Baltimore Ravens vs. Chicago Bears Matchup Preview (11/21/21): Betting Odds, Depth Charts, Live Stream (Watch Online)

Baltimore Ravens vs. Chicago Bears Matchup Preview (11/21/21)

The Ravens lost a sloppy game to the Dolphins on TNF, 22-10.  Not sure if it was the humidity and/or a short week, but Baltimore looked out of sorts against Miami.  The Ravens scored fewer than 14 points for the first time in their last 53 games. I would expect Ravens head coach John Harbaugh to have his team better prepared for this road game.  Coming off a bye, the last time the Bears played, they lost a heartbreaker to the Steelers on MNF in week 9.  In the game Chicago was flagged for a season-high 12 penalties including the questionable taunting call on Cassius Marsh in the fourth quarter.  

Baltimore Ravens vs. Chicago Bears Betting Odds

At 6-3, Baltimore leads the AFC North and go into Chicago as a 6-point favorite.  The Bears, 3-6 on the season, are 4-5 against the spread in 2021; 2-2 at home.  The Ravens are averaging 19.8 points on the road and the Bears are averaging 20 points per game at Soldier Field.  The Ravens have lost two of their last four games, scoring a combined 27 points in those losses.   The Bears have scored over 24 points in a game twice this season.

Will Lamar Jackson remind everyone he’s the most dynamic quarterback in football or will Chicago’s rookie quarterback Justin Fields endear himself to the Soldier Field crowd beating the 2019 NFL MVP?

My Prediction: Ravens 24-17, Ravens cover and barely go under the over/under set at 45 points.  

TV Schedule

Date: November 21st, 2021
Time: 1:00 PM ET
Location: Soldier Field – Chicago, IL
TV Coverage: CBS

Baltimore Ravens vs. Chicago Bears Live Stream

Where can you watch Ravens vs. Bears online? You can stream this game, and many other NFL games live online with Hulu. Hulu has a 7 Day free trial and is cheaper than cable options at $5.99/month. Watch Ravens vs. Bears Free Online Now.

Baltimore Ravens Analysis

Leading the second ranked offense in the NFL averaging 414.1 yards per game, Lamar Jackson has accounted for 3,086 yards (2,447 passing and 639 rushing) of total offense this season.  He’s accounted for 16 touchdowns (14 passing and two rushing) in 2021, while averaging 271.9 passing yards per game. In the disappointing loss to Miami, Jackson was 26-43 for 238 yards with a touchdown and an interception; his quarterback rating was 73.6 playing in his hometown.  In his last three starts in which the Ravens are 1-2, the Ravens #8 has thrown for 761 yards, rushed for 247 and accounting for five touchdowns.  

In week 10 against Miami, Marquise Brown was targeted on nine pass attempts in the first half, but for the game he had six receptions for 37 yards.  Brown is the Ravens leading receiver, with 52 receptions for 719 yards and six touchdowns.  The former first round pick in the 2019 draft, has 21 touchdowns overall in 39 career games.  He’s averaging 13.3 yards per reception and is a receiver capable of going deep and changing the complexion of the game.  Tight End Mark Andrews is another important piece to the Ravens offense consistently making clutch catches.  In the loss to Miami, he had six receptions for 63 yards and Baltimore’s only touchdown of the game.  Andrews is the eighth player in Ravens history with at least 200 career receptions; he has 204 receptions in 54 career games.   On the season, the former Oklahoma Sooner has 48 receptions for 623 yards and four touchdowns.  

Baltimore’s rushing game is tied for the league lead averaging 154.1 yards per game.  Quarterback Lamar Jackson is the Ravens leading ball carrier rushing for 639 yards on 106 carries: averaging six yards per attempt.  Jackson has rushed for over 100 yards in two games this season.  On Tuesday, the Ravens released Le’Veon Bell.  In five games with Baltimore, he rushed for 83 yards on 31 carries with two touchdowns.    

Defense, the signature strength of the Ravens franchise for the last 20 years has struggled this season.  The defensive unit is allowing 371.6 yards per game, ranking them in the bottom half of the NFL.  

