Bear Digest

Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions Week 2: Who wins and why

A look at the positional group matchups to determine who has the edge with a prediction on the outcome in Sunday's return of Ben Johnson to face his former team in Detroit.
Gene Chamberlain|
Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams runs out of room near the sideline against Tremaine Edmunds and the Bears defense.
Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams runs out of room near the sideline against Tremaine Edmunds and the Bears defense. | Kimberly P. Mitchell / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

In Detroit these days, Ben Johnson is about as popular as foreign car manufacturers.

The Bears handled their first road trip poorly and get their next chance at a place very familiar to Johnson.

The game between two Week 1 losers at Ford Field pits two teams who struggled in drastically different way in their openers. The Bears let a 17-6 lead escape in the fourth quarter while the Detroit Lions got dominated by Green Bay from the start, losing 27-13 in a game that wasn't as close as the final score indicated.

"It's a good opportunity for us to, really, find who we want to be on the road," Johnson said. "We kind of talked about that in the preseason, against Kansas City, and didn't have the results that we were quite looking for."

Beating his old boss and doing it in Detroit would be an ideal way for Johnson to earn his first career coaching win, but the Lions have seemed more focused all week on avoiding an 0-2 start than on getting back at a coach considered a bit of a traitor in Michigan for coming to Chicago.

It's the Bears now as 6 1/2-point underdogs at Ford Field (over/under 47 1/2) against the Lions. Here's who wins and why.

Bears running vs. Lions run defense

Ben Johnson says they'll try to get Kyle Monangai carries. They need to do something because D'Andre Swift on his own didn't do it and the new offensive line couldn't get a push going against Minnesota. The Bears will find Aidan Hutchinson and Co. every bit as formidable against the run as the pass. They held the Packers to 78 yards rushing in the opener thanks to the play of linebacker Jacks Campbell, but their interior defensive linemen should bounce back after a poor effort. Edge to Lions

Bears passing vs. Lions pass defense

Even at the outset, when Caleb Williams hit on 10 straight passes, the throws were inconsistent. Most weren't thrown exactly where they needed to be and when they needed to come out. His receivers had a strong opener regardless, and expect both Luther Burden and Colston Loveland to have larger roles against a Detroit secondary that was expected to be better than it showed in Week 1. Losing Terrion Arnold with an injury hurt the Lions in their opener but he's back this week. The Bears did allow too many pressures last week but a good percentage looked like Williams' own fault. Anticipate a better effort from Detroit edge Aidan Hutchinson, who was disappointing against both the run and pass as he comes back from leg injuries. Former underachieving Bear Al-Quadin Muhammad was Detroit's best pass rusher in Week 1. No edge

Bears run defense vs. Lions running

It's difficult to tell what defensive front will show up for the Bears. They should be better with T.J. Edwards back and looked very stout in the first three quarters against the Vikings. Then they were blown off the ball. Detroit will no doubt attempt to get Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery going after their offensive line had a dismal first game. Lions backs had 44 yards. That's not happening again. But run defense figures to be a strong area for the Bears. Edge to Lions

Bears pass defense vs. Lions passing

Allowing 13 completions in a game shouldn't get a team beat and the Bears' secondary couldn't be displeased with a pick-6 by a backup cornerback last week. Getting Jaylon Johnson back lightens the burden for everyone, if he is able to play and avoid further injury. The Bears pass rush looked improved while the run defense held up, but when the run defense faltered there was no rush either. Detroit needs to keep the area in front of QB Jared Goff clear and that's up to his shaky line interior. What Goff does have is two running backs who work in the passing game effectively and especially Montgomery as a pass blocker against the Bears' interior blitzing. No edge

Special teams

Last week was about as bad as it gets for Bears special teams, a group that often had excelled in the past. Cairo Santos' blunders, a poor operation overall by snapper, holder and kicker, sloppy coverage on punts and even an inability to block for punter Tory Taylor made it a disaster. The Lions have possibly the league's best punter in Jack Fox, a kicker who is in his element indoors and former Pro Bowl punt returner in Kalif Raymond, who is 31 years old now. Edge to Lions

Coaching

Ben Johnson's coaching debut went about as well as it went for Dan Campbell without Johnson calling his plays. The sideline snafus on the kickoff decision and on a replay challenge were costly. The fourth-down gamble in the first half was the kind of thing Johnson does but in that situation, with a lead and against a strong, gambling defense, and especially with his own offensive line not yet established, the field goal was the better option--provided they could make one. Campbell's offensive coordinator John Morton will really be in a pressure cooker after last week and with Johnson on the other sideline. It's going to be easier for Morton to turn back to his running game than for Johnson, whose line hasn't shown it can block the run yet. No edge

Intangibles

The anti-Johnson gang in Detroit will be out in full force to make it difficult for the Bears to hear. They had a hard enough time figuring out Williams' cadence when they could hear last week, and this promises to be a total disaster. The one thing working in the Bears' favor is Detroit fans will turn quickly on their team if the offense begins to struggle again. Edge to Lions

Prediction: Lions 24, Bears 16

The line: Lions by 6 1/2 (47 1/2 over/under)

Detroit is no place for an offensive line still trying to become more cohesive and a QB trying to figure out the where and when to throw the ball.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.