(670 The Score) It's Week 10. The Bears still don't have their bye week for another month, which, frankly, sucks. We're tired! And look at what they did on the mini-bye! Anyway, the Lions are in town Sunday for what figures to be the least-talked about game of the weekend, even with an NFL slate that includes Saints-Steelers (five combined wins) and Cardinals-Rams (six combined wins). Stop me if you've heard this before, but Detroit came into this season with a bunch of hype surrounding a recharged culture and halfway through November has two wins to show for it. The Bears (3-6) certainly have their own organizational issues but, man, at least they aren't the Lions (2-6). Here are some matchups to watch from your couch, because let's be honest, you aren't going to Soldier Field this weekend.
Bears QB Justin Fields vs. Lions' run defense
At the least, it'll be interesting to see how Fields is defended from now on. Teams have obviously known about his speed since he came into the league, but I imagine there's a bit more time spent planning for it after his record-breaking performance against the Dolphins (and just his last month in general, really). The good news for the Bears is that the Lions' run defense is, in a few words, really, really, really, really bad. They rank 26th in run defense DVOA, 28th in yards per carry (5.0) and 30th in rushing touchdowns allowed (13). They're particularly vulnerable on the second level and in the open field, according to Football Outsiders, which bodes well for a Bears team that has a talented runner who can quickly get to the second level and makes defenders miss in the open field! That all also applies to Khalil Herbert and David Montgomery too, but they don't have the SEO pull that Fields does. It is what it is.
Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown vs. Bears CB Jaylon Johnson
It's been a weird season for Johnson – the eye test says he's been a very good cornerback again, and it isn't like the Bears have anyone else at that position low-key playing better. (They extremely do not.) The numbers don't tell quite the same story though? Johnson's highest-graded game (81.4) of the season was Week 1, according to Pro Football Focus, when all of Lake Michigan was being dumped onto Soldier Field and passing was no longer "physically possible." Since then, the majority of his game grades have been in the 50s. The good news is that even in a weird year, he still hasn't gotten truly torched yet – he has allowed 182 yards on 13 catches and a 61% reception rate for the season. Johnson gave up his first touchdown of the season against the Dolphins, but it's hard to blame him there when he had to run around the field, at full speed and with no help, all game. There won't be a "Which team has the better St. Brown receiver?" in this article because I assume, especially after a certain drop on fourth down by the Bears last week, you know the answer to that already. But if you want to sneer at that bit, you can find it in plenty of places.
Lions OT Penei Sewell vs. Oh god, who knows
That the Bears' pass rush may end the season as the team's most dire unit –on either side of the ball – isn't as surprising as it is disheartening. (And at some point, we should probably have the conversation about how the defense was supposed to overperform because of coach Matt Eberflus.) The Bears have a bunch of guys, and yet they have almost no Guys. Al-Quadin Muhammad was supposed to thrive in his familiar scheme, while Trevis Gipson and Dominique Robinson were supposed to at least flash some of the potential they've shown on a more consistent basis. None of that has happened. At all! Meanwhile, Sewell is arguably one of the best right tackles in football – PFF has him ranked 10th overall – and he hasn't allowed a sack since Week 1 (295 opportunities). For everything the Lions don't do well, they can block with the best of them. They rank second overall in Football Outsiders' adjusted sack rate and eighth in ESPN's run block win rate. The Lions aren't good, but if quarterback Jared Goff has 15 minutes to throw the ball every snap, the Bears may have their hands full.
Cam Ellis is a writer for 670 The Score and Audacy Sports. Follow him on Twitter @KingsleyEllis.
Listen live to 670 The Score via:
Audacy App | Online Stream | Smart Speaker
