Three keys for the Bears to try to upset the NFC-leading Lions at Soldier Field on Sunday:
Only seven NFL teams since the AFL-NFL merger have been shut out in the first half in four consecutive games. The Bears can become the eighth if they repeat the ineptitude they showed in Detroit, San Francisco and Minneapolis.
The battered Lions defense gave up 48 points to the Bills last week. Bears quarterback Caleb Williams needs to start fast — or, shoot, just not ice cold — to keep that momentum going.
The Lions are playing just their second outdoor game of the season. Their first was in Week 9 at Lambeau Field, a game they won 24-14. The Lions were just the third team in NFL history to play their first eight weeks without having to go outdoors.
The Bears for years have liked to talk about their allegedly advantage in “Bear Weather.” To succeed in it, they need to run the ball well and play stout run defense, two things they’ve struggled to do this season. Getting short-yardage back Roschon Johnson back from concussion protocol should help after D'Andre Swift has struggled in recent weeks. The Lions losing David Montgomery to a knee injury should have the opposite effect.
Despite protests from interim coach Thomas Brown and players that the Bears are still playing with maximum effort, it hasn’t always looked that way the past few weeks. It should be clear pretty early whether the Bears have the emotional reserves to hang with a 12-2 Lions team that is reeling from a rash of injuries.
