The Chicago Bears are coming into their week 14 game against the Detroit Lions five games back in the win column. While they are at home, they are just about three-point underdogs, signaling that this will be a close game. What are the reasons to bet on the Bears to beat the Lions?
The Chicago Bears are getting healthier; the Detroit Lions are not
The Detroit Lions will have a slightly different roster when they take on the Chicago Bears this week. There will be two big changes up front on each side of the football. At center, it does not look like Frank Ragnow is going to play. This is one of their best players and a building block on the roster.
The team will push Graham Glasgow over from right guard to center, and then they will play Colby Sorsdall at right guard. However, this effectively makes two spots worse because the center position drops from Ragnow to Glasgow, and the right guard spot drops from Glasgow to Sorsdall. Beyond that, this will be the second game that Jonah Jackson plays after missing most of the season with both an ankle and a wrist injury. This has been a down year for him, to say the least.
On the other side, the Lions already placed Alim McNeil on the IR, so we know that he is out this week. The Lions' front is pretty weak beyond McNeil, who has more pressures and run stops than Quinton Bohanna, Isaiah Buggs, and Benito Jones combined.
So, the Chicago Bears rushing attack that has improved in recent weeks is going to have the chance to continue this against a weak front. Alex Anzalone may play but is dealing with a hand injury.
On the Bears' front, they are fully healthy. They got their offensive line back to full strength the past two weeks, and Tyrique Stevenson is back on defense after being the only missing piece against the Minnesota Vikings. One team is trending up; the other is trending down.
The Chicago Bears should have beat the Detroit Lions in Detroit
When these two teams played just about three weeks ago, one team was better than the other. It was not the team who won the game and the team with the better record. It was the Bears. It does not matter because Chicago did not win, but if they played that game ten times over, the Bears would have won seven or eight of those games.
Now, Chicago comes in healthier, and Detroit comes in more banged up. When you look at the matchups, both teams live to run the ball and stop the run. However, Chicago is running the ball well, while Detroit is not stopping the run. Detroit is running well, but Chicago is the best run defense they will face, and they are now getting banged up upfront.
The Bears' secondary is playing their best right now, and the Lions' secondary is playing their worst. Justin Fields may be the hotter quarterback than Jared Goff.
The Lions were trending better, and they had the winning philosophy down, but the Bears were quickly ascending and could show that they were the better team once again.
Jared Goff is not good in cold weather games
The weather is not bad right now, but it is going to be cold by Sunday afternoon in Chicago. With the wind coming in off of the lake, it will not be the best conditions for the California kid. Going to the Detroit Lions, who play in a dome, has masked the idea that Jared Goff has gotten tougher in the NFC North.
The reality is that he still struggles in cold weather; he just has not had as many since coming to Detroit. Sunday should be a test for Jared Goff.
He gets a pass rush that is improving, but his offensive line is starting to struggle. The Bears' secondary has never been healthier than they will be on Sunday. The conditions are set up for Goff to have a bad day at the office. Can the Chicago Bears take advantage and pull off the upset?