The Bears week 13 match up against the Kansas City Chiefs could end up being a very important game. If the Bears win the game, they pretty much hold their playoff destiny in their hand and would only have to win two out of their remaining four games to make it into the playoffs. If the Bears were to lose this game against the Chiefs, they would have a tough road ahead of them and would have to play great football and win three out of their last four games. However, we are talking about the Kansas City Chiefs here, so I don't believe the Bears will have all that much trouble with them. The Chiefs offense has been anemic this last month or so, having not scored a touchdown in almost a month now. That is good news for the Bears because they should be able to dominate the Chiefs offensively and make this game very easy for the Bears to win. Another thing the Bears will have going for them this week will be having the game at home. Last week, it was obvious that Caleb Hanie was not only nervous in his first NFL start, but may have been flustered by the restless Oakland Raider fans. With the game against the Chiefs at home, Hanie will enjoy a more welcoming atmosphere and will be in an environment he is more comfortable in. I would also expect Hanie to play much better as well. He will not only have had another full week of practice with the first team offense and also probably wont have the same jitters he had last week. It was very encouraging to see him overcome adversity and almost lead the Bears to victory at the end of the Raiders game. I would hope to see offensive coordinator Mike Martz utilize the running game more so Hanie doesn't feel like he has to win the game. Last week the Bears racked up 173 yards on the ground and that was with limited touches to Matt Forte. Imagine what he may have been able to do with 20-30 touches. And speaking of Matt Forte, he needs to regain his focus while on the football field and get back to the way he was playing before this "slump". Recently, he has been trying bounce all of his runs outside for the home run ball and has been very hesitant at the line. If he can get back to just hitting the whole hard, his vision, agility and quickness will provide the big runs on their own. It will also be very interesting to see how Johnny Knox play as he gains another week of repetitions from Hanie. It what little time Hanie has played, it seems like his favorite target has been Knox. Lets see if Knox can build on the huge game he had last week and become more of a fixture in this offense. It will never hurt a quarterback to have that consistent big play reciever to go along with Mr. Reliable, Earl Bennett.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Bears shouldn't have too many problems with the Chiefs. They are playing a quarterback in Tyler Palko, who does not seem to have a good grasp of the NFL game and it almost looks as if the game is too fast for him. The Steeler's forced four turnovers out of him last week and the Bears should have a similar fate. Look for defensive end Julius Peppers to continue his dominance as well, as he has racked up four sacks and 10 quarterback pressures in November. If Peppers can continue this tear, it will bode well for the Bears as he will probably draw more double teams and open things up for others such as Henry Melton and Israel Idonije. Another interesting thing to watch is how the Bears respond to being matched punch for punch in the special teams war last week in Oakland. Not many teams will throw out a punter/kicker combo like they were able to which basically shut down Devin Hester. He has been relatively quite these last few games so look for him to come out with a full head of steam. Besides that, I think this should be a fairly easy game for the Bears. I understand the Chiefs have a pretty decent defense, but with the way their offense is playing they wont win may game. I predict the Bears will win handily in a 27-9 game so until next time, Bear Down Chicago.
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