Chicago offense vs. Washington defense

	BEARS OFFENSE
	Ranking in the NFL:
	Run	21
	Pass	12
	Tot. Yds.	16
	Scoring	11
	Int's allowed	7
	Sacks allowed	17
	REDSKINS DEFENSE
	Ranking in the NFL:
	vs. Run	26
	vs. Pass	31
	Total yds. allowed	30
	No. of INTs	10
	No. of Sacks	13
	Turnover differential	+2

Head coach Dick Jauron avoided a quarterback dilemma early in the season because his team pulled out a couple of surprising wins. After last week's three point outing, Jauron must decide between inconsistent Cade McNown and rusty Jim Miller. With Shane Matthews likely out at least another week, look for Miller to get the nod.

The Bucs predominately dropped seven men into coverage last week, forcing McNown to read complex coverages. McNown's poor pocket awareness is a good sign that he isn't ready.

Before last week, Miller hadn't seen game action in nearly three years but he guided the team much better than the rookie. Considering his effort last week came after virtually zero practice reps, Miller should be given the opportunity to expose the Redskins' underachieving defense.

Everything starts upfront for the Skins, where the pass rush has had little affect on opposing quarterbacks. Washington is last in the league in pass defense, giving up 269.8 yards per game, and they aren't getting the type of play they need from DCs Darrell Green and rookie Champ Bailey.

The Bears failed to get into a rhythm in the passing game last week despite good protection from the offensive line. The biggest key in their second half turnaround, if you can call it that, was Miller's ability to get TE Ryan Wetnight involved. Although he caught three passes for just 20 yards, the Bears need Wetnight to contribute underneath without WR Curtis Conway in the lineup. If they can get Wetnight the ball against struggling cover LB's Shawn Barber and Twan Russell, it should open things up downfield for WR's Bobby Engram and Marcus Robinson.

The Bears ran relatively well last week against Tampa's tough run defense (86 yards on 24 carries) but they must create better lanes for RB Curtis Enis if they expect to pull the upset on Sunday.

The Redskins run defense has improved dramatically since the beginning of the season and MLB Derek Smith is a big reason for the turnaround. A key for the Redskins will be the ability of their linebackers to fill gaps quickly against Enis, who is running overly tentative. If the Redskins can corral him near the line of scrimmage, Enis hasn't shown the ability to make many yards after contact.

The Bears' run game will likely suffer until James Allen returns from injury. With Edgar Bennett now at fullback, the team has been reluctant to give Glyn Milburn the third down role, which leaves the Bears without a change-of-pace option. Because opponents aren't forced to gear up for another RB, Enis has been easy prey for sure tackling LB's. Enis' longest carry of the season is a mere 18 yards on 156 carries.

Injuries that are starting to mount on the Redskin offensive line might dictate a shift away from their successful power running game. Starting OG's Keith Sims and Tre Johnson are both banged up but Sims is the only one who should miss time on Sunday. With athletic Brad Badger at Sims' left guard spot, the Redskins will look to run more screens and downhill runs outside.

The Bears must guard against losing contain on the outside this week. Although they have put good pressure on the quarterback all season, Chicago allows quarterbacks to scramble for too man yards outside the pocket, as Trent Dilfer did last week (5 att., 31 yds.). Although Johnson doesn't run particularly well, he's as athletic as Dilfer and the Bears simply can't let him make plays with his feet.

Through some strong play by cover LB Rico McDonald, the Bears are defending the short passing game quite well. Washington coach Norv Turner will look to renew the deep passing game after getting shut down, for the most part, by the Cowboys. QB Brad Johnson never got untracked last week but he will test DC Walt Harris and Tom Carter. Harris is working through some tough times but his inability to stop the big play or make the big play is a huge concern for the Bears.

Washington will try to spread the field and create matchup problems with their athletic receiving corps, especially speedster Albert Connell. Connell, who ranks seventh in the league with 537 receiving yards, is playing with great confidence and shouldn't have any trouble getting behind a Bears secondary that has recorded just three interceptions in six games.

A player that must step up for the Bears is FS Chris Hudson. Hudson has not shown the range that current Falcon, Marty Carter, did a year ago and the corners have not adjusted to his style of play. While Carter and Harris can be blamed for getting beat in man coverage, it is ultimately Hudson's job to align the unit and make adjustments in the secondary.

Washington is facing similar problems after Brian Hansen failed miserably in his audition to unseat Matt Turk, who is in the organization's doghouse after breaking a finger playing pickup basketball. The Redskins coverage team faired well last week aside from Deion Sanders' 70-yard punt return-on which there was a blatant uncalled clipping penalty. Washington really needs Brian Mitchell to get untracked.