Colts defense hoping to get a reprieve as Caleb Williams and Bears struggling offense visit Indy

Chicago (1-1) at Indianapolis (0-2)

Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT, CBS

BetMGM NFL Odds: Colts by 1

Series record: Colts lead 24-19

Against the spread: Chicago 1-0-1, Indianapolis 1-1

Last meeting: Colts won 19-11 at Chicago on Oct. 4, 2020.

Last week: Bears lost 19-13 at Houston; Colts lost 16-10 at Green Bay

Bears offense: overall (31), rush (28), pass (32), scoring (18-T)

Bears defense: overall (8), rush (13), pass (11), scoring (6-T)

Colts offense: overall (14), rush (16), pass (17), scoring (18-T)

Colts defense: overall (31), rush (32), pass (8), scoring (22-T)

Turnover differential: Bears plus-1, Colts minus-3.

Bears player to watch

QB Caleb Williams. It’s been a rough start for the No. 1 overall draft pick. Only five QBs have a lower completion rate than Williams (56.1%) and the recently benched Bryce Young is the only starter averaging fewer yards per game than Williams’ 133.5. The 2022 Heisman Trophy winner hasn’t thrown a TD pass, but has been sacked a league-high-tying nine times. Perhaps this will be the week he and the Bears turn things around.

Colts player to watch

WR Michael Pittman Jr. Indy’s top receiver showed his frustration following the Green Bay loss and it had nothing to do with his role in this offense. He’s been targeted a team-high 15 times and is second on the team with eight receptions. The previous time Pittman spoke out, in October 2023, he responded by catching 53 passes and helping Indy go 4-2 over the next six games.

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Key matchup

Bears running game vs. Colts run defense. Williams isn’t the only one struggling in Chicago. The offense has just one offensive TD this season. Still, this could be a matchup that helps the Bears get jump-started. Indy is allowing a league-high 237.0 yards rushing per game, and until it stops the run consistently, teams will continue to test the Colts.

Key injuries

Chicago WR Keenan Allen (heel) missed last weekend’s game and was one of four players who did not practice Wednesday. The others were fullback Khari Blasingame (hand and knee), offensive tackle Teven Jenkins (thigh) and defensive tackle Zacch Pickens (groin). Offensive tackle Kiran Amegadjie (quadricep), defensive tackle Andrew Billings (groin), guard Nate Davis (groin), rookie receiver Rome Odunze (knee) and defensive ends Montez Sweat (elbow) and DeMarcus Walker (foot) were all limited Wednesday. ... The Colts already have two defensive starters — three-time Pro Bowl DT DeForest Buckner (sprained ankle) and starting CB JuJu Brents (knee) — on injured reserve. Starting safety Julian Blackmon (shoulder) and WR Josh Downs (ankle) practiced Wednesday and are hopeful of returning, but kicker Matt Gay (quadricep) and rookie DE Laiatu Latu (hip) did not practice Wednesday.

Series notes

Indianapolis has won two straight and four of the past six in a series featuring two foes that moved into separate conferences as part of 1970 AFL-NFL merger. ... Indy won the only postseason contest, beating the Bears 29-17 to win Super Bowl 41. ... Chicago won the first NFL regular-season game played at Lucas Oil Stadium, 29-13 in the 2008 season opener. ... Colts owner Jim Irsay grew up in Chicago.

Stats and stuff

The Bears have won five of their past eight games overall, but have lost eight of their past 10 on the road. ... Chicago opened this season with three straight non-division games, the first time that’s happened since 2002. ... Williams and backup QB Tyson Bagent are the only Bears rookies to win their first career starts over the past two decades. ... WR D.J. Moore leads all players from the 2018 rookie class in yards receiving with 6,654. ... Chicago has allowed 117 sacks since the start of the 2022 season. ... The Bears defense has allowed just three points and just 169 yards in the second halves of the first two games. ... Chicago is tied with San Francisco for most interceptions (24) since the start of the 2023 season. ... Matt Eberflus served as Indy’s defensive coordinator from 2018-2021 before taking the Bears head coaching job. ... The Colts are trying to avoid starting a second straight season by losing its first two home games. ... Indy averages 6.68 yards per play, the third highest in the NFL, but have finished each of its first two games with 20 or fewer minutes of possession time. ... Second-year QB Anthony Richardson has run for five TDs in his first six starts as a pro but owns a 2-4 record. ... RB Jonathan Taylor had his first 100-yard game of the season last week and needs two TD runs to pass Marshall Faulk (42) for fourth in franchise history. ... WR Alec Pierce is one of four NFL players with two catches of 50 or more yards this season. Both came in the Week 1 loss to Houston. ... LB Zaire Franklin has had 22 games with at least 10 tackles and needs one more to break a tie with Gary Brackett for No. 2 in Colts history. ... P Rigoberto Sanchez is tied for the league lead with a net average of 48.8 yards. ... Indy’s six sacks through weeks puts the Colts on pace to match last year’s single-season franchise record (51).

Fantasy tip

Taylor is always a safe play, but against a stingy Bears defense, Pittman may be the best bet in what could be a low-scoring game.

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