Experts give slim edge to the Bears over the Lions in Week 13
The Detroit Lions (4-7) are on the road this week, hoping to notch out their first win in the post-Matt Patricia era, facing off against their division rival, the Chicago Bears (5-6) in Week 13.
The Bears have come out victorious in the last five games against the Lions, and the most recent being the opening game of the 2020 season. In that game, the Bears scored 21 unanswered points in a comeback win and D’Andre Swift had his welcome to the NFL moment.
Most of the time, people could have an idea of what to anticipate for a particular game, but for the Lions this week, it is full of unknowns. Will the team rally behind Bevell? Will we see a different sense of offensive tempo? Will the defense bring more pressure? The list goes on and on, but for this reason, this makes for an interesting game because we are not sure what is going to happen.
With Mitchell Trubisky’s history against the Lions, that usually brings the Bears a lot of hope, but the unknown element creeps up again. Was his success more due to Patricia’s defensive style, or was he bringing a new level against the Lions? With Cory Undlin running the defense now, it will be interesting to see what he brings to contain the Lion killer.
With the Lions already cleaning house, the Bears on the cusp of it, and the sheer amount of unknowns, experts are almost evenly split this week, but according to NFL Pickwatch, 56-percent of the experts give a slight edge to the home team.
Division games are difficult to predict because of the extra effort players bring, but the number of changes to the Lions, combined with the Bears suffering from a five-game losing streak, makes this game a hard one to predict.
If the Lions can follow the key concepts laid out in this week’s Honolulu Blueprint, they can overcome the recent coaching changes and break this losing streak against the Bears.
