During the four o'clock hour, the 11-5 Chicago Bears will play host to the 8-8 Detroit Lions. Chicago needs a win in order to keep pace with the Philadelphia Eagles for the second seed in the NFC Playoffs. However, they'll have to take down the Lions, who throttled the Bears the last time they played, 52-21.
Detroit had a chance to keep its postseason hopes alive last week with a game against the Minnesota Vikings. However, the Vikes eliminated the Lions from playoff contention with a 23-10 victory on Christmas Day.
“Story of that game was six turnovers. Can't turn the ball over six times and win in this league,” Lions head coach Dan Campbell said during the postgame press conference. “[The] defense did some really good things getting stop after stop. Offensively, I thought we played hard. You turn the ball over that many times, it's gonna hurt. So that's what got us.”
As disappointing as that loss was, Detroit still has to face a divisional rival on Sunday. Dan Campbell expects his guys to be better prepared for that matchup.
“Well, we’ve got one game to go, man,” he said. “I expect everybody to be ready to go when we get back in in a couple of days, be locked in, and be ready when we get on the plane to go to Chicago. To be locked in one more time, that's what I expect. And then, we'll go from there.”
Right now, Dan Campbell finds himself in somewhat unfamiliar territory with his Lions in the middle of a three-game losing streak. He explained how that’s all the motivation his group needs to play hard.
“We need another win. I mean, we're on a streak right now that we don't want to be known for and to have, certainly,” Campbell said during a Thursday interview. “So, it's another division game, last one of the season on the road. We did get them the first time, so they'll be ready to go. Let's just find a way to win.”
On the other hand, the Bears also suffered a frustrating Week 17 loss, falling to the San Francisco 49ers, 42-38. Chicago had a chance to win on the final play of the game, but a pass attempt by quarterback Caleb Williams fell short of its intended target as time expired.
“That's a tough one for our guys,” explained head coach Ben Johnson after the loss. “The first half certainly didn't go the way we wanted it to as a team. They controlled the ball. They did a good job building the lead there, down by seven at halftime… And yet - second half - I did feel like we picked up our game a little bit as a team. We closed that gap, and we made it to where we could potentially win that thing there at the end. So, I was proud of the guys for that, but it just wasn't enough. When you go on the road against a good team like that, you’ve got to be on top of your mess the entire time, and we just weren't.”
After the Lions boat-raced the Bears in Week Two, most fans were able to get past the loss and move on to the next week. However, Ben Johnson said that the game is still fresh in the team's mind.
“You don't always remember exactly what was said or anything like that, but you always remember how you felt in those moments, and I know our players do, too," Johnson said on December 31st. "It's never a good taste when you get beat like that, so handily. The fourth quarter wasn't even close. So, leave it at that.”
Though the Lions are not in playoff contention, Ben Johnson knows that his former team is going to give it their all and play to win. It will be especially difficult for Chicago's 23rd-ranked scoring defense to go against Detroit's third-ranked offense.
“They're gonna come out here, and they're gonna fight,” Johnson laughed. “I mean, it's what they do. It's going to be a good challenge for us. It's a very good team. This group has talent all over the place. Offensively, their skill positions are absolutely loaded. Receiver-wise, they're fast. Quarterback, he's playing at a super-high level. He's so accurate. You give him a clean pocket, [and] he can just pick you apart. And then these runners are dangerous, both of them. I think, defensively, we've got a tall task at hand, a lot like we did last week. And, that's step one.”
Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen explained how the Lions' offense is predicated on the rushing attack. Therefore, limiting Detroit's running backs will be a key to winning.
“I think a lot of what they do starts in the run game, being able to run the ball effectively,” he said on January 1st. “This Jahmyr Gibbs is a hell of a player, and I think as he goes - when he's really rolling - I think their offense really rolls. So that'll be a huge part of what we’ve got to do.”
Prediction for Detroit Lions @ Chicago Bears (-3)
The coaches in this game are both absolute madmen who will stop at nothing to win. On one side, you have Dan Campbell, who wants to finish the season strong and prove to Ben Johnson that he made a mistake staying in the division. Meanwhile, Ben Johnson wants to exact revenge for that embarrassing loss they suffered against the Lions earlier this season. As previously mentioned, the rushing attack will be huge in this game. The Bears are worse at stopping the run (135 yards allowed per game) than the Lions (117.6 yards per game allowed), but not by much. It feels like the Lions will be able to get the run game going, but the passing attack won't be as effective when playing outside in the bitter cold and wind of Chicago. That will give the Bears the advantage they need to win this game.
Prediction: Bears 27 - 25 Lions
How to watch Detroit Lions @ Chicago Bears (-3)
Lions @ Bears starts at 4:25 p.m. EDT at Soldier Field. You can watch it on Fox or stream it via the Fox Sports app or YouTubeTV.
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