Cincinnati Bengals at Chicago Bears Preview

By J.E. | Saturday, September 24, 2005 | ( 0 )

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The surprising Cincinnati Bengals (2-0) head to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (1-1). Kickoff is set for 1:00pm ET at Soldier Field.

The Cincinnati Bengals are coming off a 37-8 drubbing of Minnesota last week, and look to push their record to 3-0 against the Chicago Bears. Carson Palmer has been a huge factor in the Bengals' early-season success. The third-year QB out of USC has thrown for 617 yards and 5 touchdowns through 2 games, and has QB rating of 107.8. The Bears 'D' will be a lot stronger than either of the teams the Bengals have faced so far this year, so Palmer will look for help from running back Rudi Johnson. Johnson gained 216 yards on 48 carries last week and scored a touchdown. Palmer will also look downfield to WR Chad Johnson, who had 16 catches for 230 yards and a TD against the Vikes. On defense, safeties Kevin Kaesviharn and Madieu Williams will have to step up to help the front line against the run.

The Chicago Bears finally found a way to put some points on the board last week in their 38-6 victory over the Lions. Rookie QB Kyle Orton looked very comfortable and mature in just the second NFL start of his career. He threw for 150 yards and a score, made smart decisions, and didn't turn the ball over. Even so, conventional wisdom says that the Bears will come out and try to establish the running game as early as possible in order to remove some of the offensive burden from Orton's shoulders. That means getting the ball into the hands of running back Thomas Jones. Jones rushed for 139 yards and 2 TDs against the Lions. Rookie Cedric Benson, who gained 49 yards last week, will also see some touches. When Orton does throw, it will likely be to WR Muhsin Muhammad. The two hooked up for a nice 28-yard scoring play last week against the Lions. On defense, the Bears need a good game from CB Jerry Azumah, who will be trying to stick with Chad Johnson all day. Mike Brown, Brian Urlacher, and Nathan Vasher also have to come up big in order to stop the Bengals.

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