Saturday NFL football? With the NCAA out of the way, why the hell not? The game itself may leave a lot to be desired, but sometime in March we’ll be wishing we can watch the Chicago Bears (4-9) travel to Ford Field to take on the Detroit Lions (7-6).
The game will be presented to you and your family via the NFL Network at 3:30 p.m. EST.
The Game: Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions (-5.5)
O/U: 44.0
The History
The Bears and Lions are one of the oldest rivalries in the NFL. They’ve played each other 175 times with Chicago holding a 97-73-5 advantage in the all time series.
Detroit has beaten Chicago eight of the last nine times they played. The Bears’ last victory was a 17-14 win on October 16, 2016.
CHICAGO BEARS (4-9)
The Bears halted a five-game losing streak with a shockingly proficient performance in a 33-7 drubbing of the Cincinnati Bengals. Rookie quarterback Mitchell Trubisky completed 25-of-32 271 and a touchdown. Jordan Howard carried the ball 23 times for 147 yards and two touchdowns.
Chicago’s receiver corps, if you can call it that, did their jobs well. Kendall Wright caught 10 passes for 107 yards. As a forgotten guy for the Tennessee Titans, Wright was eager in the off-season to get a new start somewhere else. He came to the Bears as the No. 3 receiver at best and thanks to some injuries, he’s now the featured guy. He’s already surpassed his totals from the last two seasons with 64 catches for 477 yards and a touchdown.
The real star of last week’s Bengal hunt was the defense. They sacked Andy Dalton and A.J. McCarron three times, got three stops in the backfield and held Cincinnati to just 70 total yards rushing. Yes, the Bengals are ass this year and head coach Marvin Lewis is on his farewell tour, but this was a team battling for a playoff spot in the AFC and the Bears completely dominated them in their own place. Cincy was 3-of-12 on third downs and 0-for-2 on fourth downs.
The Bears have nothing but good news on their injury report. While they have some guys with a few nicks and scratches, nobody is listed as out, or even questionable.
DETROIT LIONS (7-6)
The Lions aren’t as fortunate with their injury designations. While no one has any official label yet, guard T.J. Lang, cornerback Nevin Lawson, center Travis Swanson and offensive tackle Rick Wagner haven’t practiced at all this week.
There’s also the not insignificant distraction of Jim Caldwell’s job situation. After signing an extension earlier this season (win the Lions were winning consistently), Caldwell appeared very safe. Now, this week, somebody leaked that Caldwell’s extension on pays him one extra season. While the team would still eat a year’s worth of salary for stupidly extending Caldwell back in September, they could can him without paying out the full “extension.”
So what’s going to happen with him? It’s hard to say. The Lions still have an outside chance at a playoff spot, but have to win out and get some help with losses by the Green Bay Packers, Dallas Cowboys and Atlanta Falcons. If they do finish 9-7 or better, is there a real justification in letting him go? Team owners don’t usually work that way.
Detroit ended a two-game skid last week with a 24-21 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that they nearly blew in the fourth quarter. A team that lives and dies by the fourth-quarter comeback nearly surrendered one to a team, the Bucs, that are playing out the stretch with their own soon-to-be fired coach. It was a bad scene.
The Pick
Chicago is coming off its best game of the season. Detroit still has playoff aspirations, but the fans could be more excited about Caldwell getting the old heave-ho after the season. It’s an odd situation. If you really want Caldwell gone (and you should, Lions peeps), you have to root against your team here. Unfortunately, I don’t think it’ll do any good. Lions 27, Bears 20
Last week
Straight up: 8-8
Against the spread: 6-10
Season
Straight up: 125-83
Against the spread: 107-101
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