Getty Bengals safety Vonn Bell says his team is ready to take over Chicago.
The Chicago Bears make their home debut at Soldier Field Week 2 when Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals come to town.
The Bears fell in their Week 1 matchup against the L.A. Rams, 34-14, showing deficiencies on both sides of the ball, while the Bengals pulled off a Week 1 overtime win against the Minnesota Vikings, 27-24. Cincinnati gave up a ton of yards (336) in the passing game, but a stout defensive line bailed the ‘D’ out, sacking Kirk Cousins three times while allowing just 67 yards on the ground.
Considering how the Cincy secondary let Minnesota wideouts Adam Thielen, Justin Jefferson and K.J. Osborn combine for 239 yards and two scores, it’s odd Bengals’ starting safety Vonn Bell decided to talk a little smack heading into the teams’ Week 2 matchup.
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Bell: ‘We’re Going to Take Over the City’
Bell, who had seven tackles in the win against Minnesota, was asked how the Bengals were going to handle their first road game of the year with rowdy Bears faithful in the stands. Here’s what he said in response:
“I think the mindset is: ‘We’re about to take over. We’re going to take over the city,'” Bell said on September 15. “We want to go out there and make plays and take over the field and take the field. … We’re at war now. We’re in our foxhole. We’re going to battle.”
Bell may be prepping for battle, as he says, but he did have some kind words for Bears quarterback Justin Fields, who, as a fellow Ohio State alum, he has watched frequently.
“I know he can make some things happen with his feet, extend plays, be strong in the pocket,” Bell said about Fields. “He plays with a lot of enthusiasm and heart, and he just love ball.”
It sounds like the Bell and the Bengals are ready for the Bears — but are the Bears ready for them?
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Bears Need More Consistent Effort on Offense & Defense
The Bears gave up three sacks in their first game, which arguably could have been much worse considering they were blocking Aaron Donald on every play.
“He was able to affect the game in different ways,” Bears center Sam Mustipher said about Defensive Player of the Year Donald’s impact on the game Week 1. “I feel like there were plays we did do a good job and there were plays that we didn’t. Obviously the end goal, the only stat that matters is the win column, and we didn’t get it done. So obviously we didn’t do enough for us to be successful.”
Similarly to the Bengals, the Bears were also good against the run last week (they allowed 74 yards rushing) but they got burned by Rams QB Matthew Stafford on multiple occasions, surrendering 314 yards in the passing game. They’ll need to clean that up if they want to stay out of the ‘L’ column.
“Our standard is the standard, and everybody’s held accountable to [that] standard regardless of your years [in the league] and regardless of even me,” Bears defensive coordinator Sean Desai said on September 15. “So the accountability was addressed in a very direct, matter-of-fact way. And we move on. We can’t dwell on things in this league. That’s where things snowball. You address it, and you improve it and ask for a clarification and make sure that the way you’re teaching it is proper — because sometimes the way you’re teaching isn’t the right way. And that’s on me.”
We’ll know soon enough if the Bears can start to turn things around — and if they can silence Bell in the process.
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