The city of Chicago, all fans of the Chicago Bears, NFL fans in general, and even NFL analysts are bubbling with anticipation for Sunday afternoon due to one reason – Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields. The past three weeks have seen Justin Fields take monumental strides in terms of playing improvement, and the Bears offense is clicking with him. The Chicago Bears had a mini-bye week before their match up against the New England Patriots four weeks ago, and in that break the offensive minds working for the Bears clearly sorted themselves out. The performance of the Bears offense has since skyrocketed, as in the past three games they have averaged over 30 points a game. How many points did they average in the previous six games? 18 points. That is it. The difference in play is the difference between night and day, Fields is quickly establishing himself as a definitive franchise quarterback, and the Bears new offensive coordinator Luke Getsy is producing highlight reel after highlight reel for his play calling resume.
Even though the Bears have been high flying and high scoring, they’ve only won one game out of the last three. Why? To acquire draft capital and secure money for the future, the Bears shipped off multiple notable defensive veterans and is hosting a rather young backfield. This means that, for all the points the Bears put up, the other team is normally right there with them. Granted, their previous two games, facing the Miami Dolphins and the Dallas Cowboys, have also been against some of the best teams in the NFL. So, the big question remains, can the Bears beat the Lions?
Based on recent performances by each team, Chicago is the clear favorite to take this game. The offense is tremendous, and the defense, while suffering, is still good at creating turnovers from time to time. It is also important to note that, while Justin Fields is receiving a lot of attention, the Bears offense looks incredible overall. The run game has been incredibly strong, as the dual running back system of Khalil Herbert and David Montogomery continues to put up stellar numbers. Alongside this, the Bears have now had over 225 yards rushing per game in the past four weeks, and Justin Fields set an NFL record for most rushing yards by a QB in one game (178) last week.
So what do the Bears need to fear, and by extension, what do the Lions have going for them? Well, again, the Bears defense has not been the best. However, that only matters if the Lions offense can perform, which is questionable. The Lions started off the season incredibly well, and were the number one scoring offense in the league for the first four weeks of the season. The only problem was that, at the same time, their defense was the worst rated for points allowed per game. Since week five, their offense has sputtered, varying greatly in its efficiency and scoring capability. Likewise, their defense has regularly allowed an upwards of 20-30 points per game recently, except for the peculiar game last week, in which they defeated division rival Green Bay Packers 9-15. However, the outcome of that game has been mostly attributed to a disjointed Packers offense rather than a good Lions defense. That being said, the Lions only real chance in this game seems to come from how well their offense plays (or how poorly the Bears defense plays). If the Lions can return to the form they had earlier this year, fans could be treated to an explosive shootout, and the Lions would have a very real chance of winning. However, the Bears are coming off much more momentum, and for now should be considered in the driver’s seat, ready to show the NFL world just how successful they can be.
Predicticion: 41 – 23 Chicago Bears
