Lions-Bears preview: Has Chicago learned from Week 2 rout against Lions?

What looked to beryllium a imaginable conflict for nan NFC North has now turned into a spot of an underwhelming conclusion to nan regular play for nan Detroit Lions.

After being eliminated from playoff contention past week, Detroit’s last force of nan play has taken connected nan divisional title and will look to asseverate themselves aft an embarrassing Week 2 conclusion to nan Lions.

Ben Johnson’s Chicago Bears big Detroit, now headed to nan playoffs successful his first play pinch nan franchise. Even though a triumph would apt mean a worse draught prime for nan Lions and perchance a tougher schedule adjacent season, it’s difficult to spot a Dan Campbell squad rolling complete against nan Bears and his erstwhile violative coordinator.

Here’s a preview of nan Lions’ Week 18 opponent, nan Chicago Bears:

Three players to know

• The Lions are beautiful acquainted pinch what it’s for illustration to spot a moving backmost duo thriving and that’s what nan Bears person discovered pinch D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai during nan season. While Swift, an ex-Lion, is enjoying a profession twelvemonth pinch 1,047 yards entering nan last week of nan season, he’s dealt pinch immoderate insignificant wounded problems that opened up Chicago’s versatile rookie to return connected a larger domiciled and lighten nan load connected Swift. In his first twelvemonth retired of Rutgers, nan 7th information prime has 769 rushing yards and 149 receiving yards, making him different formidable limb for Johnson’s offense.
• The Chicago defense is dealing pinch its adjacent stock of injuries, astir precocious to linebacker Noah Sewell — relative of Detroit’ Penei — who was placed connected injured reserve connected Wednesday. Fortunately for nan Bears, they person a ready-made subordinate to measurement successful pinch D’Marco Jackson. A humble contributor successful his first 2 seasons pinch nan New Orleans Saints, Jackson has stepped up arsenic a defender aft opening chiefly arsenic a typical teams subordinate successful Chicago. Injuries to nan defense opened Jackson up for a career-best 42 tackles, 3 walk defenses, 2 tackles for loss, an interception and a sack, aft only becoming a regular starter successful Week 12. Jackson was named NFC Defensive Player of nan Week successful Week 15, becoming nan first Bears linebacker to do truthful since 2018.
• A acquainted look to those who person watched Michigan shot complete nan past fewer years, tight extremity Colston Loveland is quickly turning into nan benignant of effect subordinate nan Wolverines became accustomed to. It was a spot of a slow commencement for Loveland aft going 10th wide to nan Bears, but he’s had immoderate existent standout performances, including past week pinch six catches for 94 yards and a item touchdown against nan 49ers. Loveland only had 1 target against nan Lions backmost successful Week 2, but expect nan Bears to springiness him plentifulness much looks this clip around.

Quarterback corner

The Bears discourtesy has rocketed to being 1 of nan champion successful nan NFL and that’s successful nary mini portion acknowledgment to nan maturation of second-year backmost Caleb Williams.

The numbers aren’t moreover drastically higher than what Williams did arsenic a rookie, but he’s making bigger plays that are starring to wins. Williams has led six fourth-quarter comebacks this play and shown a knack for making those cardinal plays, for illustration he did to locomotion disconnected nan Green Bay Packers successful overtime 2 weeks ago.

With 25 touchdowns to conscionable six interceptions, nan large point to watch for is Williams’ passing yards against nan Lions.

After throwing for conscionable complete 3,500 yards past season, Williams enters nan last week of nan regular play connected 3,730 yards. If he tin transverse nan 4,000-yard threshold, he’d beryllium nan first Chicago backmost ever to do so.

The Bears are nan only franchise successful nan NFL to person ne'er had a backmost deed that milestone.

Williams had conscionable 207 passing yards nan first clip astir against Detroit. The only quarterbacks to propulsion for 270-plus yards successful a crippled against nan Lions this twelvemonth are Lamar Jackson, Jameis Winston, Dak Prescott and Matthew Stafford.

Keys to success

• Keep winning nan turnover battle: The Bears lead nan NFL successful turnover separator pinch 32 full takeaways and conscionable 10 giveaways, some nan champion individual marks successful nan convention arsenic well. That really has proven to beryllium what dictates whether a squad tin hit nan Bears. Chicago is 10-1 successful games wherever it wins nan turnover battle. The only nonaccomplishment was past week against nan San Francisco 49ers — and it was a 42-38 shootout. The Bears person 9 consecutive games pinch astatine slightest 1 takeaway and person aggregate takeaways successful 9 different games this season. Williams is simply a consequence taker, but he’s very calculated astir wherever he’s placing nan shot and avoids putting nan shot successful threat pinch overmuch frequency. His 2.5% turnover-worthy walk complaint by Pro Football Focus is ninth successful nan NFL among quarterbacks pinch astatine slightest 130 dropbacks this year.
• Force an discourtesy to velocity up: The Chicago defense allows nan second-highest explosive play complaint successful nan NFL and tin really get picked isolated by opposing offenses that are taking calculated looks down field. But nan Bears person really been supra convention mean erstwhile forcing teams to ramp up their pace. When teams spell nary huddle against nan Bears, they mean conscionable 4.3 yards per unreserved and 6.5 yards per pass, some supra NFL mean this season. Compared to complete 5 yards per transportation and astir 8 yards per walk effort erstwhile teams run retired of nan huddle, don’t beryllium amazed if nan Bears commencement to amp up their power if nan Lions effort to commencement speeding up their offense.

One large question

Have nan Bears learned from their overwhelming Week 2 nonaccomplishment to nan Lions?

Chicago is now king of nan NFC North, that’s not thing nan Lions tin do thing about.

But fixed nan connections betwixt nan team’s coaching staffs and nan Lions shellacking nan Bears by 31 for their worst nonaccomplishment of nan season, nan matchup still carries immoderate weight.

The Lions were swept by some nan Packers and Minnesota Vikings this season, but person that 1 triumph complete nan Bears.

That nonaccomplishment has stuck pinch Chicago players and coaches arsenic they’ve made their measurement done nan play and this will beryllium an opportunity to right, arguably, their biggest incorrect this year.

Chicago’s discourtesy has really taken disconnected since, but nan defense has remained a problem astatine times. Detroit is coming disconnected a dreadful six-turnover capacity against nan Vikings that mightiness awesome an opening for Chicago to really return nan reins of nan matchup if they tin unit nan Lions disconnected schedule successful nan aforesaid way.

The Bears are besides competing for amended playoff seeding, making nan matchup each that overmuch much important. But there’s nary doubting that nan chance to sound disconnected nan back-to-back NFC North champions aft losing six of nan past 7 matchups to them would consciousness for illustration a symbolic infinitesimal for Chicago.

• Lions’ Dan Campbell said Browns guaranteed starting spot to young center
• Lions dream prima tight extremity tin return for training campy aft backmost surgery
• The doubters were right. Why nan Lions took a large measurement backmost this season.
• Lions suffer believe squad halfway who started past 2 games to Cleveland Browns
• Oddsmakers favour Ben Johnson’s Bears complete Lions successful Week 18 rematch

Jacob Richman is simply a sports newsman for MLive.com and covers pro and assemblage teams crossed Michigan. Before joining MLive, Jacob covered assemblage sports successful Texas astatine LoneStarLive.com pinch a attraction connected Texas A&M and...