QB — Josh Swogger's numbers haven't been stellar in the Grizzlies' past two outings, but he's gotten the job done when called on. UNC starter Dominic Breazeale injured a knee against the Cats last week and is questionable. T.J. Swanson will go if Breazeale can't.
OL — The units are about equally adept at opening holes for the running backs, but the Griz have surrendered twice as many sacks (36) as the Bears (18).
WR/TE — The Bears have the second leading receiver in the league in Patrick Ealy at 6.4 receptions a game. But the Griz have two of the top 10 in Eric Allen and Ryan Bagley.
DEFENSE:
DL — Kroy Biermann, Dustin Dlouhy, Mike Murphy & Co. have turned it up a notch in recent weeks - and they were tough to begin with.
LB — The Bears have a good crew in Cristian Sarmento, Joe Kenney and Thomas Bauer, who all rank in the top 20 in the league in tackles. But how can you argue with the job Tyler Joyce, Kyle Ryan and Loren Utterback have done? They're part of a unit that gives up a league-low 18.8 points a game.
CB/Safety — The Griz rank a close second to Weber in passing yards allowed per game at 163.8. The Bears give up 222.
SPECIAL TEAMS:
K/P/Returns — The Griz are first in punt returns and second in kickoff returns. The Bears are at the bottom of both categories. Griz kicker Dan Carpenter has had some struggles the last two weeks, but he's still kicked more field goals than anyone in the league.
INTANGIBLES:
The Bears have been riding an emotional roller-coaster all season and must be running on fumes by now. The Griz have everything they want in front of them.
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