So much has happened since 2018 that any Chicago Bears fan could be forgiven for not remembering the last time their team played the Buffalo Bills. Quarterback Justin Fields was a backup behind Jake Fromm, a former Bill, at the University of Georgia, and it was the last season that Chicago ended the year with a record above .500, going 12-4 in the campaign.
Their tilt against Buffalo was one for the ages that season, and ended in a lopsided 41-9 victory for the Bears, pushing their record at the time to 5-3. They forced four turnovers in the rout, and despite only gaining 316 yards of total offense, dominated the Bills in all four quarters.
Buffalo’s quarterback Josh Allen was just a rosy-cheeked rookie in the matchup and ended the game with just 166 yards passing in what would be the Bills’ fourth straight loss in the middle of their 2018 schedule. They would end the season with a 6-10 record.
This year, the situation is expected to be drastically different. Chicago will be a heavy underdog heading into the matchup, and Allen has evolved into a perennial MVP candidate while Fields is still, himself, looking like a rookie at times in the passing game.
The Bears have one distinct advantage in 2022 that they didn’t have in 2018, though, in their burgeoning ground game. Fields is a dynamic runner with enough speed to burn any defense that fails to account for his crafty improvisational instincts when passing plays break down.
It is highly unlikely that Chicago’s defense will force the same volume of turnovers that they managed in 2018, but against a Bills team with plenty to prove, anything is technically possible. Buffalo has played down to their opponents several times this season and has had trouble putting teams away early, so if the Bears can get a foot in the door with an early lead, don’t be surprised if they’re able to take the Bills by surprise and knock them out of the AFC’s top seed.