3 Keys to Victory for Lions against Bears
Darrell Bevell gets his first crack at being an NFL head man -- albeit on an interim basis -- Sunday against the Chicago Bears.
If he wants to pull off the victory, here are three things he and Detroit must do.
Please don't let Mitchell Trubisky beat you
Boy, does Trubisky like playing against the Lions.
He's thrown for over 300 yards three times against the Lions, including a career-high 355 yards in Week 10 of 2018.
He also accumulated his third-highest passing yardage total in Week 13 of last season, when he threw for 338 yards against Matt Patricia & Co.
Then, in his best performance of this season by far, he threw for 242 yards and three scores in a come-from-behind victory in Week 1 at Ford Field.
All three of his touchdown passes in the contest, by the way, came in the fourth quarter, in what was an embarrassing, final-quarter collapse by Patricia's defense.
Trubisky's passer rating for the game was 104.2.
In his three other starts in 2020, he's posted a passer rating of 78.0 or below.
As you can tell, he's not that great of a quarterback, yet he's been allowed to shine in his matchups with the Lions.
He's likely salivating at the mouth, knowing that he gets the chance to take them on again in this Week 13 tilt.
Defensive coordinator Cory Undlin can ill-afford to permit Trubisky to thrash Detroit's secondary for a second time this year.
And I believe he gets the defense to play a much better game this time around -- and most importantly, for all four quarters.
Trubisky's luck against the Lions runs out this Sunday.
Don't allow David Montgomery to run wild
Montgomery didn't have a huge day the last time out against the Lions, but still managed to rush for 64 yards on 13 carries, good for a yards-per-carry average of 4.9.
However, he's coming off a monstrous performance in Week 12 against the Green Bay Packers. He finished the contest with 11 carries for 103 yards, to go along with five receptions for a career-high 40 yards and a score.
Bears running back David Montgomery runs for 57-yard gain against Green Bay.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, USA TODAY NETWORK
Now, he gets to go up against a Detroit defense that has struggled all year long against the run.
Sure, it could be different with Patricia gone from the defensive play-calling equation and the defense now fully in the hands of Undlin.
However, remember, the players remain the same, and that's why I don't see much changing.
Expect Montgomery to have another solid day on the ground against the Lions. And if the Bears win Sunday, it could prove to be a big reason why.
Feature T.J. Hockenson throughout all four quarters
If Kenny Golladay is unable to suit up this weekend, the only way in which Bevell's offense will flow is by featuring Hockenson prominently in the passing game.
In Detroit's Thanksgiving clash with the Houston Texans, quarterback Matthew Stafford and "Hock" were firing on all cylinders in the first quarter.
On the first drive of the game, the former Iowa tight end caught two passes for 61 yards.
He added one more catch -- of the 17-yard variety -- before the end of the quarter. It left him with 78 first-quarter receiving yards.
It was the most receiving yards amassed by a Lions tight end in the opening quarter of a game and also the most by a tight end in the first quarter of a game this season in the NFL.
Yet, he recorded just 11 more yards on two catches the rest of the game.
It made no sense to get away from throwing to Hock in the final three quarters against Houston, and it'd be a huge mistake to do so once again.
If Bevell wants to give his offense a chance to succeed against the Bears, he'll feature Hockenson throughout all four quarters.
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