Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson has a healthy respect for what counterpart John Harbaugh has done with the Baltimore Ravens over the last 18 years.

He’s not fooled by the Ravens’ 1-5 start to the season.

“Their record really doesn’t indicate what they are capable of doing,” Johnson said. “They can put up points in bunches and this defense is always, since Harbaugh has been there, has always found a way to respond.”

The Ravens are looking to respond this week with their playoffs hopes looking dire.

The Bears (4-2) will take on the Ravens (1-5) on Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium (noon, CBS-2). Here are five things to watch ahead of Week 8 — plus the Tribune’s predictions for the game.

1. Lamar Jackson’s potential return — and a desperate Ravens team.

The Ravens began the season as the betting favorite to win the Super Bowl. To say nobody saw a 1-5 start coming would be the understatement of the year.

This is a franchise that has been to six of the last seven postseasons. The Ravens have averaged 11 wins over that span.

Their Week 1 shootout against another Super Bowl favorite in the Buffalo Bills might wind up being the best game of the season. Despite the Ravens losing in dramatic fashion, that game did nothing to dispel the notion that this is a championship contender.

But everything that could go wrong since then has gone wrong. Running back Derrick Henry has fumbled at key moments. Jackson, a two-time league MVP, and All-Pro linebacker Roquan Smith both missed the last two games with hamstring injuries. The Ravens lost both games without Jackson and now face an uphill climb.

Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson sits on the bench as his right leg is worked on during a game against the Chiefs on Sept. 28, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (Charlie Riedel/AP)

All is not lost yet, but the odds are not in their favor. Only four teams have started 1-5 and still made the playoffs: the 1970 Cincinnati Bengals, 2015 Kansas City Chiefs, 2018 Indianapolis Colts and 2020 Washington Football Team. The 1970 Bengals are the only 1-6 team to make the playoffs.

The Ravens’ backs are against a wall. If ever there were a bad time to draw this matchup, it’s probably this week.

“It’s just focusing on the things we can control, putting our best foot forward and at the end of the day, we’re on the ropes too,” Bears defensive tackle Grady Jarrett said. “We’ve got to have the mindset of being our best, regardless of how good or bad an opponent is doing. It’s the NFL. Every game is hard.”

Jackson returned to practice this week for the first time in a month. His right hamstring injury has kept him limited in practice, but it seems as if he’s trending toward playing.

While Jackson’s status remains somewhat in doubt, the Ravens probably will keep it that way in order to keep the Bears guessing. But with his team backed into a corner, it would be somewhat of a surprise if he doesn’t play.

Players in the spotlight

Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith

Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith lines up for a play against the Lions on Sept. 22, 2025, in Baltimore. (Nick Wass/AP)

Smith will face his former team for the first time. Bears general manager Ryan Poles traded Smith to the Ravens at the deadline in October 2022.

At the time, the Bears were in the midst of a roster overhaul in Poles’ first year. After a monthslong simmering contract dispute, Smith was traded in exchange for second- and fifth-round draft picks, along with linebacker A.J. Klein.

“It was almost disbelief,” tight end Cole Kmet recently recalled with the Tribune’s Brad Biggs. “You just couldn’t believe it. It was kind of my first moment of realizing stuff has changed over from Ryan (Pace) to Ryan (Poles). It was a realization that really, at the end of the day, anybody is up for grabs.

Those draft picks later turned into defensive tackle Gervon Dexter and linebacker Noah Sewell. In Baltimore, Smith signed a five-year, $100 million extension in January 2023 and has earned three first-team All-Pro honors with the Ravens.

Much like Jackson for the offense, the Ravens were missing one of the emotional leaders on defense. Smith sat out the last two games, but he has been a full participant in practice this week and is on pace to return Sunday.

“He finds a way to get around blocks to be around the football,” Johnson said. “We’re going to have to do our best to cover him up.”

Through four games before the injury, Smith totaled 34 combined tackles, four tackles for a loss and one fumble recovery, which he returned 63 yards for a touchdown.

His return would be a huge boost. The Ravens are allowing a league-worst 32.3 points per game and rank 30th in yards per game (380.8). The defense has one interception and a paltry 3.7% sack rate (31st).

Pressing question

Ravens running back Derrick Henry looks for an opening against the Rams on Oct. 12, 2025, in Baltimore. (Stephanie Scarbrough/AP)

Can the Bears stop Derrick Henry? 

The Tennessee Titans drafted Henry, the Heisman Trophy winner out of Alabama, with the 45th pick in the 2016 draft. Nineteen picks later, they took Kevin Byard, a safety from Middle Tennessee, with the 64th selection.

