The Ravens (1-5) will face the Chicago Bears (4-2) at 1 p.m. Sunday in Baltimore. Here are game predictions from The Banner’s sports staff and a guest picker.

Nowhere to go but up

Kyle Goon, columnist (5-1): I wish I could quit this team. I wish I would stop trying to see the Super Bowl contender that I thought this team was, but I can’t. Within this roster, there still could be something special here, I still (somehow) believe, and if there is a week for that to show, it’s this week. There is simply no other time.

So many legacies and potentially jobs are on the line to keep this team from going 1-6, and I think those guys have to show up, starting with Lamar Jackson. If he’s healthy enough to practice, he’s got to be healthy enough to play on Sunday, or at least grit it out. Assuming that happens, the Ravens should have enough to disrupt Caleb Williams, who has improved, but hasn’t been a world-beater, and score enough themselves to scratch and claw their way out of a losing streak they should have never have let go this long in the first place.

Ravens 27, Bears 23

Talent shows up

Giana Han, reporter (4-2): The team is healthy — assuming Jackson plays — and the locker room mentality seems refreshed after the bye. The Bears are on a four-game winning streak and have been resilient in close games, but the Ravens are desperate. At some point, their talent is going to have to show up, and if not now, it will be too late. With an extra week to game-plan, the Ravens should be able to put it all together and get their second win.

Ravens 24, Bears 21

Going down quietly

Paul Mancano, Banner Ravens Podcast co-host (4-2): This is not a team that has been a play or two away from a winning record. Each of the Ravens’ past three losses has been by multiple scores. They’ve been outscored by 50 points in six games, just four points better than the New York Jets’ minus-54 differential. Blame injuries if you’d like, but the Ravens were playing poorly even before Jackson and Roquan Smith went down. A loss Sunday would pretty much be curtains for the 2025 Ravens.

Bears 23, Ravens 13

Who will have injury advantage?

Jonas Shaffer, reporter (3-3): John Harbaugh’s reluctance Friday to say Jackson would indeed return Sunday could be gamesmanship. But it’s at least a little worrisome. The Ravens need a quarterback with the arm strength to punish the Bears’ injury-depleted secondary, and I’m not sure Tyler Huntley fits the bill. (Of course, neither does Cooper Rush.) If Derrick Henry can’t get going, the Ravens’ offense could struggle once again, whether Jackson is playing or not. Three-and-outs would be calamitous for the defense as well. The Bears’ running game is good enough to subject the Ravens to one clock-draining drive after another.

Bears 21, Ravens 17

Finding the fight

Childs Walker, contributor (3-3): It’s difficult to pick this one without a firm grip on Jackson’s status. With him in fighting form, the Ravens would be in excellent position to attack Chicago’s porous run defense and avoid the turnovers that have been the Bears’ lifeblood. Without him, that task would be more difficult. The Ravens’ defense seemed to begin finding a workable identity against the Rams, and they’ll need to build on that with Smith back in the middle. The Bears’ surging run game could wreak havoc if Zach Orr’s group comes out of its bye week a discombobulated mess. But this is a de facto playoff game for the Ravens, and the guess here is that even if Huntley starts at quarterback, they’ll muster enough fight to stay alive.

Ravens 20, Bears 17

Harbaugh continues mastery of the bye

Brandon Weigel, editor (3-3): The Ravens are 14-3 coming off the bye week since coach Harbaugh took over in 2008. Rarely, if ever, has he gone into the break with so many cracks in the foundation. But it appeared the team was starting to get some things right against the Los Angeles Rams, even though the game resulted in yet another loss. The run game got going again behind Henry, and the defense, with newly acquired safety Alohi Gilman starting for the first time, looked a little sturdier.

Even if Jackson is unable to play, the Ravens are getting enough healthy pieces back to show the rest of the league they are serious about turning this thing around.

Ravens 28, Bears 20

Guest pick

Sean Hammond, Chicago Tribune: I can’t unsee Harbaugh’s 14-3 record coming off the bye week. That, coupled with the potential return of Jackson, makes this a tough task for Ben Johnson’s Bears. The Bears should find ways to run the football against a Ravens defensive line that has struggled in that area. However, you could say the same thing about Henry and the Ravens’ rushing attack against the Bears. Defensively, the Bears have had some things go their way in the turnover department lately, but Jackson has thrown only five interceptions in his past 21 starts. I think the desperate Ravens find a way to scratch and claw their way to a win.

Ravens 31, Bears 24