The Detroit Lions head to Chicago in search of their first victory of the Dan Campbell coaching era. Detroit has been close in all three games but has not been able to play well enough over the entire four quarters to seal the deal.
The 1-2 Bears are reeling after a blowout loss in Cleveland in Week 3. They have quarterback drama, coaching drama and even the specter of the franchise moving out to the suburbs in the near future creeping up. Even so, the Bears have a stout defense and some playmakers on offense.
Which team has the advantage? Bears Wire editor Alyssa Barbieri and Lions Wire editor Jeff Risdon broke down several key facets of the matchup between the two teams.
Quarterback play
Bears Wire: Matt Nagy is keeping his starting quarterback under wraps until game time in an attempt at gamesmanship, for whatever reason. If Andy Dalton is healthy, he’ll be starting. If not, it’ll be rookie Justin Fields, who would be making his second NFL start. Dalton has been limited in practice all week. While Dalton is questionable, it’s most likely that Fields will ultimately get the nod. Fields’ first NFL start was a complete disaster, where he was essentially thrown to the wolves by his own offensive play caller and was sacked nine times by the Browns. If the Bears want to get Fields going, they need to actually design a game plan that caters to his strengths, including utilizing his mobility, leaning on the run game and giving him chances to open things up downfield.
Lions Wire: Jared Goff continues to give ample ammunition to both his harsh critics and fierce advocates in every Lions game. Goff protects the ball well and throws with accuracy and zip, but he often takes the easy throw instead of trying to make more things happen. He ranks 29th in average air target yards through three weeks and the average completion of just 3.3 air yards is dead last. Goff has tended to have one really good half and one truly lousy half in each of Detroit’s three games.
Advantage: Slight edge to the Lions
Lines of scrimmage
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Bears Wire: The Bears defensive line is back at full strength this week with nose tackle Eddie Goldman returning from a knee injury that’s sidelined him for the first three weeks. Along with Akiem Hicks and Bilal Nichols, Chicago has one of the league’s best defensive lines. Even with Goldman’s absence, the three-man defensive front been solid against the run and in pass rush. On the offensive side, it couldn’t be more opposite. The Bears offensive line was atrocious last week, where they allowed nine sacks on Fields. Tackles Jason Peters and Germain Ifedi were turnstiles, and things weren’t much better among the interior, including center Sam Mustipher, who has struggled all season.
Lions Wire: Detroit prominently focused on building up the trenches. The offensive line features center Frank Ragnow, who is an elite performer due for his first All-Pro nod. Guards Halapoulivaati Vaitai and Jonah Jackson are plus-performers in run blocking. Rookie tackle Penei Sewell has played pretty well but does have issues with speed. On defense, the Lions three-man front has been effective at preventing easy run lanes, but it doesn’t generate much pass rush.
Advantage: Lions
Turnovers
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Bears Wire: Protecting the football and taking the ball away have been points of emphasis for the Bears this season. Despite last week’s loss to the Browns, Chicago didn’t turn the ball over. But the defense also didn’t have any takeaways. Still, the Bears remain +1 in turnover differential. Chicago’s defense has shown they’re capable of taking the ball away multiple times in a game following their four-takeaway performance against the Bengals. Meanwhile, the Bears need to protect the football to avoid an upset.
Lions Wire: Detroit is even on the turnover ledger after registering the team’s first interception in Week 3 and not giving the ball away to the Ravens. Creating takeaways has been a coaching point of emphasis but thus far the defense hasn’t been very adept at making it happen. The offense has been impressive at not putting the ball at risk outside of a spectacularly bad gadget play. RBs D’Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams do not fumble.
Advantage: Bears
Situational
(AP Photo/Duane Burleson)
Bears Wire: The Bears offense has been atrocious all around, including in the red zone. They rank 26th in red zone efficiency, where they’ve scored just three touchdowns this season with a conversion rate of 32.43%. Things have been much better on defense, where Chicago ranks sixth in the red zone allowing opponents to score on 48.8% of their trips to the red zone. But when it comes to third down efficiency, things are pretty bad on both offense and defense. The Bears offense ranks 29th in third down efficiency while the defense ranks 26th in opponent third down conversions.
Lions Wire: The Lions are all over the map here, as you might expect with the NFL’s youngest roster and a rookie head coach. The red zone offense is fantastic, but the defense is just as bad as the offense is good; the Lions are 3rd in red zone offense, 30th in red zone defense. The script flips on third downs, where the offense is 30th but the defense is fifth. Penalties on special teams have crept up. Baltimore converting a 4th-and-19 to set up the game-winning FG is a pretty strong indictment of the situational defense.
Advantage: Lions
Injuries
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Bears Wire: There’s encouraging news on the injury front for the Bears this week as Goldman returns to the starting lineup for the first time since the 2019 finale. His presence in the run game will be huge, especially against a good Lions offensive line. Safety Tashaun Gipson will miss his second consecutive game, but the Bears have good depth at safety, where Deon Bush should get the nod opposite Eddie Jackson, and Bush was impressive in relief of Gipson. Dalton remains a game-time decision, but Chicago also has Fields to lean on if Dalton can’t go. There are a handful of starters questionable, like outside linebacker Khalil Mack and receiver Darnell Mooney, but they should be good to go for Sunday.
Lions Wire: The only regular player on the active roster who might miss the game is OLB Trey Flowers, and the Lions have some depth at his spot. The team sorely misses left tackle Taylor Decker, who has been on I.R. all season with a finger problem. Top WR Tyrell Williams barely played one full quarter. The crew that’s out there now is healthy, but the Lions already lost top CB Jeff Okudah and his replacement, Ifeatu Melifonwu, too.
Advantage: Bears
Verdict: Push
The Lions have their best chance to grab a win in the young season, but the Bears are still a dangerous foe. If the matchup is the two versions of these teams that played in Week 3, the Lions cruise to a win. But the consistency of performance simply hasn’t been there yet for the young Lions. And it’s hard to fathom the Bears playing as poorly on offense as they did a week ago, netting just one passing yard. This game figures to be a close one.
