Bears-Lions Preview

 

SCOUTING REPORT

Lions won't be able to stop the runThis will be the Lions' first game post-Matt Millen, who was fired last week. The Bears have to be careful because the Lions will be playing with a new sense of abandon and can be dangerous if taken too lightly. The Bears are coming off a clutch performance against the Eagles, in which they brought a lot of pressure and disrupted Philadelphia's passing game with a combination of looks. This kind of defensive pressure could spell a long day for QB Jon Kitna and the Lions.

· Full Scouting Report

Matchup
	W-L	PF	PA	HOME	ROAD	DIV	CONF
CHI	9-7	375	350	6-2	3-5	4-2	7-5
DET	0-16	268	517	0-8	0-8	0-6	0-12
· Complete Standings

Individual Leaders

Chicago Passing   CMP% YDS TD INT Cutler 60.5 3666 27 26 Hanie 42.9 11 0 1

Detroit Passing   CMP% YDS TD INT Staffo... 53.3 2267 13 20 Culpep... 56.7 945 3 6

Chicago Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD Forte 258 929 3.6 4 Bell 40 220 5.5 0

Detroit Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD Smith 217 747 3.4 4 Morris 93 384 4.1 2

Chicago Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD Hester 57 757 13.3 3 Bennet... 54 717 13.3 2

Detroit Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD Johnso... 67 984 14.7 5 Johnso... 35 417 11.9 3

Full Player Stats: Chicago | Detroit

TEAM AVERAGES & NFL RANKS
TEAM OFFENSE	TEAM	PER GAME AVERAGE
Total Yards	CHI	296.0
	DET	268.0
Yards Passing	CHI	191.3
	DET	185.0
Yards Rushing	CHI	104.6
	DET	83.3
TEAM DEFENSE	TEAM	PER GAME AVERAGE
Yards Allowed	CHI	334.7
	DET	404.4
Pass Yds Allowed	CHI	241.2
	DET	232.3
Rush Yds Allowed	CHI	93.5
	DET	172.1

HEAD TO HEAD MATCHUPS (SINCE 2001)
Chicago leads 10-6
Oct 28, 2007	CHI 7, @DET 16
Sep 30, 2007	CHI 27, DET 37
Dec 24, 2006	CHI 26, DET 21
Sep 17, 2006	CHI 34, @DET 7
Oct 30, 2005	CHI 19, DET 13
Sep 18, 2005	CHI 38, @DET 6
Dec 26, 2004	CHI 13, DET 19
Sep 12, 2004	CHI 16, @DET 20
Nov 9, 2003	CHI 10, DET 12
Oct 26, 2003	CHI 24, @DET 16
Nov 24, 2002	CHI 20, @DET 17
Oct 20, 2002	CHI 20, DET 23
Dec 30, 2001	CHI 24, DET 0
Dec 2, 2001	CHI 13, @DET 10

After two disappointing losses, the Chicago Bears may have turned around their season last week with a thrilling defensive stand in a surprising win.

The Detroit Lions, meanwhile, hope a major shake-up in the front office can get their season on track.

The Bears look to build on their latest victory on Sunday when they visit the winless Lions, who play their first game in eight years without Matt Millen as the team's president.

Chicago (2-2) opened the season in impressive fashion with a 29-13 victory at Indianapolis, but followed that stunning win with a couple of flops.

The Bears blew a 14-point lead in a 20-17 loss at Carolina in Week 2 and had a 10-point advantage vanish in the closing minutes of regulation in a 27-24 overtime loss to Tampa Bay in Week 3. Last Sunday night against Philadelphia, Chicago's four-point lead was in danger, but the defense came up with an impressive stand.

In the final minutes of the fourth quarter, the Eagles drove 75 yards and had second down at the 1 before Chicago's defense came up with three straight goal line stops, and the Bears hung on to win 24-20.

"That goal line stand is going to be a big boost for us the rest of the season," safety Mike Brown said. "We needed that. It was the fourth quarter again, we're down to the nitty gritty. We're up a couple points. We needed that. We came up and played big. It was huge."

The win moved the Bears into a first-place tie with Green Bay in the mediocre NFC North.

While Chicago has led in the fourth quarter of every game it's played, Detroit (0-3) has yet to hold a lead this season.

The Lions, coming off a much-needed bye, have fallen behind 21-0, 21-0 and 21-3 in the first half of their first three games, respectively.

Despite being off last week, Detroit still made headlines as Millen was fired as team president on Sept. 24. The Lions were an NFL-worst 31-84 since 2001 with Millen in charge, and hope this move can motivate the players.

"Our cloud is being 0-3," quarterback Jon Kitna said. "Unfortunately, that cost a man his job and you should take that a little personal."

Kitna sprained his right knee in Detroit's 31-13 loss to San Francisco in Week 3, but coach Rod Marinelli recently said he appears healthy.

Kitna is off to a slow start, throwing for five touchdowns and five interceptions, as the Lions are 26th in total offense (308.3 yards per game) and 22nd in scoring (19.7 points per game).

"Is the way the offense is going frustrating? Yes, but when you are 0-3, everything is frustrating," Kitna said. "This isn't much fun."

As much as its offense has been struggling, Detroit's defense is even worse. It's last in the league in total yards (433.7 ypg) and last in scoring (37.7 ppg).

While the Lions are off to a disastrous start, they had some success against the Bears last season, sweeping the two-game series after getting swept in 2005 and '06. Kitna has thrown for 1,028 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions in four games against Chicago since joining Detroit.

Lions running back Rudi Johnson ran for 83 yards against the 49ers and scored Detroit's only touchdown on a 34-yard screen pass after seeing limited action in the first two games. Johnson, signed as a free agent on Sept. 2, appears to be taking over for rookie Kevin Smith, but the running game may have trouble against the Bears, who have the league's sixth-best rush defense (79.3 ypg).

Chicago's offense had four turnovers last week as it struggled at times against the Eagles, but it shouldn't have as much trouble against a Lions defense that has forced only one turnover.

The Bears averaged 152.0 rushing yards in their first three games, but came out throwing against Philadelphia, as Kyle Orton threw for 174 yards and three touchdowns in the first half. Orton, though, had 25 yards passing in the second half and threw two interceptions for the second straight game.

Orton might be without his favorite receiver on Sunday, though, as Brandon Lloyd left last week's game in the second quarter with a knee injury. Lloyd, who has 15 receptions for a team-high 249 yards, did not participate in practice on Wednesday.

Rookie Matt Forte was held to 43 yards on 19 carries last Sunday after averaging 101.3 rushing yards in his first three contests. Forte could have better luck against the Lions, who are last in the league in run defense, allowing 207.7 yards per game.

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