5 months ago
- Lions
- Published: Jan. 02, 2026, 1:56 p.m.
The Detroit Lions don’t really person thing to suffer successful Week 18 pinch their playoff chances already gone, a laundry database of injuries and an important offseason accelerated approaching.
But that has made nan Lions a superior threat successful nan past to playoff teams successful nan last week of nan regular play and it has nan Chicago Bears connected precocious alert.
Coach Ben Johnson and nan Bears are still vying for nan No. 2 seed successful nan NFC successful nan postseason aft winning nan NFC North. It would surely beryllium satisfying for nan Lions to support their erstwhile violative coordinator from achieving that successful his first play pinch a caller franchise.
And, akin to Johnson’s audacious play-calling, nan Bears are connected nan lookout for Detroit to dial up unsocial plays connected typical teams.
“Always reasoning astir fakes, particularly pinch that group,” Bears typical teams coordinator Richard Hightower said Thursday. “That group has done a number of fakes. They’ve done 5 successful nan past 2 years and 15 complete nan past 4 aliases 5 years. They did 1 this twelvemonth versus Philly.”
That one clone early successful nan season against nan Philadelphia Eagles didn’t activity retired rather truthful good arsenic they tried to ram a clone punt up nan middle pinch linebacker Grant Stuard.
But, Detroit typical teams coordinator Dave Fipp is typically much than fresh to telephone a clone erstwhile nan opportunity presents itself. At 1 constituent past season, nan Lions had 5 much clone punt attempts than nan adjacent closest squad complete a four-year stretch.
“Usually erstwhile you slightest expect it is erstwhile it comes,” Fipp said successful October. “We decidedly activity connected it and we’ve spent a batch of clip connected it. We ever person thing available...whether it beryllium business of nan game, nan look we wanted.”
However, nan Lions are besides a very fierce squad connected 4th downs and often for illustration to conscionable support their discourtesy connected nan section to effort and prime up a first down erstwhile nan yardage is manageable.
Given plentifulness of violative struggles nan past fewer weeks, possibly Week 18 will beryllium nan clip for nan Lions to quiet retired nan play book, get tricky connected typical teams while trying to spell for nan upset against nan Bears.
Hightower says nan Bears are going to beryllium ready, nan Lions tin trial that erstwhile they caput to Soldier Field connected Sunday.
“We’re ever alert, antenna’s up for that,” Hightower said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s Week 2 aliases past week of nan season, we’re ever going to beryllium conscious of that erstwhile you playing Detroit.”
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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...
