BALTIMORE — The Ravens got off to a slow start against the Bears and had to claw their way back into the game with some late game heroics. However, with the game on the line in overtime, neither the defense of offense showed up and the Bears escaped with a 27-24 victory.

The first half was pretty slow for both teams. The Bears went into the half with a 10-3 lead but weren’t exactly firing on all cylinders. A freak interception that bounced off of Breshad Perriman‘s hands set Chicago up with great field position. They would use that to score their first touchdown of the afternoon but that was their lone highlight in the half.

In the second half the Bears added to their lead with another touchdown. Down 17-3, the Ravens looked hopeless but they somehow managed to swing the momentum in their favor while coming back and forcing overtime.

Bobby Rainey started the comeback effort by bringing the disappointed home crowd back to their feet with a 96-yard kickoff return. The play looked to be dead when Rainey ran into one of his own blockers, but he had the awareness to get up and keep going when the refs didn’t whistle the play over.

Justin Tucker inched his team closer when he nailed his second field goal of the afternoon in the fourth quarter. With Baltimore back in the game and down by just one possession, Joe Flacco led the offense down the field into the red zone. Unfortunately, Baltimore’s wideouts let Flacco down. again.

Chris Moore let a bullet pass bounce off his chest and fall into the hands of Chicago’s Adrian Amos. The Bears’ safety then turned on the jets and raced 90 yards down field for what seamed like a game-ending touchdown.

Flacco and the offense were left with about five minuets to make something happen. To their credit, they managed to put together a quick scoring drive. The two-minute drive was capped off by a 50-yard field goal to make it a one score game once again. The defense picked up on the momentum of the score and forced the Bears into a three-and-out on their next possession.

With under two minutes to play, Michael Campanaro returned a punt 77 yards down the Ravens sideline for a touchdown. Flacco followed up the impressive return with a successful two-point conversion pass to Nick Boyle. All of the sudden, the game was tied.

With a chance to put the game away in overtime, the Ravens offense proved to be even more unreliable. A third-and-two situation should be an easy pick up, but the Ravens embarrassed themselves with a questionable play call, bringing up fourth down.

After letting the Ravens back into the game, Chicago was determined to finally put the game away. Backed up deep in Ravens territory, Mitchell Trubisky handed the ball off to Jordan Howard, who bounced to the outside. Howard was quickly met by a cluster of defenders, including Eric Weddle, but managed to slip out of their reach and race down the visiting sideline for a 53-yard gain.

Weddle had his arms wrapped around Howard, but somehow couldn’t come up with a tackle. The play took away whatever energy remained in the stadium and the Bears didn’t hesitate to move their way into field goal range and put the game away.

There is a lot of blame to go around after this loss. Up until that final drive, the defense had played a relatively clean game but they still deserve a decent share of the blame. As far as the offense goes, Flacco was not the problem for once. Both picks should have been caught by the intended receiver and Maxx Williams should have never coughed up the ball in the red zone.

Moving past a tough loss is not new to this Ravens team, but at what point do the massive swarm of injuries become too much? Brandon Williams‘ presence was missed once again on Sunday, but Jeremy Maclin being out was probably the biggest loss. Moore and Campanaro can not be relied on to make big plays and they proved that with some ugly drops.

The Ravens will hit the road next week to take on the Vikings. Minnesota is coming off a big win against the Green Bay Packers and now finds themselves on top of their division. Baltimore, on the other hand, is going to need another impressive road performance if they want to keep pace in the AFC North.

Image Credit: Rob Carr / Getty Images

BALTIMORE – The recently jump-started Baltimore offense hits the field to see if they can find consistency for the second straight week when they take on the Chicago Bears (1-4) this Sunday. The Ravens (3-2) look to be without DT Brandon Williams again and, although they are at a semi-respectable 3-2 record, they could very well be .500 by 4:30 on Sunday.

The Bears have a very solid running game with stud running back Jordan Howard and jitterbug Tarik Cohen. This season, Howard and Cohen combine for 118 touches and 522 yards (4.4 YPC) on the ground with four touchdowns. Howard has seen an increase in action over the last few weeks while Cohen seems to be an afterthought in the Bears offense. With rookie quarterback Mitchell Trubisky under center, both running backs will see plenty of carries to start the contest at M&T Bank Stadium.

The Ravens came alive last week on the first play of the game against Oakland when Joe Flacco uncorked a beautiful rainbow throw to Mike Wallace for the longest offensive play of the year thus far for Baltimore. Wallace continued to add big plays to the game script with another 50+ YD catch later in the game to set up a Buck Allen TD run. There was a Breshad Perriman sighting as well, as he finally managed to catch a ball. Jeremy Maclin excelled as the main possession receiver, consistently bailing out Flacco in pressure situations. Even in the play where Flacco danced around the pocket, fell, and delivered a floater, Maclin was right there and made the play.

The Ravens offensive line played consistently and stand-ins Matt Skura and Jermaine Eluemenor were very serviceable. According to Pro Football Focus, center Ryan Jensen had the highest rating of any NFL center during week 5. The Ravens only committed one penalty against the Raiders, an amazing feat considering they haven’t had that few of penalties since the winter of 2011. John Harbaugh was visibly pleased at the line’s performance.

WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR:

1. Bears RBs: Howard and Cohen, if not held in check, have the ability to trample the Williams-less Ravens defensive unit. In week 4, Le’veon Bell had over 150 all-purpose yards and we could very well see more of the same against this front.
2. Ravens WRs: With the unit seemingly catching fire at the most opportune time, the Bears shaky secondary could fall victim to the pure speed that is possessed by Baltimore. Calvert Hall Alum Adrian Amos is the best player in the secondary for this young Bears squad. Wallace will look to continue his ridiculous production after setting the record for yards-per-catch in a game by a Raven, previously held by Qadry Ismail. Perriman looks to become more of a factor and shake the premature title of bust.
3. Bears Defense: Surprisingly, this unit is sixth in the league in total defense, which doesn’t bode particularly well for the offensively-challenged Baltimore Ravens.
4. Trubisky: After a mixed bag start for the rookie, Trubisky looks to yet again step into the crucible and take on one of the toughest defenses in the NFL. He could have a very good game if the offensive line holds up, but chances are he will struggle mightily, as Baltimore’s secondary is far more talented than Minnesota’s.

Details:

Who: Baltimore Ravens vs. Chicago Bears

What: Week 6 NFL regular season

When: 1:00 p.m.. ET, Sunday, Oct. 15, 2017

Where: M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland

TV Channel: FOX

Live Stream: NFL Game Pass, FOX Sports Go

Radio: WBAL News Radio 1090 , BaltimoreRavens.com

Point Spread: Baltimore, -6.5

Over/Under: 39.5

Weather: 84 degrees, partly cloudy

Image Credit: NFL