Chicago Bears Schedule: Three most winnable games of the 2020 season
Detroit Lions
This is technically two games, but the Chicago Bears have the Lions number since Matt Nagy became head coach. The Bears are 4-0 versus the Lions over the last two years. The quarterback situation here is very interesting. Mitchell Trubisky has had some of his best games against the Lions, but even Chase Daniel found success. Could Nick Foles find that same success if he winds up under center in 2020?
Looking at the team, did the Lions get any better since 2019? Matthew Stafford is still the quarterback. The Lions drafted one of the top running back prospects in D’Andre Swift. Swift will find himself behind Kerryon Johnson on the depth chart, but between the two, the Lions’ running game should improve. The Lions changed up the right tackle position by bringing in Halapoulivaati Vaitai from the Philadelphia Eagles.
The passing game will look very similar to 2019. Kenny Golladay, Marvin Jones and Danny Amendola will be the first three receivers. The team also added Geronimo Allison from the Packers and drafted Quintez Cephus. Neither will make game-changing impacts though.
The defensive side of the ball is where the team saw the most change. Damon “Snacks” Harrison is now gone. To replace him, the team signed ex-Bear Nick Williams and ex-Patriot Danny Shelton. Shelton should be the starter. Personally, I think Harrison is the better lineman.
The two biggest free-agent additions the team made on defense is aging but still very good, Jamie Collins and Desmond Trufant. The team also drafted the top cornerback prospect in Jeff Okudah. Here’s the thing though, as good as Okudah will become, the Lions were forced to trade away Darius Slay. Slay is one of the better lockdown corners in the league.
Overall, the defense may look different, but I am not sure it improved. The offense did not make that many changes and I do not see Swift being the game-changer needed in 2020. The Bears should win at least one, if not both of these games versus the Lions again.