The Chicago Bears (2-5) are getting prepared to face off against the Los Angeles Chargers (2-4) on Sunday Night Football at SoFi Stadium.

The Bears are officially expected to play quarterback Tyson Bagent for his second career start, and his first on the road, against Chargers head coach Brandon Staley's loaded defense.

The unit is led by two All-Pro defenders in defensive end Khalil Mack and safety Derwin James along with Pro Bowl defensive end Joey Bosa. The unit has struggled throughout the season, but the Bears can't underestimate the matchup, especially with their young quarterback starting.

"We're gonna have to set our offense up appropriately for that," Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said on Wednesday. "They're strong in the middle in terms of their tackles as well as their inside backers. They're really good on the perimeter in terms of the corners and they got obviously one of the best safeties in football. So, it's going to be a big set of challenges for our offense to be able to set up against these guys."

The team will also have to face off against those three defensive stars on a national stage. Bagent will be making his first career primetime start on Sunday, but it'll be the team's second game under the bright lights in 2023.

In Week 5, the Bears faced the Washington Commanders on Thursday Night Football and came away with a 40-20 win, their first of the season. The team's 40 points and 170 team rushing yards were also season-highs for Chicago.

The Bears have surprisingly fared well against top defensive stars in the league throughout the last few weeks. Against the Commanders, the offense was able to hold off the stout defensive line led by Chase Young, Montez Sweat, and Daron Payne.

Last week against the Raiders, the Bears' second win of the season, the offense had to work to limit star defensive end Maxx Crosby. However, this matchup in Week 8 is going to be completely different than those two games.

The Chargers defense, despite their struggles in 2023, is loaded with talent at all three levels. It'll also be increasingly difficult to defend against two Pro Bowl caliber pass rushes instead of just one this time around up-front.

"It's the same song but it's a different structure, so you got to handle a little bit differently," Eberflus said. "They do have a couple guys who they got on the other side, which obviously creates some situations. They pressure a little bit more. So, we got to be ready for those types of things."

One of those players the offense will be forced to defend off the edge will be a familiar face to some of the Bears players on the roster. Mack spent four seasons in Chicago from 2018-2021 during which he was named to three Pro-Bowls and received one first-team All-Pro nomination.

Despite never playing for Eberflus' unit in Chicago, the Bears head coach still expressed tons of respect for the dominate pass rusher that his offense will be forced to face against.

"He's a pro's pro just from what I hear about him and from him being in the building," Eberflus said. "I got a chance to meet him when he was first here for just a brief stint and just admired him over the years. His ability to be a consistent pro and produce every single year that he's been healthy, and he's a handful, man."

Mack and Bosa will certainly be a handful for rookie right tackle Darnell Wright. Wright is currently dealing with a shoulder injury that's limited him in practice throughout the week. The injury was even prevalent during the Bears Week 8 win over the Raiders.

Despite the injury, Wright was still able to hold his own against Crosby on the right side of the line but it could be something the Chargers pass rushing duo will look to take advantage of on Sunday night.

"[Wright] just worked through it and I commend him for doing that," Eberflus said. "He was in some pain there and worked through it during the course of the day and he pushed through it. I know it didn't look for him as well as he wanted it to at times, but again, he's working through that this week. We'll see where he is, but I just commend him for gutting it through being a young guy like that going against the pass rusher he was going against. So, my hat's off to him."

The Bears will definitely need Wright and the rest of the offensive line to play to a higher standard in Week 8 in order to protect their rookie quarterback. The unit showed up and did so last week, now let's see them do it again.

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