Bears vs Lions: Keys for Chicago victory

The Chicago Bears are taking on the Detroit Lions on Sunday, and while the Bears are technically favored by 3 points, it’s also common for the home team to get a customary 3 for the home field advantage. So Vegas believes these two teams are fairly even. That’s not how many figured this game would be viewed when the schedule was released, but the Bears have had issues since training camp.

The Lions haven’t had a winning record since the 2017 season, and that was the last time the Bears had a losing season, but these two teams seem to be on very different trajectories right now. Detroit has embraced the rebuild in 2021, while Chicago is trying to re-tool on the fly while breaking in a rookie quarterback.

Most of us did pick the Bears to win this game, but I don’t think any of us would be shocked if the Lions came away with the W.

Here’s what we have for our keys this week.

Josh Sunderbruch: Let me tell you something the Bears already know. Football ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty sport, and I don’t care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. Nobody is gonna hit as hard as football. But it ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward; how much a team can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!

Robert Zeglinski: The Bears need to forget about last Sunday. If Detroit comes out and punches them in the mouth, they do not gain another yard. You blitz all afternoon, and if they cross the line of scrimmage, Sean Desai should take every last one of them out. You make sure they remember, forever, that one random Sunday afternoon they played the Bears. Leave no doubt.

Sam Householder: I don’t understand these references...

Anywhoozle, The Lions are allowing the second-most points in the league, but yardage-wise they’re middle of the pack, although their pass yardage allowed is slightly more. So hopefully that will allow the Bears to get a little more yardage than last week. I’d still like to see more designed quarterback movement, but whatever, my expectations are so low at this point I would be excited to see a stretch running play. The defense just has to keep up it’s high level of play and attack Goff, if they do that, he’ll whither like he has against the Bears before.

Erik Christopher Duerrwaechter: Here’s to hoping that Matt Nagy gives up play-calling... he no longer has the luxury to beat up on Matt Patricia’s defense now that Detroit actually has a coaching staff that deserves respect. Laugh at their 0-3 record all you want, they’ve already played themselves into a couple knife fights despite the state of their roster. And the Bears really cannot afford to go 1-3 to begin the year.

To beat Detroit is rather simple. Commit to a good game plan with Justin Fields (please don’t even think about putting Nick Foles in behind this O-line) that features a ton of David Montgomery and play-action to stymie the Lions’s pass rush. Meanwhile, the defense should certainly hold their own, they just need to be ready to hit hard all day long. This is a Lions team that will start a bar fight at any given moment.

Coach to win the game.

Lester A. Wiltfong Jr.: Whether this week has Nagy calling plays or not, I’d expect a run heavy game plan that will allow Chicago's offensive line to work out their frustrations from last week’s abysmal performance. The Lions don’t have anyone like Myles Garrett on their front, so I want to see the Bears pound the ball and get Montgomery about 25 touches. Fields will need to play better than he did a week ago, but the game plan will also need to put him in the best possible situation to succeed. The Bears better have plenty of pre snap motion, some check-releases from the backs and tight ends to help out on pass pro, and far fewer straight drop back passes. And would it kill the Bears to call a few screens on Sunday?

What are your keys for the Bears to win this week?