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The Chicago Bears have enjoyed the comforts of home their last two games, but now they must head out on the road. They will square off against the Atlanta Falcons at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W.'
The Bears missed a PAT kick in the fourth quarter against the Detroit Lions last week, and it came back to haunt them. Chicago and Detroit were almost perfectly matched up, but Chicago suffered an agonizing 31-30 loss. Chicago was up 24-10 at the end of the third quarter but couldn't hold on to the lead. They might have lost, but man -- QB Justin Fields was a total machine. He passed for two TDs and 167 yards on 20 attempts in addition to rushing for two TDs and 147 yards. Fields' 50-yard touchdown toss down the right side of the field to TE Cole Kmet in the third quarter made for one of the most memorable moments of the afternoon. Fields' sharp performance set his single-game rushing touchdown high for the season.
Meanwhile, Atlanta came up short against the Carolina Panthers last Thursday, falling 25-15. Despite the defeat, the Falcons got a solid performance out of QB Marcus Mariota, who passed for two TDs and 186 yards on 30 attempts in addition to picking up 43 yards on the ground. Mariota ended up with a passer rating of 130.70.
The Bears are expected to lose this next one by 3. Those burned by picking them against the spread last week might want to keep in mind that the team has not yet dropped back-to-back games against the spread this season.
The losses put Chicago at 3-7 and Atlanta at 4-6. A pair of defensive stats to keep an eye on: Chicago is stumbling into the game with the most rushing touchdowns allowed in the NFL, having given up 17 on the season. Atlanta has experienced some struggles of their own as they are worst in the league in passing yards allowed per game, with 289.8 on average. It's possible one of these Achilles' heels will wind up tripping the losing team up.
