Keys for the Bears to beat the Lions

We understand that some of our fans want to see the Chicago Bears lose out to ensure the best draft pick possible, but doing a “Keys for the Bears to lose to the Lions” type of article would fit better at Pride Of Detroit.

Here at WCG we’ll keep it as positive as possible in our Keys, even though not all of us staffers think the Bears will beat the Lions.

Teams generally get a boost in motivation when the head coach is fired, and with Detroit dumping Matt Patricia I’d expect their players to feel like a weight has been lifted. Plus the odds of the Lions sticking with Patricia’s favored man to man defense that Mitchell Trubisky has shredded during his time with the Bears seems highly unlikely.

In the 4 games Mitch has played against Patricia’s Detroit defenses (all wins) he has thrown for 12 touchdown passes to just 1 interception, while averaging 277 passing yards per game on 69% passing, which is good for a 124.4 passer rating.

Detroit’s D is still coordinated by Cory Undlin, but we’ll see if he takes his scheme in a different direction without Patricia in his ear.

The Lions will be highly motivated under interim head coach Darrell Bevell, but will it be enough to beat a Bears team where head coach Matt Nagy could be coaching for his job?

Tune in on Sunday to find out!

Here are our keys for a Bears win.

Patti Curl:

Right about happy hour every evening until the game, text, call, or DM every Lions player to remind them that Matt Patricia is no longer their coach and they deserve a drink to celebrate. No doubt many of the will keep that celebration rolling and roll into the game with a cumulative hangover. Do that, and the Bears will have a polar bear’s chance at an off-Broadway lion king knock-off of feasting on some inadequate kitties!

Will Robinson II:

Offense: Run. The. Damn. Ball. Detroit can’t stop the run (when teams actually bother to run on them), and you have quarterback issues. STOP TRYING TO BEAT EVERY TEAM THROUGH THE AIR. David Montgomery looked really good running behind this line against the Packers middling run D (honestly, they’re probably worse than their stats due to teams having to pass to keep up much of the year, but still). Run some Power O, Get Montgomery going early, and then slip in some play-action short passes and get your playmakers the ball in space. Make things simple. With Matt Patricia gone, you can’t count on him shooting himself in the foot in the 4th quarter again, so don’t ask your quarterback (whoever that may be) to do anything they don’t have to. This game should be put on the back of David Montgomery and the Defense. Doing anything else, is inexcusable.

Defense: Put Stafford on his back, and good things happen. Carolina did it. Houston did it. The Bears didn’t do it in their first meeting. They need to get it done this week. If Hicks is back, it’s an easier job. If not, well, dial up more inside blitzes. That’ll not only help with pressure, but aid in containing the run. Let Roquan shoot the gap. It’s fun for everybody not wearing Honolulu Blue.

Special Teams: I wouldn’t say no to another return TD.

Ken Mitchell:

On offense: Run the ball, run the ball, run the ball. Detroit is near the bottom of the list in rushing defense, so run it and keep running it.

On defense: Attack Stafford by blitzing the heck out of him.

Erik Christopher Duerrwaechter:

Offense: Feed David Montgomery. I don’t know how many times I’ve said this... Ryan Pace traded up for Monty to begin with so use him. Justify the cost of moving up and give him the ball. Keep it balanced with a good mix of inside zones and plays designed to attack the boundaries.

Defense: Show Up, and play some damn football. That’s it.

Special Teams: Show Up, and don’t get in your own way. Minimize dumb penalties, and don’t give the Lions any reason to come back into this game.

Robert Zeglinski:

Detroit has a bottom-five rushing defense.

Run the ball, keep it out of the hands of whatever inept quarterback is tasked with throwing the ball, and get back to .500.

Naturally, I won’t be surprised with 40 passing attempts and a half-hearted, quitting defense by the third quarter.

Lester A. Wiltfong Jr.

I’d love to see if the offensive line can actually open up some holes in a defense, because last week the Bears had to abandon the run as they fell behind really early. Montgomery had that huge hole where he scampered for a 57 yard gain, but he averaged 4.6 yards per carry on his other 10 carries too. So, run the ball, then run the ball some more, then try to hit on some crossing routes off of play action passes because the Detroit corners are all banged up.

What are your keys for the Bears to pick up the W?