advertisement

3 things to know about the Detroit Lions

The Bears and Lions square off at noon Sunday at Soldier Field, and much has changed since Mitch Trubisky and the Bears erased a 17-point deficit at Ford Field in Week 1. Both teams are on losing streaks.

Here are three things to know about Detroit:

Losing Lions

The future is in flux. The organization fired head coach Matt Patricia and general manager Bob Quinn following a loss to the Houston Texans on Thanksgiving Day. Offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell is interim head coach.

Losing to a team that fired its head coach is never a good look, as Patricia learned against the Texans - who fired Bill O'Brien Oct. 5. It would be an equally bad look for Matt Nagy and the Bears should they extend their losing streak to six games.

The Lions have lost two straight and four of their last five games. Their defense has surrendered 20 points or more in six consecutive games.

Not running wild

The Bears and the Lions are statistically two of the worst rushing offenses in the NFL. While the Bears are dead last with 82.2 rushing yards per game, the Lions aren't much better at 96.6 yards per game (27th in the NFL).

Adrian Peterson ripped off 93 yards on 14 carries in Week 1 against the Bears, but hasn't come close to matching that performance recently. Rookie D'Andre Swift had been playing well before a concussion kept him out of the last two games. His status for Sunday is uncertain. Swift ran for a career-high 116 yards and two touchdowns in Week 6 against Jacksonville.

While the Bears have struggled, this might be a chance for the them to have a solid rushing performance, as they did against Detroit in Week 1. The Lions run defense ranks 28th, and starting defensive tackle Danny Shelton is on injured reserve.

Golladay remains out

The Bears avoided the Lions' top receiver in Week 1, and that could happen again. Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford has been playing without Kenny Golladay for much of the season. He has missed the last four games with a hip injury, suffered in Week 8 against Indianapolis after 18 snaps. In all, Golladay has missed six games and the Lions have lost five of those.

The Northern Illinois University product is dangerous. In the four complete games Golladay has played, he has two 100-plus-yard performances and caught four passes in each game.

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.