A bolt of lightning, then some calm after the storm

The Chargers have been scuffling, losing five of six, but have been in every game, and they meet a Bears offense that is in a deep funk. Those struggles have spread to the defense the last two games, and Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers rates a significant edge over his Bears counterpart, Mitch Trubisky.

Sunday’s blowout loss to the Saints was a new low in 23 games under Matt Nagy. The Bears were inferior in all three phases against a Super Bowl contender. The Chargers, on the other hand, are not that. The Bears should be able to take advantage of their pedestrian offensive line and stop the run much better than they did in the last two games. I don’t know what to expect from Trubisky because I didn’t expect this regression in the first place. I’ll close my eyes and pick the Bears after great hesitation.

The Bears were terrible Sunday against a bunch of Saints backups, but the 2-5 Chargers have even more problems. The urgency to emerge victorious after two straight stinkers is clear at Halas Hall, and the guess is Nagy, Trubisky and company will respond properly. Plus another week for Trubisky to shake off the rust can’t hurt. Then again, I guessed the Bears would beat the Raiders and Saints the last two games. What’s the saying when you fool me three times?

The Bears offense has major problems. Obviously. But it’s hard to believe they’ll put up a stinker comparable to last week’s. As the healthier and more complete team, they’d better be able to take advantage of a home game against a 2-5 team coming off its own painful loss. Put me down for a Bears win and a modest postgame shrug for what it actually signifies.