Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions TV, Radio and Betting Trends
Detroit Lions (12-2) at Chicago Bears (4-10)
Kickoff: Noon, Sunday
Where: Soldier Field, Chicago
TV: Fox (Kenny Albert, Jonathan Vilma, Megan Olivi)
Radio: ESPN AM-1000 (Jeff Joniak, Tom Thayer, Jason McKie)
National Radio, ESPN (Steve Levi, Mike Tannenbaum)
Spanish Radio: Latino Mix 93.5 FM (Omar Ramos, Miguel Esparza)
The Line: Lions by 6 1/2, over/under 48 (Draft Kings)
The Series: The 190th game between the teams. The Bears lead 105-79-5. The Bears have a 61-30-4 advantage at home. The Lions won on Thanksgiving 23-20 in Detroit. The Bears won the last game at Soldier Field, 28-13 last year.
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The Coaches: Lions coach Dan Campbell has a 43-36-1 record in his fourth season and a 4-3 record against the Bears. Campbell's record in road games is 18-19-1.
Bears interim head coach Thomas Brown is 0-2. He took over the team following the firing of Matt Eberflus.
Last Week: The Lions lost 46-42 at home to the Buffalo Bills and fell into a first-place tie for the NFC North lead with the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings won the earlier game between the teams, so they own the tiebreaker. Detroit continued losing players since their last game with the Bears as RB David Montgomery and DL Alim McNeill suffered season-ending knee injuries and CB Carlton Davis II broke his jaw. They have 21 players on injured reserve and currently are without starters DE Aidan Hutchinson (broken leg), LB Alex Anzalone (arm), DT D.J. Reader (shoulder) besides Davis, Montgomery and McNeill. Reader missed last week but hasn't gone on IR. The Bills and Josh Allen rolled up a 35-14 lead in the second half and held on, giving up a TD with 12 seconds left. Detroit can win the division by keeping pace with Minnesota the next two games against the Bears and 49ers because it closes the season at home against the Vikings.
The Bears trailed 13-0 against Minnesota, then D'Andre Swift scored on a 1-yard TD run in the third quarter but a penalty on extra blocker Doug Kramer, a backup center, for failing to report to officials wiped out the score and the Bears' chances rapidly disintegrated into a blowout loss. Caleb Williams completed 18 of 31 for 191 yards with a touchdown to Keenan Allen and went through a seventh straight start without an interception.
The Matchup: The Lions' loss to Buffalo ended an 11-game winning streak, longest in franchise history. They're looking to rebound but with numerous players now on injured reserve or with injuries the situation looks bleak. Detroit is the only team in the league to go unbeaten on the road this season. The Bears are trying to halt an eight-game losing streak. They haven't won since beating Jacksonville in London to go 4-2 on the season. Through the losing streak, injuries and coaching change they have dropped from first in red zone defense to No. 3 but have continued to avoid takeaways while getting them on defense. They are plus-10 in turnover differential and Williams has now thrown 286 straight passes without an interception.
Of Note: Williams' streak without an interception is a Bears record and NFL rookie record but isn't close to the all-time record of 402 passes west by Aaron Rodgers. ... The Bears defense has takeaways in seven straight games, their longest streak since 2018 when they had takeaways in eight straight. ... Punter Tory Taylor is second in the NFC in punts downed inside the 20 with 25, which is a Bears rookie record. ... The blocked punt by Dominique Robinson last week was the second this year for the Bears, the first time since 2008 they've had more than one in a season. ... The 12-2 record is the best the Lions have ever had after 14 games. ... The 33 wins by Detroit over the last three seasons is the most over any three-year span in history. ... The Lions lead the NFL in scrimmage yards from running backs at 2,640, 223 more than second-place Tampa Bay. ... Detroit ranks second in red zone touchdown percentage (70%). ... Under offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, Detroit's offense is ranked first in points scored (1,373), total touchdowns (169), yardage (18,826) and first downs (1,087) since 2022. ... Jared Goff is the sixth QB in NFL history to throw for 100 or more TD passes with different teams. ... Goff is the only passer to produce multiple games with at least 400 passing yards and a perfect 158.3 passer rating. ... WR Amon-Ra St. Brown has three games with 10 or more catches this season, tied for the most in the NFL.
Next Week: The Lions are at San Francisco for Monday Night Football Dec. 30 at 7:15 p.m.
The Bears host Seattle on Dec. 26 at 7:15 p.m.
Bears and Lions Betting Trends
- It's been under in six of the last eight Bears games
- It's been under the total in five of the last seven Bears-Lions games
- The Bears are 8-1-1 in their last 10 against the spread at home
- The Bears have lost seven straight to NFC opponents and five straight to NFC North opponents
- It's been over the total in 12 of the last 18 Bears December games
- The Lions are 14-6 in their last 20 against the spread
- Detroit is 15-5 ATS in the last 20 against NFC North opponents
- It's been over the total in four of the last five Detroit December games
Twitter: BearsOnSI