For Week 11, the Bears will travel to Detroit to play the Detroit Lions, a team that hopes to be 8-2 heading into Thanksgiving. The Lions just defeated the Chargers in Los Angeles thanks to an outstanding offensive performance. They scored 41 points and had no trouble marching down the field the entire time. The Bears are also coming off a win against the Panthers on Thursday night, where they prevailed despite not playing their best game. This week’s game will mark Justin Fields’ return to the Bears and his first game since Week 6. While both teams will be hoping to win, there is one that is certainly stronger.
The Bears recently defeated Carolina, limiting them to only 13 points due to their strong defensive performance. Montez Sweat, a recent addition to the Bears’ defensive line, performed admirably. Though he was not able to reach Young, he was applying constant pressure on him. This season, TJ Edwards has been an excellent addition for Chicago, contributing to both the run and pass games and proving he can be one of the better linebackers in the NFL. Additionally, the Bears secondary did a great job, limiting Adam Thielen to only 42 yards. Jaylon Johnson is becoming one of the NFL’s best corners after an outstanding season. With a 2-2 record as the starter, Tyson Bagent has performed better than anticipated. As the Bears’ starter, Bagent is currently 2-2 and has shown himself to be a respectable game manager. During that time, D’Onta Foreman has also performed admirably, averaging 4.3 yards per run and scoring three touchdowns. Even though DJ Moore hasn’t been playing well, Cole Kmet has become Bagent’s preferred target and is a highly talented tight end. This week’s projected return of Khalil Herbert and Just Fields by the Bears will be a huge help to their failing offense. Fields will have to get past the Lions’ linebackers and safeties on the ground if the Bears are going to win this game. Chicago will face a great struggle in this game, but it is still winnable.
Riley Patterson’s game-winning field goal with seconds remaining gave the Lions an exciting victory over the Chargers. The Lions offense performed admirably. Their run and pass games were both highly effective, and they managed to score 41 points. Jahmyr Gibbs had another fantastic game, hitting the end zone twice, further demonstrating why he was chosen with the 12th pick. David Montgomery had an outstanding performance as well, scoring a stunning 75-yard touchdown run. With 333 passing yards and 2 touchdowns against 0 interceptions, Jared Goff had another outstanding performance. Amon-Ra St. Brown finished with 156 receiving yards and a touchdown, and despite missing a game, he is tied for most 100-yard games this season. This year, he has been one of Goff’s best targets and has the potential to put up 1400 yards. For the first time since week one, the offensive line was totally healthy, and they did not let fans down. Holding Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa to zero sacks, they appeared to be the NFL’s top offensive line. The defense of the Lions collapsed, allowing 38 points. Keenan Allen had 175 receiving yards and Justin Herbert had 300 passing yards because of the poor secondary play. One of the main reasons the Chargers would score was the frequent connection between Allen and Herbert. Due to the Lions’ excellent run defense, Austin Ekeler was only able to gain 67 yards on 3.5 yards per carry. Detroit should have an easy time in this game. Fields needs to be controlled on the ground so that he doesn’t run all over them. This game has the potential to turn ugly, and I predict that Detroit’s defense will play better while still being unstoppable offensively.
My Prediction: Lions 34 Bears 13
