This is a huge game for the Detroit Lions. They were playing well and were making a playoff surge, and then they laid an egg against the Carolina Panthers last weekend. While that loss to Carolina greatly affected their playoff chances, the Lions are still in the hunt for the final NFC playoff spot. This week they’ll host the Chicago Bears, who have lost eight straight games, and are in play for the top pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Let’s take a brief look at each team, and then we’ll give you our NFL Betting prediction for this NFC North showdown.
Can Detroit Keep Their Playoff Hopes Alive Against Chicago?
Chicago Bears
The Bears have been playing everyone tight, but costly mistakes have cost this team some victories. Chicago has a lot of holes to fill, but it looks as though they’ve finally found their franchise quarterback. Justin Fields has played well this season, and his future with the Bears looks bright. The Bears offensive line has been a mess, they lack playmaking receivers, and the running game has been good at times, while poor for much of the time. Other than Fields, we haven’t seen many bright spots in the Bears offense this season. We look for Chicago to utilize Fields and a steady diet of David Montgomery to help keep the Lions offense off of the field.
Defensively, the Bears haven’t been good either. Their defensive line struggles to stop the run, and this unit has been decimated by injuries. Over the past few weeks, much of the secondary has been filled by rookies or second-year players. They’ve held their own, but they’ve still given up a lot of yardage and some big plays.
Detroit Lions
Many thought that at the midway point of the season, Dan Campbell may have been on the hot seat. After going 6-2 in their last eight games, Campbell’s job is safe, as the Lions still have a shot at a playoff berth. Much of this is because of Detroit’s offense. Jared Goff has done a great job of leading the Detroit offense. He has finally started to look like the former top pick in the draft. Detroit has a stellar offensive line that has helped D’Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams in the running game. Amon Ra St. Brown has also become a top-tier wide receiver. Even after they traded tight end TJ Hockenson, this offense has played well.
Defensively, the Lions still have some issues. Even though they’ve used a bevy of draft picks on the defensive side of the ball, this unit still has a lot of holes to fill. Thankfully for them, they’ll be facing an offense this week that doesn’t have a lot of receiving threats, and will rely heavily on the running game. Containing Fields could be an issue, so we’ll see how Detroit handles the dual-threat signal caller.
Prediction
Detroit comes into this one as a 5.5-point favorite. They know that they have to win this game to remain alive in the hunt for a playoff chance. Detroit will win the game by a touchdown and will keep their slim playoff hopes alive.
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