The two rookies had played against one another during the 2015 college season. They went on to play eight seasons together in Tennessee.

This week they will square off as opponents for the first time since that 2015 college game (Alabama won easily and went on to win the national title). Henry signed with the Ravens as a free agent in March 2024, just days after Byard signed with the Bears.

“I’ve been on the sideline and watching that guy stiff-arm everybody into the dirt,” Byard said. “He’s a future Hall of Famer. (I’m a) really good friend of his. But yeah, it’s going to be a challenge.”

Asked how to go about tackling the 6-foot-2, 252-pound Henry, Byard had one piece of advice for his teammates: “Don’t go high.”

In his first season in Baltimore last year, Henry finished with 1,921 rushing yards, second in the NFL and overshadowed by Saquon Barkley’s season with the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.

A year later, Henry has 439 yards and four touchdowns on 88 carries through six games. The Ravens rushing attack is averaging 5.3 yards per attempt, which ranks second in the league.

When Jackson and Henry are both healthy, it might be the most imposing duo in the game, especially when they’re executing a run-pass option.

“They formed the most dangerous backfield in the league, in my opinion, so it’d be a huge challenge for our defense,” Byard said.

Keep an eye on …

Bears running back D’Andre Swift scores a touchdown during the second quarter against the Saints on Oct. 19, 2025, at Soldier Field. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)

The Bears rushing attack

Speaking of imposing rushing attacks, the Bears are coming off their two best rushing performances of the season. D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai scored touchdowns last week against the New Orleans Saints, and both ran for more than 80 yards and averaged better than 6 yards per carry.

Against a Ravens defense that struggles against the run (134.3 yards per game), don’t be surprised if Johnson leans on the running game yet again.

Swift and Monangai were efficient in Week 7. It’s a good thing, too, that Monangai, a rookie seventh-round pick, appears to be emerging as a reliable second option at running back. Swift largely carried the burden alone through the first month of the season.

“Sometimes one of those guys is going to have to carry a heavier load depending on what kind of game we think it’s going to be,” offensive coordinator Declan Doyle said. “However, we’re really comfortable with either of those guys in the game. We feel really good about them running between the tackles as well as on the perimeter.”

Against another vulnerable run defense, Johnson could look to pound the rock again.

Injury updates

Jackson’s availability is paramount for the Ravens. He was limited in practice on Wednesday and Thursday. Smith has been a full participant.

For the Bears, cornerback Tyrique Stevenson (shoulder) and tight end Cole Kmet (back) have both been absent from practice this week. Both suffered injuries Sunday.

Tremaine Edmunds (ankle), Kyler Gordon (calf/groin), DJ Moore (hip) and D’Andre Swift (groin) were limited in practice Thursday.

Both teams will release their final injury reports Friday.

Predictions

Brad Biggs (3-3)

It’s certainly dicey picking this game with Lamar Jackson’s status at least somewhat unknown. Beyond that, it’s impossible to say how the two-time MVP will be able to move around returning from a hamstring injury. But the Ravens season is on the line at this early juncture because they’ve been crushed by injuries and they haven’t played very well. They are 14-3 coming off a regular-season bye under John Harbaugh. The Bears have been thriving on takeaways and even they’re smart enough to know it’s going to be difficult to count on three and four every week. Expect the Ravens to have some punch.

Ravens 34, Bears 30

Sean Hammond (4-2)

I can’t unsee John Harbaugh’s 14-3 record coming off the bye week. That — coupled with the potential return of Lamar Jackson — makes this a tough task for Ben Johnson’s club. The Bears should find ways to run the football against a Ravens defensive line that has struggled in that area, but you could say the same about Derrick Henry and the Ravens rushing attack against the Bears. Defensively, the Bears have had some things go their way in the turnover department lately, but Jackson has thrown only five interceptions in his last 21 starts.  I think the desperate Ravens will scratch and claw their way to a win.

Ravens 31, Bears 24

Phil Thompson (3-3)

We all know the cliche “next man up,” but, with all due respect to Cooper Rush, that doesn’t apply when the first man is Jackson, who appears on track to return from a hamstring injury. The 1-5 Ravens averaged 32.8 points in the four games Jackson played, and three of those opponents were playoff teams last season. Also, their defense is getting healthier with the likely return of ex-Bears linebacker Roquan Smith. The Bears trolled the Ravens on social media for removing their locker room pingpong table, but they’d be better off worrying about not getting paddled in Baltimore.

Ravens 30, Bears 24

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/24/chicago-bears-baltimore-ravens-predictions/