Atlanta Falcons

Falcons-Bears Capsule

Published Sep. 7, 2017 10:37 p.m. ET

ATLANTA (11-5) at CHICAGO (3-13)

Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, Fox

OPENING LINE - Falcons by 6+

SERIES RECORD - Bears lead 14-12

LAST MEETING - Bears beat Falcons 27-13, Oct. 12, 2014

AP PRO32 RANKING - Falcons No. 5, Bears No. 29

FALCONS OFFENSE - OVERALL (2), RUSH (5), PASS (3)

FALCONS DEFENSE - OVERALL (25), RUSH (17), PASS (28)

BEARS OFFENSE - OVERALL (15), RUSH (17), PASS (14)

BEARS DEFENSE - OVERALL (15), RUSH (27), PASS (7)

STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES - Falcons went from 8-8 to 11-5 in coach Dan Quinn's second season. Won NFC championship, then blew 28-3 second-half lead in Super Bowl loss to New England. ... MVP Matt Ryan passed for franchise-record 4,944 yards, led league with 117.1 rating. ... RB Devonta Freeman coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons. He has recovered from preseason concussion and should play. ... WR Julio Jones had offseason foot surgery. He leads NFL with 4,873 yards receiving since 2014, ranks second with 323 receptions. ... LB Vic Beasley led NFL with 15 1/2 sacks last season. ... LB Deion Jones led team - and NFL rookies - with 106 tackles. ... K Matt Bryant tops in NFL with personal-best 158 points in 2016. ... Bears coming off last-place finish in NFC North. ... Chicago is 9-23 in two seasons under coach John Fox. ... QB Mike Glennon makes Bears debut after signing to replace Jay Cutler as starter. Glennon barely played past two seasons behind Jameis Winston in Tampa Bay. ... No. 2 overall draft pick Mitchell Trubisky opens season as backup QB. ... RB Jordan Howard finished second to Dallas' Ezekiel Elliott with 1,313 yards rushing as rookie. ... LB Leonard Floyd finished third among rookies with seven sacks. ... Fantasy Tip: Unless Bears have significantly improved against rush, Freeman and backup Tevin Coleman are strong plays.

---

For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL