Bears vs. Chiefs: Game Time and Analysis

Week one of the (temporary) Caleb Hanie era was like most people’s trips to a casino: some ups, a lot of downs, three hours of entertainment and in the end, a net loss.

In his first career NFL start, Hanie was erratic, throwing three interceptions in the first half, but also tossing two touchdown passes. Hanie did finish 18-for-36 passing for 254 yards and his 50 rushing yards showed his athleticism. But Hanie will need to learn to keep his eyes up and downfield, waiting an extra second or two to look for open receivers instead of tucking it down and running.

More than half of his passing yards (plus one touchdown catch) went to Johnny Knox, who has seven receptions for 242 yards over the past two games. The speedy wide receiver was relatively quiet for the first nine games of the season, but has touchdown catches in each of the last two weeks. In order for Hanie to find Knox downfield, the offensive line needs to provide better protection. Hanie was sacked four times last week and Kansas City features an explosive pass rusher in Tamba Hali.

After Matt Forte’s quick start to the season, the Bears are starting to give more carries to Marion Barber as the season progresses. Barber had 10 rushes for 63 yards last week against Oakland and his production will allow Forte to remain fresh in the final weeks of the season.

Kansas City comes in carrying more question marks than the Bears. The Chiefs are on a four-game skid and have only scored 25 total points during the losing streak. They have quarterback issues of their own, claiming former Bears QB Kyle Orton off of waivers to come in and possibly replace Tyler Palko, who has struggled in the Chiefs’ last three games. Palko has thrown six interceptions compared to zero touchdowns in his three appearances for Kansas City, but is expected to start against Chicago. The Chiefs turned the ball over four times last week against Pittsburgh and they’ll face a similar defense that routinely takes advantage of other teams’ mistakes.

Ever since Jamaal Charles went down with an injury in Week 2, the Chiefs have struggled to replace him in the backfield. The trio of Jackie Battle, Dexter McCluster and ex-Bear Thomas Jones share the load, but none have put up staggering numbers. Like Forte, McCluster is a receiving threat out of the backfield and can break a big play at any time

Last week’s loss gave Chicago less margin for error in the race for an NFC wildcard spot in the playoffs. A win this week is essential if the Bears want to stay in the chase.

As Hanie showed on the last play of the game against the Raiders – an unintentional grounding call after Hanie hesitated to spike the ball initially – there is a learning curve to playing quarterback in the NFL. But how steep is that curve for Hanie? We’ll get a better idea of that against Kansas City.  

Game time

Sunday's game against the Chiefs is set for 12:00 p.m. Central Time and will be aired on channel 2 CBS.

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