Where Bears Match Up Best Against Lions
The Detroit Lions caught fire and climbed to get into the playoff picture.
Whether they can complete their run depends largely upon whether they can shrug off an embarrassing game last week and avoid being burned in the running game again by the Bears, who had 258 yards and a team record 67-yard touchdown run for a QB by Justin Fields against them in Chicago earlier.
The Lions allowed 258 yards rushing to the Bears on Nov. 13, the second-highest rushing total put up by Chicago during its climb to first in the NFL in rushing.
At the time, the Bears had all of their backs available but then went through a period of four games without Khalil Herbert.
Most of the pieces of the Bears league-leading rushing attack could be back in place for this game, including the offensive line. Teven Jenkins could return from a neck injury. Left guard Cody Whitehair's knee injury might be the biggest question.
The Bears could go after several vulnerable spots the Lions have which were exploited by Carolina last week.
The Panthers rolled up a franchise-record 570 yards of offense, the second most in the NFL this season in any game. It led coach Dan Campbell to say they got their "face kicked in."
This included a ridiculous 320 yards on the ground, which has to have the Bears excited after they were held to 80 yards rushing by Buffalo.
"You know you have games where they're super tight and you win those games and you get on a streak, and that's what happened," Bears coach Matt Eberflus said. "Then you have games like last week. You know, the coach over there said, 'we got kicked in the face.' Which is true. That can happen too.
"But I know they're looking to rebound and right the ship and that's important that we learn how to do that."
Here are the matchups favoring the Bears as they try to right the ship and kick in the Lions' faces, too, on Sunday at Ford Field.
Bears LT Braxton Jones vs. Lions DE John Cominsky
Jones has not only held his rating among tackles in the eyes of Pro Football Focus, but has ascended. The rookie fifth-rounder is rated the 16th best tackle by PFF. His rating had been based largely on a high ranking as a run blocker, eighth overall through Week 16. However, his pass blocking has gradually improved and he is in the top 50 as a pass blocker, within 10 points of his score as a run blocker. It's still the bull rush that gives him problems. Cominsky is a 285-pound defensive end the Lions picked up off waivers from the Falcons nad is ranked 73rd among 120 D-Ends by PFF, but 80th as a pass rusher. He has three sacks and three pass deflections on the season to go with 24 tackles. The Lions badly need to upgrade the other side of the line opposite Aidan Hutchinson this offseason.
Bears G Teven Jenkins vs. Lions DT Isaiah Buggs
Jenkins' return this week is not yet certain but he appeared well enough after a neck injury that he once was considered able to practice last week on a limited basis. His return would bring back the guard ranked fourth by PFF this year, third as a run blocker. It should have been no surprise that without Jenkins and starting left guard Cody Whitehair, the Bears struggled on the ground last week. Buggs is a Steelers sixth-round draft pick who was waived and picked up this year by the Lions. He is ranked 101 stopping the run out of 125 interior defensive linemen by PFF and has 38 tackles with one sack and no tackles for loss. The 6-foot-3, 295-pounder will have a hard time matching strength against 6-6, 320-pound, highly mobile Jenkins.
Bears TE Cole Kmet vs. Lions LB Alex Anzalone
Kmet's single-game yardage high as a receiver for this year came against the Lions earlier when he had 74 yards on four receptions but defending the pass is supposed to be Anzalone's strength. The real place Kmet can do damage in this game is at the second level as a blocker. He has become a much better run blocker this year while Anzalone ranks 82nd among 85 linebackers graded by PFF at defending the run.
Bears WR Byron Pringle vs. Lions CB Will Harris
Pringle has been a large disappointment for the Bears but has built up some minor momentum with consecutive two-catch games, one for 39 yards against Philadelphia and one for 34 yards against Buffalo. He is adept at finding openings during scramble drills and had a TD that way against the Eagles, his second of the year. He does have 4.46-second speed and will be matched up against Harris, who is actually a safety and ran a 4.41 coming out of college. The Lions moved Harris to slot cornerback because Amani Oruwariye was benched and was having the worst season of any cornerback in the league, according to PFF. Harris has the speed to cover the slot but it requires an emphasis on technique most safeties lack.
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