Predictions: Bears-Lions

Vito Chirco

The biggest season of Matt Patricia's and Bob Quinn's respective professional careers starts Sunday when the Lions take on the Chicago Bears at 1 p.m. at Ford Field.

Beating the Bears is a must for the duo.

Detroit's longtime franchise passer missed both of the team's contests with Chicago a season ago.

And to no surprise, the Lions lost both games, including on Thanksgiving Day.

To make matters worse, they didn't win a single NFC North divisional game in 2019.

It leads to an ultra important season opener for Stafford & Co. against a Bears team that will give fourth-year passer Mitchell Trubisky another crack at being its franchise passer.

He enjoyed two of his best games last season against Patricia's defense, including a 338-yard performance -- his most passing yards on the season -- in the Bears' Thanksgiving clash with the Lions.

He won't have nearly as big of a game in this Week 1 contest, and the Lions will come out on top. Lions 28, Bears 24

Adam Strozynski

In a strange and unique season, expect the Detroit Lions to surprise some folks. The offense, on paper, looks as good as anybody's in the NFL.

Detroit's offense features two young and speedy running backs with a Hall of Famer who can bruise with the best of them, the best wide receiving core in the NFC North and a quarterback who put up Pro Bowl numbers through eight games in 2019.

Let's also factor in a revamped defense that head coach Matt Patricia is counting on to get the job done.

Patricia & Co. take on a team that has no faith in their starting quarterback. That is why veteran Nick Foles was acquired this offseason.

Chicago's running back is on the mend, and its defense has not significantly improved in 2020. Lions 27, Bears 13

Logan Lamorandier

This game is a complete toss-up, and I would hate to be forced to bet on it.

Overall, the Lions' offense and the Bears' defense are pretty evenly matched.

On the other side of the ball, Matt Patricia and his defense struggled, and so did the Bears' offense in 2019.

I believe the Lions did improve enough on defense to slow down Mitchell Trubisky just enough, to give the slight edge to Detroit.

Lions 27, Bears 24

John Maakaron

It will be the first time anybody has seen these two teams in actual game action this season.

With no preseason, it will be interesting to see which team makes fewer mistakes.

The loss of wide receiver Kenny Golladay is significant for Detroit's offense, but it should have enough depth to still keep the offense rolling.

Until Detroit proves it can make plays late and stop somebody, it's more of the same.

Chicago should look to attack Detroit's secondary and use its tight ends to rack up significant yardage offensively. Chicago 27, Lions 24