Bear Digest

Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions Game Day Preview

The key statistics and trends with individual matchups for Sunday's Bears game against the Lions at Soldier Field as Thomas Brown's team tries to snap an eight-game losing streak.

Gene Chamberlain

Bears linebacker T.J. Edwards tries to bat down a Jared Goff pass last year at Soldier Field in a 28-13 Bears win.
Bears linebacker T.J. Edwards tries to bat down a Jared Goff pass last year at Soldier Field in a 28-13 Bears win. / Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images
In this story:

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 1/2 (Draft Kings)

Chicago Bears On SI Prediction: Lions 26, Bears 20

The Series: The 190th matchup with the Bears leading 105-79-5. The Bears have  won 61 of the 95 played on their home field. Detroit won the last game, 23-20 on Thanksgiving at Ford Field. The Bears won their last home game in the series, 28-13 last year.

The Coaches: Lions coach Dan Campbell is 43-36-1 and is in his fourth season with Detroit. He has a 4-3 record against the Bears. Campbell is 18-19-1 in road games.

Bears interim head coach Thomas Brown is 0-2 after taking over the team from Matt Eberflus following the 23-20 Bears loss at Detroit on Thanksgiving.

The Teams: Detroit fell into a tie for first in the NFC North with the Minnesota Vikings last week after a 48-42 loss to Buffalo and is looking to rebound after its franchise-record 11-game winning streak ended.  It’s been an injury-plagued season for the Lions after losing David Montgomery to a knee injury, defensive tackle Alim McNeill to a knee injury and CB Carlton Davis to a broken jaw.  DE Aidan Hutchinson (leg) and LB Alex Anzalone (arm) are among those out with injuries.

The Bears have lost eight straight and will establish their second-longest losing streak of all time with another defeat. They’re currently ninth in draft order and QB Caleb Williams is coming in off an 18-for-31 performance with 191 yards and a touchdown to Keenan Allen.
He still has a streak of passes going without interceptions. It’s at  a team-record and NFL rookie record 286 straight passes without one. The defense has been reeling since Matt Eberflus’ departure and gave up 38 and 30 points in losses to the 49ers and Vikings.  They’ve dropped from a top 10 defense to 24th overall over the second half of the season.

Stat Leaders:  Lions QB Jared Goff is 314 of 440 (71.4%) for 3,759 yards and 30 TDs with 10 interceptions.  RB Jahmyr Gibbs leads the Lions in rushing with 186 attempts for 1,047 yards. Injured David Montgomery has one more TD to lead in rushing TDs with 12. WR Amon-Ra St. Brown has 95 receptions for 1,056 yards and 10 TDs. ... Detroit’s defense is led in tackling by LB Jack Campbell with 109.   They are plus-10 in turnover differential and Williams has now thrown 286 straight passes without an interception. DB Brian Branch has the most tackles for loss of any Lions playing in the game with six and leads in pass breakups with 14. S Kerby Joseph is tied for the NFL lead with a team-high seven interceptions.

For the Bears, Caleb Williams is 288 of 465 (61.9%) for 2,937 yards with 17 TDs and five interceptions for a passer rating of 87.7.  RB D’Andre Swift is approaching 1,000 yards with 821 yards on 212 carries  (3.9 yards per carry) to lead the team. RB Roschon Johnson has the lead in rushing TDs with six. WR DJ Moore leads in receptions with 76 and receiving yards with 758. WR Keenan Allen has the lead in TD catches with six. … LB T.J. Edwards is the Bears leader in tackles with 111 and tackles for loss with 10. DT Gervon Dexter has the lead in sacks with five and CB Jaylon Johnson and CB Tyrique Stevenson both have a team-high two interceptions while Stevenson leads in pass breakups with 11.

Injury Report: For the Lions, RB David Montgomery (knee) and LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin (neck) are out. DB Brian Branch (calf), G Graham Glasgow (knee) and DB Ifeatu Melifonwu (hand) are questionable.

For the Bears, G Ryan Bates has been placed on IR with a concussion. RB Travis Homer (hamstring) is doubtful. DT Gervon Dexter (knee), G Teven Jenkins (calf), CB Jaylon Johnson (illness), C Doug Kramer (shoulder) and T Braxton Jones (concussion) are questionable.

Matching Up: The Lions are second on offense, second in passing and sixth in rushing. They lead the league in scoring. Detroit is 14th on defense, 26th against the pass and sixth stopping the run. They are seventh in points allowed.

