Neither the Chicago Bears nor the San Diego Chargers are where they hoped they'd be this far into the season. The Bears have a 2-5 record and are well behind the Green Bay Packers in the NFC North, while the Chargers are 2-6 and have failed to take the fight to the Oakland Raiders in the AFC West, let alone the undefeated Denver Broncos.
Bears vs. Chargers 2015 live stream: Time, TV schedule and how to watch ‘MNF’ online
Philip Rivers won’t have Keenan Allen against the Chicago Bears on Monday.
The Chargers have been bitten by the injury bug more than most teams this season. Much of the offensive line has been on the injury report and multiple offensive playmakers are banged up. Tight end Antonio Gates and rookie first-round pick Melvin Gordon have both been injured at times and unfortunately, wide receiver Keenan Allen will miss the rest of the season with a lacerated kidney.
Allen was having a fantastic year for the Chargers. He caught 67 passes for 725 yards and four touchdowns before going down with the injury. He was having a breakout year and San Diego's receiver situation is now murky. Running back Danny Woodhead is second on the team with 39 receptions for 443 yards and two touchdowns.
There are plenty of contributors, with all of Malcom Floyd, Ladarius Green, Stevie Johnson and Gates having 200-plus receiving yards, but none of them are even close to where Allen was at this point in the season. Philip Rivers will have to work with limited options, and he'll be facing a Chicago defense that ranks eighth in the league in yards allowed.
On top of that, the Bears rank fourth in the league against the pass and have done a good job against opposing quarterbacks. Against the run, they rank 23rd and if Gordon isn’t too beat up, he could be in line for a big game. Unfortunately, Gordon has struggled this year for the most part. He has 103 carries for 382 yards and no touchdowns on the year, and has caught 18 passes for 93 yards.
Gordon has a per-carry average of 3.7 yards this year. He’s the starting running back, and he fits the mold of an every-down feature back in the NFL, but he hasn’t been able to break free and put up big yardage. The Chargers have been unable to put opponents away with their running game.
The Bears haven’t fared much better offensively. They rank 20th in the league running the football and 23rd in the league throwing. The Chargers, despite having no huge playmakers outside of Allen, rank first in the league in passing offense, throwing for 336.9 yards per game. That hasn’t translated into points though, as they rank 14th in the league in points scored. That is still well above Chicago, which ranks 26th in the league in that vein.
Chicago quarterback Jay Cutler is playing well, with a 61.8 completion percentage and 1,442 yards, but he has only managed eight touchdowns compared to his four interceptions. Unfortunately for him, running back Matt Forte is sidelined with a knee injury. Rookie Jeremy Langford will get the start in Forte's place.
How to watch
When: 8:30 p.m. ET
Where: Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, Calif.
TV: ESPN
Commentators: Mike Tirico, Jon Gruden, Lisa Salters
Online: WatchESPN, Verizon NFL Mobile
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