offensive TD this season. Still, this could be a matchup that helps the Bears get jump-started. Indy is allowing a league-high 237.0 yards rushing per game, and until it stops the run consistently, teams will continue to test the Colts.
Series notes
Indianapolis has won two straight and four of the past six in a series featuring two foes that moved into separate conferences as part of the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. … Indy won the only postseason contest, beating the Bears 29-17 to win Super Bowl 41. … Chicago won the first NFL regular-season game played at Lucas Oil Stadium, 29-13, in the 2008 season opener. … Colts owner Jim Irsay grew up in Chicago.
Stats and stuff
The Bears have won five of their past eight games overall but have lost eight of their past 10 on the road. … Chicago opened this season with three straight non-division games, the first time that’s happened since 2002. … Williams and backup QB Tyson Bagent are the only Bears rookies to win their first career starts over the past two decades. … WR D.J. Moore leads all players from the 2018 rookie class in yards receiving with 6,654. … Chicago has allowed 117 sacks since the start of the 2022 season. … The Bears defense has allowed just three points and just 169 yards in the second halves of the first two games. … Chicago is tied with San Francisco for most interceptions (24) since the start of the 2023 season. … Matt Eberflus served as Indy’s defensive coordinator from 2018-2021 before taking the Bears head coaching job. … The Colts are trying to avoid starting a second straight season by losing its first two home games. … Indy averages 6.68 yards per play, the third-highest in the NFL, but has finished each of its first two games with 20 or fewer minutes of possession time. … Second-year QB Anthony Richardson has run for five TDs in his first six starts as a pro but owns a 2-4 record. … RB Jonathan Taylor had his first 100-yard game of the season last week and needs two TD runs to pass Marshall Faulk (42) for fourth in franchise history. … WR Alec Pierce is one of four NFL players with two catches of 50 or more yards this season. Both came in the Week 1 loss to Houston. … LB Zaire Franklin has had 22 games with at least 10 tackles and needs one more to break a tie with Gary Brackett for No. 2 in Colts history. … P Rigoberto Sanchez is tied for the league lead with a net average of 48.8 yards. … Indy’s six sacks through two weeks puts the Colts on pace to match last year’s single-season franchise record (51).
Fantasy tip
Taylor is always a safe play, but against a stingy Bears defense, Pittman may be the best bet in what could be a low-scoring game.