Five Questions with the Enemy: Getting you ready for Bears vs Colts

The Chicago Bears are sitting at 1-1 and get ready to head to Indiana this Sunday to face the 0-2 Indianapolis Colts . Both these teams will be eager to win this game as both teams have playoff aspirations and don't want to pile up too many losses early in the season.

To prepare you for this critical match-up, we reached out to two members of the Colts media community! We spoke with an old friend of the Chicago Bears community, JJ Stankevitz from Colts.Com, and Chris Shepherd from Stampede Blue to give us some perspective on the Bears' opponent.

JJ Stankevitz: The biggest issue indeed has been the Colts' run defense, which allowed 474 rushing yards over the first two games of the season – more than any team has allowed in a season's first two games since the 1970s. That was supposed to be a strength of this group heading into 2024 – it has been for the last few seasons, and most of the Colts' front seven has played together over the last two or three years. The Colts did fix some things during Week 2's loss to the Packers , holding Green Bay to 2.4 yards per carry over their final seven possessions, and will have to carry that momentum into Sunday's game regardless of how the Bears have or haven't run the ball in 2024.

Chris Shepherd: I could write you a book on what's gone wrong but the $0.10 version is simply: the defense. Your assertion of it being a league average unit a year ago is correct. They were stout against the run (as long as Grover Stewart wasn't suspended) and the backend was a liability. It averaged out to be, well, about average.

This season, the strength of the defense (run stopping) has become a weakness. So much so that teams haven't even needed to test the paper thin (and not very good) secondary that the Colts failed to address in the offseason. It's not entirely surprising that the defense hasn't been good, many Colts fans were expecting it. It's just that absolutely no one would have predicted that the team would have given up the most rushing yards in the league through two games. It's not that they're bad, it's how they're bad and how that issue has worked to exacerbate issues on the offensive side of the ball as well.

JJ: I think what we've seen from Richardson has been about what we should expect – he's going to make some outrageous plays while ironing out the rest of his game. He's only started 19 games since high school and is still the NFL's youngest starting quarterback (a title he held last year, too). Getting wide receiver Josh Downs back this week should help in giving Richardson some more easy-access throws that can help sustain drives – Downs and Richardson have a strong connection, and Downs was one of the Colts' best players in training camp before he sprained his ankle on Aug. 7.

Chris: I don't want to come across as pedantic but after being traumatized by rookie QB injuries a season ago I have to point out that he's only started six games. Add that to his 13 college starts and, since high school, Anthony Richardson has only started 19 football games.

He's the youngest starting quarterback in the NFL again this year and unless you're an illiterate Colts fan, you understood that there were going to be ups and downs as Richardson gained experience and developed as a passer. So that's where we are. Richardson hasn't played much football, he didn't grow up with a private quarterback coach, he didn't learn under a college coach known for developing passing talent.

So yeah, he's going to sail some throws. He'll put a couple in the dirt and he can be tricked with coverage looks that he's just never seen because there's just so much he's never seen. Like you said the highlights are wild. Just insane. But what's more than the highlights is how this kid plays when it's late in the game and his team needs a score. He just has a way about him that is difficult to describe but it inspires so much confidence when the game is on the line. He's better under pressure than he has any right to be and that, as much as anything else, is reason enough to ride out the up-and-down play with the hopes that he puts it all together because if he does, man, we are a few years away from seeing something special. And if he doesn't put it together... well it will have been a lot more exciting than the Carson Wentz and Matt Ryan experiments of the past.

JJ: The support's been good, but there is some room for improvement. The offensive line across the board is fantastic, giving Richardson time to operate from the pocket while creating lanes for him and running back Jonathan Taylor. Taylor, too, is running with vision, patience and speed – what he did against Green Bay was a reminder of why the Colts believe he's one of the best backs in the NFL. Richardson's early-season connection with Glen Ellyn native Alec Pierce has been strong, with Pierce catching touchdowns in consecutive games. There's room for growth in Richardson's rapport with wide receivers Michael Pittman Jr. and Adonai Mitchell, but those are two talented players who the Colts believe will get going sooner rather than later. Pittman in particular has proven his value over his four years in Indianapolis – last year he became the fourth player in franchise history with a 100-catch, 1,000-yard season.

