The Chicago Bears enter an all-important Week 2 matchup against the Detroit Lions after falling to another division rival, the Minnesota Vikings, 27-24 on Monday night.
Chicago had a 17-6 lead going into the fourth quarter of the Vikings game before a slew of mishaps led to a furious comeback by the Vikings. Despite the loss only putting the Bears at a 0-1 record, some believe this Lions game has just become more imperative to win than ever.
CBS Sports' Jared Dubin examined each 0-1 team and separated them into tiers of which ones need to win the most or the least. Dubin put the Bears under Tier 3, which is "If we want to make the playoffs..."
"The Bears have also already lost a division game to Minnesota and play another against Detroit on Sunday in Ben Johnson's first game against his former team. Again, falling to 0-2 could be a potential death blow to the Bears' playoff hopes, and if the team falters in a similar way that it did in Week 1, the temperature in Chicago is going to be turned up significantly."
Why this game is so important to the Bears?
Week 1 didn't exactly exude any kind of inspiration from the fan base that the Bears will be able to succeed the way they want them to. There were positive signs at the beginning, but the offense stalled out too many times in the second half, and the defense struggled to slow down the Vikings in the fourth quarter.
Last year, the Bears only had one win in the NFC North, and that was against the Green Bay Packers in Week 18. It's hard to even count that since the Packers benched their starters halfway through the game.
For this team to have any kind of momentum entering the rest of the season, they need to put together a good performance against a good football team in the Lions. That starts with quarterback Caleb Williams staying in rhythm all four quarters with his accuracy while the defense stands strong against the run.
Ultimately, it comes down to Chicago playing all four quarters. All their crucial mistakes came either late in the third quarter or in the fourth quarter. If they can eliminate the mental errors, wins will come with it.
While it is a long season, those teams that start 0-2 don't typically make the postseason. Sports Illustrated shared that from 1990 through 2023, only 11.5% of teams that start the season 0-2 actually made the postseason. 2024 might be the exception as three of the nine teams that started 0-2 still made the playoffs (Ravens, Rams, Broncos).
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There's the silver lining for Bears fans if they needed one, as there is still a chance that even if the team loses, they can still make the playoffs. Might be easier to win it, though.