Bears-Lions Week Two Preview

To quote the late great, Dennis Green “The Bears are who we thought they were!” After the Bears spectacular 1st drive of the game vs the Vikings last week, they looked like the same old Bears. Pre-snap penalties, poor quarterback play, questionable coaching decisions, and so on. It’s tough being a Bears fan, but at the end of the day, it was only game one of a seventeen game season. Onto the Lions this week.

The Lions are also coming off a loss in their season opener to the Packers (27-13). They looked completely lost on offense without Ben Johnson as their offensive coordinator. It should, hopefully, be a pretty even matchup today. Let’s dive into the preview:

As previously mentioned, both the Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears are 0–1 entering this matchup. 

This is head coach Ben Johnson’s return to Detroit (he was Detroit’s OC before coming to Chicago). He is looking to earn his first win as a head coach vs his former team.

Recent Performance & Trends

In Week 1, Bears lost a tight one to the Vikings 27-24, with some late-game breakdowns and an abundance of penalties.. 

Lions also lost their opener, dropping a more convincing game to the Packers 27-13. 

Historically, Detroit has had the upper hand in recent meetings: they have won five of the last six vs. Chicago. The Bears lead the matchup vs the Lions with an overall record of 105-80-5.

Injuries / Roster Notes

Bears:

Cornerback Kyler Gordon is out due to a hamstring issue. 

Star CB Jaylon Johnson returns after missing week one with a groin injury.

LB T.J. Edwards will also return after missing week one with a hamstring injury.

Defensive tackle Grady Jarrett is questionable. Wide receiver Jahdae Walker is doubtful with an ankle injury. 

Lions:

Left tackle Taylor Decker is questionable with a shoulder injury; could be replaced by rookie Giovanni Manu if necessary. 

LB Trevor Nowaske is the only player ruled out (as of right now) for Detroit.

Other minor designations, but the Decker situation is the biggest potential impact. 

Keys to Victory

Bears:

Limit penalties, false starts, and situational errors. In their opener, false starts hurt their drives. They had 12 penalties for 127 yards in week one. Unacceptable…

Lean on QB Caleb Williams’ mobility. He had a nice game with his legs in Week 1, including a rushing TD. Although, he needs to get the ball out of his hands faster and hit his targets.

Run game support: They’ll want to get D’Andre Swift more involved (he had 17 carries last week) and perhaps more from Kyle Monangai. Helps take pressure off Williams. Roschon Johnson is back as well, so hoping to see them utilized more.

Tight Ends: Ben Johnson loves the two tight end system, as he did in Detroit. Need to see Kmet and 1st round pick, Loveland utilized more in the week two offense. Loveland had two catches for 12 yards, and only targeted twice. Kmet had one catch for 31 yards on an impressive catch. He was targeted 4 times.

Defensive pass rush & containment: Detroit’s offense has weapons; Bears will need pressure and disciplined coverage, especially if some corners are down.

Lions:

Protect the QB well. If Decker can’t play, the backup(s) will need to step up. Goff was sacked four times and pressured twelve times in week one.

Exploit the Bears’ secondary gaps (with Gordon out) and test matchups. Give Amon-Ra St. Brown, jameson Williams, Matt Laporta, etc chances to make big plays. 

Run the ball more and establish physicality. The Lions’ defense is solid overall, but if their offense can impose the line of scrimmage, they’ll likely control the tempo. If the Lions can find success in their ground game with Gibbs and Mongomery, this can also set up the play action game, which Goff is touted as one of the best play action quarterbacks in the league.

Odds / Betting Info

As of right now, I am seeing that Detroit is favored by 6.5 points. 

The Over/Under that I am currently seeing is 46.5

Prediction

Overall, I give the edge to the Lions in this matchup. They’re at home, have more roster stability, plus they should be more comfortable in their schemes early to bounce back from their week one loss.

It will be a close game, but I think the Lions will cover the spread of -6.5 and win this one 23-16.

Both teams are looking to avoid an 0-2 start to the season. In this current 17 game era, only two teams (2/21) have made the playoffs after starting the season 0-2 (2022 Cincinnati Bengals and 2023 Houston Texans).

Let’s see who will come out on top this afternoon.

-Chris