If the Chicago Bears (3-6) want to ensure they come away with a victory over the Detroit Lions (2-6) in Week 10, there are a few key things they must do. One thing they cannot afford to do is take this game lightly simply because Detroit has been one of, if not the, most wayward franchise in the NFL for some time.
Their record may not show it. But this Lions team has embraced their head coach’s fiery personality.
They also have the eighth-ranked passing attack and rank 11th in points scored.
Add in the Bears will be without starting cornerback Kindle Vildor and could be without starting EDGE defender Al-Quadin Muhammad, and it becomes easy to see how this could be a veritable trap game despite the one-game difference in records.
Bears Must Follow These 3 Keys to Secure Victory Over DET
1. Get Home on Goff
Lions quarterback Jared Goff is completing 62% of his passes for 2041 yards with 14 touchdowns and seven interceptions. But, as one might expect, there is a downturn when he has been under pressure. His completion percentage falls to 47% and his touchdown-to-interception ratio goes from 2:1 overall to 3:4, per Pro Football Focus.
That might seem like an issue for a Bears team that has had trouble generating pressure, putting opposing passers under duress a little under 21% of the time so far, good for 21st in the NFL.
With Muhammad doubtful for this contest, a weak pass rush figures to get even weaker.
Muhammad is not the Bears’ best pass rusher, that distinction goes to Trevis Gipson. but every bit helps against an offensive line that has kept Goff clean over 67% of the time.
The rub is that teams have had more success when they choose not to blitz Goff in terms of his yards per attempt. But he’s thrown nine of his touchdowns against four-man pass-rushes as the Bears are mostly inclined to send – they did heat up Tua Tagovailoa late last week.
Bears GM Ryan Poles Sends Strong Message About Young Pass Rusher
2. Make Them Go Long
Another way to put the squeeze on Goff could be to invite him to take some shots down the field. His completion percentage takes a steep decline beyond 10 yards and sinks even further when Goff attempts throws of at least 20 yards down the field. He is completing just 32.3% of his passes downfield and will be without two of his top three pass catchers.
It gets extremely thin after wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown – brother of Bears wideout Equanimeuos St. Brown.
They have been relying on a combination of the speedy Kalif Raymond and Tom Kennedy.
Goff typically gets the ball out in 2.75 seconds, 19th out of 39 qualified passers, per Next Gen Stats. The Bears have to eliminate the intermediate area of the field and force Goff to hold the ball and/or force it down the field.
They failed to do that against the Tagovailoa and the Dolphins last week.
Tua had his way in the intermediate areas pic.twitter.com/3rVUgysnVQ
— Josh Buckhalter (@JoshGBuck) November 7, 2022
3. Don’t Let Up
This has not been an issue for a Bears team that, up until recently, had struggled to consistently move the ball let alone get it into the endzone. They had been more likely to trail than lead or draw even. That has changed over the last few weeks as Justin Fields and the offense have found a groove under first-year offensive coordinator Luke Getsy.
The running game has been strong all season and has gone over 235 yards in four consecutive games thanks in large part to Fields as an additional runner on scripted and off-script plays.
Fields has double-digit totes three of the last four weeks with 408 total rushing yards in that span. But he has also become an efficient passer completing 63% of his passes with eight touchdowns and two interceptions over the last five weeks
He has three games with a rating over 105 and two in which he completed 70% of his passes in that time.
The Lions’ defense ranks 32nd in yards allowed and scoring.
This could be a good time for Getsy to get in his bag. With the Bears fielding the 21st-ranked scoring defense, there should be plenty of incentive to keep scoring. And with the Lions scoring six of their 14 passing touchdowns in the fourth quarter, the game could very well come down to the wire in a high-scoring affair.
What better time to showcase what trade deadline acquisition Chase Claypool can really do?
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