Baltimore Ravens Depth Chart

QB: Lamar Jackson
RB1: Latvius Murray
RB2: Tyson Williams
WR1: Sammy Watkins
WR2: Marquise Brown
WR3: Rashod Bateman
TE1: Mark Andrews

Chicago Bears Analysis

This season the Bears are 31^st in the league in total offense averaging 280.7 yards per game.  They’re scoring 16.7 points per game, which ranks them at the bottom of the NFL.  Chicago’s passing attack is averaging 144.1 yards per game which is last in the league.  

In the loss to Pittsburgh, Chicago’s rookie quarterback Justin Fields threw for a career-high 291 yards with a touchdown and an interception.  His touchdown strike to Darnell Mooney with under two minutes to go in the game put the Bears ahead 27-26.  It looked as though the rookie would have his first fourth quarter comeback win in his career, but that was not to be as there was too much time left on the clock for the Steelers.  This was Fields second 200 yard plus passing game of his young career.  The former Ohio State Buckeye has thrown for 1,282 yards while adding 288 yards on the ground and accounting for six touchdowns (four passing and two rushing) in 2021.  The Bears must continue to allow Fields to create using his incredible abilities to make plays; whether that is on designed rollouts or when the pocket collapses.  

Darnell Mooney leads Chicago in receiving with 36 catches for 450 yards and two touchdowns.  Mooney is Fields go-to guy, being targeted 28 times in the past four weeks.  Throughout the season, I’ve said Allen Robinson looks like the forgotten man in the Bears’ offense, but it looked as though there was an effort to get him the ball against the Steelers; being targeted six times after being targeted eight times combined the previous two weeks.  On the season he has 30 receptions for 339 yards and a touchdown.  In his career the Bears #12 has averaged 60.4 catches per season (he only played in one game in 2017 due to injury).   The Penn State product has three 1,000 yard receiving seasons in his career including twice as a Bear; being the team’s leading receiver in 2019 (1,147) and 2020 (1,250).   This season Robinson has fewer than 70 yards receiving in each game, for comparison he had over 70 yards receiving in 12 games last season.  

After being out for four games, David Montgomery returned vs. the Steelers rushing for 63 yards on 13 carries: averaging 4.8 yards per rushing attempt.  On the season, he’s rushed for 382 yards on 82 carries with three touchdowns: averaging 4.54 yards per carry.  Khalil Herbert ran for 344 yards on 78 carries with a touchdown as he took over the running back spot while Montgomery was out.  Herbert has shown the ability to explode through holes opened by the offensive line and a player who’s difficult to tackle in the open field.  He has a bright future in Chicago’s backfield.

Injuries have really hurt the Bears this season on the defensive side of the ball.  Khalil Mack has been out the last two weeks due to a sprained foot while safety Eddie Jackson was out last week due to a hamstring injury suffered the previous week vs. San Francisco.  Both players are questionable for the game against the Ravens.   Chicago is allowing 348.9 yards of total offense and 24.9 points per game this season.

Chicago Bears Depth Chart

QB: Justin Fields
RB1: David Montgomery
RB2: Damien Williams
WR1: Darnell Mooney
WR2: Allen Robinson II
WR3: Marquise Goodwin
TE1: Cole Kmet
TE2: Jimmy Graham

Baltimore Ravens vs. Chicago Bears Daily Fantasy Picks

Rashod Bateman, selected 27^th overall by the Ravens first round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, has been looked upon to take on a bigger role in the passing game as he gets healthy; he missed five games to start the season due to groin surgery.   On the season, Bateman has 18 receptions for 241 yards.  He has at least 10 points in three straight contests and has been targeted on 24.6% of routes he has run this season, per PFF.  His breakout game is coming soon.  If you’re in a keeper league, Bateman is a player I’d stash on your roster.  

Tight End Cole Kmet continues to be another reliable target for Justin Fields.  The second-year tight end was targeted a season-high eight times in the loss to the Steelers; the last four weeks he’s been targeted 25 times.  This season he has 28 receptions, averaging 10.1 yards a reception.