Chris: In theory, Richardson has everything he needs to succeed. His offensive line has been excellent. Jonathan Taylor, when he has been given the opportunity this season, looks like the back that rushed for 1,800+ yards a couple of seasons ago. The problem is the defense has been so poor against the run that the time of possession has been so stacked against the Colts' offense that Steichen has often found himself down multiple scores before he's even made it through his initial play script, it's tough to stay committed to the run when there are 8 minutes left in the second quarter, it's your second possession, and you're not confident you'll get a third before the half. The receiving corps has been missing its quick win slot receiver in Josh Downs who has really hurt the offense, but third-year receiver Alec Pierce has come on and is producing well for the first time in his career. Rookie Ad Mitchell has shown promise but seems to be struggling to get on the same page with Richardson and was benched for a part of last week's game for Ashton Dulin because at least Dulin is always where you expect him to be and for some reason Michael Pittman Jr. seems to be jogging all of his routes this year and he's dropping passes at a never before seen rate.

So in theory, general manager Chris Ballard has given a young quarterback everything he could need. It's hard for me to criticize his offensive team building. It becomes a lot easier to criticize his defensive team building when you look at the secondary that he assembled. But even then it's tough to knock him for the way the defense has faltered so far this season. No one, not even Ballard, could have predicted that his very good run-stopping front seven would just forget how to fill their gaps, defeat blocks, and make contact with a runner before he's five yards downfield.

JJ: Players love Steichen – he has a certain no-nonsense leadership style that demands accountability, but is also defined by good emotional intelligence, and it resonates with the guys in the locker room. The Colts didn't just hire him in 2023 for his offensive mind; they hired him because of his ability to set the right tone for the entire organization. Having said that: He and Richardson have a tight relationship, and as the Colts move forward this season, you'll see him continue to give his quarterback answers and put players in the right position to succeed on Sundays.

Chris: Shane was great last season. He made the most out of what he had every step of the way. This season he seems to be just like the rest of us, completely caught off guard with no answers for the way things are going. Make no mistake about it, the offense is his and the defense belongs to Gus Bradley, but what each side of the ball does, impacts the other. So if you're reading this saying "Well if the offense sustained its drives it would help the defense and Steichen wouldn't be behind the 8-ball early in games" you would be right! That's completely true. Steichen's offense has sputtered early in games, the defense is bad and as a result, it's limited his play calling and that play calling has largely been... well not great thus far. But in context, the defensive front seven is full of veterans on their second contract. The offense is led by a 22-year-old with six starts as a pro. One was expected to struggle, the other has no excuse.

Ultimately I think Steichen is a good but young coach. This has been a tough two-game stretch for him, but like Richardson, he's going to keep developing and improving as time goes on.

JJ: Indianapolis doesn't lack for great spots to get a steak – St. Elmo's, Prime 47, Commission Row, etc. I'd put any of those up there with my favorite spots in Chicago.

Chris: Your guess is as good as mine. Either D'Andre Swift will have a career day and Caleb Williams will set Bears passing records or the Colts' defense will finally look like the unit we thought they were (I don't have much hope for this one to be honest) and the offense finally starts to find some rhythm (I have quite a bit of hope for this one).

Gun to my head I'm going to bet that the return of Josh Downs to the Indy offense will mark a vast improvement in the Colts' ability to sustain drives. Steichen's patented red zone RPO's will give the Bears very good linebackers fits and the Colts will score a lot of points. For the Bears I'm going to bet that Caleb Williams comes out firing and has the game of his young career, dicing up the Colts' questionable secondary.

I think the game comes down to a 45-yard Matt Gay field goal that he'll miss.

Bears 33, Colts 31

Colts fans online implode.