The Bears are 32nd (last) on offense, 31st at passing and 22nd rushing. They are 25th in scoring. Chicago’s defense is 24th overall, 18th against the pass and 26th against the run. They are 11th in points allowed. … The Bears have 33 interceptions since the start of last season, tied for the most in the league. … The Bears are tied for the second most players  with at least half a sack (16). … P Tory Taylor is second in the league at punts downed inside the 20 with 25. … Without throwing an interception on his next 14 passes, Williams would become the eighth quarterback in history to have 300 straight passes without an interception.  

Of Note: The Lions are the only unbeaten team on the road in the NFL this season. ... The Bears have been outscored 73-20 in the first quarter and in the last three games have been outscored 53-0 in the first half. … Williams has gone eight straight starts without an interception. … Goff has thrown 100 passes in the last two games. … The Bears rank fifth in red zone offense and third in red zone defense. … They are plus-10 in turnover ratio, fifth best in the league. … When Carlton Davis, Alim McNeill and Khalil Dorsey went on IR, it brought the total of Lions on IR to 21. … The Lions haven’t lost consecutive games since Oct. 30, 2022.  … The Lions have scored 40 points five times, tying the 1952 team for the franchise record … Detroit’s 1,254 yards after contact by running backs leads the NFL. … The Lions have scored 22 touchdowns on first-down plays, most in the league. … Joseph’s 15 interceptions since entering the league in 2022 is the most by any safety.

Key Individual Matchups

Bears LB Tremaine Edmunds vs. Lions TE Sam LaPorta

Edmunds started out strong in pass coverage but has dipped in coverage grade to 119th out of 178 linebackers Pro Football Focus has graded. PFF has him at a 92.4 passer rating allowed. LaPorta was limited to three receptions for 6 yards in the last game between the teams but two went for TDs.  LaPorta, a second-year player, started slowly but has been surging. He had  14 catches for the first six games but 29 catches in seven games since then.

Bears DE Montez Sweat vs. Lions RT Penei Sewell

Sweat's ability to stop the run and pass rush are big in this game. The Bears need both from him because the Lions are effective running off the right side with Jahmyr Gibbs. Sweat leads the Bears defensive line in tackles for losses with eight. Sweat has 18 pressures, according to Stathead/Pro Football Reference, and needs seven more to avoid a personal low for pressures in a season. Sewell is fourth among tackles according to PFF grade, second in run blocking but 30th in pass blocking among 132 tackles graded.

Bears S Elijah Hicks vs. Lions WR Jameson Williams

With Williams' speed, they can put a TD on the board quickly if the Bears secondary can't communicate and play zone assignments properly. Hicks won't have to play man to man often but they can't let happen what they did last year at Ford Field when Williams got behind the secondary for the quick, long ball. Williams was bottled up for 28 yards on five catches at Detroit in the first game and no doubt the Bears would like to see numbers like this again. Hicks played last week for the first time in a month due to an ankle injury.

Bears WR DJ Moore vs. Lions CB Terrion Arnold

Losing Carlton Davis was a big blow in the Lions secondary. Arnold, a rookie from Alabama guarding DJ Moore gives Detroit a chance with athleticism, although not in experience and skill. Arnold has a 97.2 passer rating against per PFF. His grade is 182nd out of 216 cornerbacks, 180th in pass coverage. Moore is 12th in the league in yards after the catch with 432. The Vikings and 49ers bottled Moore up in terms of yards, although he came away with 14 total catches in the games. He had 97 yards on eight catches in the first game.

Bears WR Keenan Allen vs. Lions CB Amik Robertson

Robertson, the former Raiders DB, has a 94.8 passer rating against playing slot and had to play extensively last game as the Bears abandoned the run after falling behind. At 5-9, 193, he's giving up five inches and 18 pounds to the veteran Bears receiver. Allen had one of his better games in yards per catch with five receptions for 73 yards and two touchdowns last game.

Bears RT Darnell Wright vs. Lions Edge Za'Darius Smith

Wright had a sack and a half in the first game with the Bears and wrecked things for Caleb Williams. He had Larry Borom blocking him at times after an injury to Wright. Wright is healthy now and has been one of the most dependable Bears offensive lineman. He is 35th among 132 tackles graded by PFF, has allowed six sacks with seven penalties. Smith hasn't always had good sack success against the Bears while with the Packers, Lions, Vikings and Browns, but he has always had good, disruptive pressure.

Bears CB Kyler Gordon vs. Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown

The Bears have done a solid job covering St. Brown when Gordon was healthy and in the lineup. Gordon's athleticism and great quickness let him stay with Brown's crafty route running but communication with teammates is the key with this assignment in zone coverage. Gordon is graded 48th out of 316 cornerbacks by PFF St. Brown, 55th against the pass. St. Brown had five catches for 73 yards against the Bears last time.

Twitter: BearsOnSI

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.