3 keys for Bears as they take on Atlanta Falcons at Soldier Field

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The Bears have a lot on the line over their final two games, especially for coach Matt Eberflus as he looks to make a case to return for 2024. They play two middling teams, starting with the 7-8 Falcons at Soldier Field today, then a visit to the 7-8 Packers next weekend. That’s a step up in competition from facing the Cardinals last week.

The Week 18 games haven’t been scheduled yet, but that is expected to finalized this afternoon or evening.

As the Bears try to get as close to .500 as possible and make a decent rally from their 2-7 start, here’s what has to go right for them against the Falcons:

Fields flies high
Bears quarterback Justin Fields doesn’t have to succeed exclusively with his arm, but he has to show he can carry the Bears as a passer when necessary. He hasn’t done much of that in his short career, and when he has, it usually has been against bad defenses. The Falcons, though, are No. 6 in points allowed and 12th in opponent passer rating. It’s a great opportunity for Fields.

Contain Robinson’s running
Are the Bears a sure-tackling defense? Think about some of the defenses they played recently. The Browns seemed to make every tackle and held the Bears to 17 points; The Lions were far less reliable and gave up 28. So which one looks more like the Bears? They’ll need to be sharp against rookie running back Bijan Robinson, who has 873 yards and four touchdowns. He’s 12th in the league in yards per carry at 4.6 (Fields is second at 5.6) and has 373 yards and three touchdowns as a receiver. Pro Football Reference has the Bears at 96 missed tackles this season, which is the 10th-highest.

Strong at home
Homefield advantage is supposed to mean something in the NFL. Maybe not everywhere, but you’ve seen the difference it makes in New Orleans, Green Bay and Kansas City. When’s the last time it felt like Soldier Field was a tough place to play? A lot of homefield advantage has to do with how good the team actually is, but the Bears have to have an edge when they’re playing on the lakefront in winter, especially against an indoor team from the south. If they beat the Falcons, they’ll finish 5-3 at home — their first winning record at Soldier Field since 2018.