The Chicago Bears host the New York Jets on Sunday afternoon. The Bears are riding high after an impressive 27-7 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night, spearheaded by a masterful performance from third-string QB Case Keenum.

There is a lot of intrigue regarding whether Keenum will get another start on Sunday, as some believe they will go back to Tyson Bagent since he can get a full week of practice after clearing concussion protocol.

Meanwhile, the Jets might be 1-2, but they're just about as frisky of a 1-2 team as you will ever see. The Packers escaped with an overtime victory in Week 2, and they took the Lions the distance on Detroit's own turf last week.

Aaron Glenn and Co. will surely be eager to get back into the winning column in their third-straight matchup with the NFC North. A few key factors could get in their way, though.

Can the Bears neutralize Garrett Wilson?

The Jets are one more injury to an offensive skill player away from reaching out to you about your availability on Sunday, reader.

Jets head coach Aaron Glenn confirmed on Wednesday that RB Breece Hall, WR AD Mitchell, and TE Mason Taylor are all week-to-week. All three players appear doubtful for Week 4. Meanwhile, Omar Cooper Jr., whom the team selected in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, is on IR with a sprained ankle. The same can be said for backup receivers, Tim Patrick and Arian Smith. Even fellow first-rounder Kenyon Sadiq is dealing with a back injury (although he's expected to play Sunday).

Garrett Wilson is the last man standing. He's also their best offensive player. His 243 receiving yards rank 10th in the league, and he's had at least 53 yards in all three games. Jaylon Johnson (and Malik Muhammad II) will have their hands full when it comes to slowing him down on Sunday.

If they can do that successfully, they should come out with a win. Even in a defensive slugfest, it's tough to envision a scenario where New York's WR5 makes enough plays to overcome their injuries on offense.

Make sure the left tackle situation is situated

It sounds like Braxton Jones won't be available for Chicago this week. Luckily, they've been ramping Ozzy Trapilo back up to football shape, as he's been listed as a full participant in practice since the week leading up to their Week 2 game against Minnesota. He also wasn't listed on Wednesday's injury report.

Assuming he's ready to roll, making his debut against New York would be the perfect scenario for Chicago. For starters, Jones' injury throws a wrench into their plans. Sure, it's good that Theo Benedet has at least split reps with him (he wouldn't be coming in blind), but the veteran has outplayed the Canadian Eagle through three games.

It would also be ideal to let Trapilo knock off some of the rust without a hobbled Caleb Williams under center, and you have to think that he'd love to be out there for their Week 5 matchup against Green Bay if at all possible.

With that said, the Jets have a formidable defensive front. David Bailey, whom the team selected with the second-overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, has shown flashes through three games and already has two sacks. However, he usually lines up on the left side, so Darnell Wright will hopefully be able to neutralize him. Will McDonald IV is a good player in his own right, though. Whoever starts on the left side will have their hands full.

Chicago needs to get the running game going

For some reason, the Jets' defense has a lousy reputation. That's probably because their most recent interception came in Week 18 of the 2024 NFL season, but I digress. They have a very good defense, and they've shown that through the first three games, allowing 775 total yards. Only the Seahawks have given up fewer yards (686) to opposing offenses.

New York is especially stout against the pass, only allowing 171 yards per game through the air. Much to virtually everyone's surprise, Chicago leaned on their passing attack heavily with Case Keenum under center on Monday night. They struggled to get much traction early against Philadelphia, rushing for only 27 yards by halftime.

To their credit, they wore the Eagles' defense down as the game went along, gaining 101 yards on the ground in the second half. The Jets have the league's seventh-best rush defense on paper, but they benefited from playing the Packers' bottom-feeder running game (what a world we live in). Both the Titans and Lions have found success on the ground against New York. They allowed a combined 4.52 yards per attempt over those two contests.

The Bears should find similar success on the ground on Sunday. That'll be a major factor in whether they win, as whoever starts for Chicago at QB will benefit greatly from increased success on play-action.