A losing skid will end this Thursday as the Chicago Bears and the Detroit Lions lock horns in a battle of struggling teams. Who will prevail in this Bears vs Lions clash? Here's a breakdown of this NFC North matchup.
Chicago Bears enter Week 12 as -3.5 favorites
Things are going from bad to worse for the Chicago Bears as they absorbed their fifth consecutive defeat with a gut-wrenching 16-13 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 11. The Bears now head into Week 12 with a 3-7 slate, 4.5 games behind leaders Green Bay Packers in the NFC North standings.
The Bears looked to be on their way to ending their losing skid against the Ravens after taking a 13-9 lead late in the fourth quarter. The Ravens managed to pull off the win, though, thanks to the brilliance of Tyler Huntley, who started in place of the ailing Lamar Jackson. Huntley engineered the game-winning touchdown drive for Baltimore, capped by Devonta Freeman's three-yard run to the end zone.
To make matters worse for the Bears, starting quarterback Justin Fields suffered a rib injury in the loss to the Ravens and is now a major doubt for the game against the Detroit Lions. Initial tests done on the Bears star rookie did not reveal any broken ribs. He will undergo further tests on Monday to determine if there are microfractures on his ribs and whether he also damaged his spleen.
With Fields possibly sidelined for that Thanksgiving showdown against Detroit, the Bears may turn once again to Andy Dalton to be their starter in Week 12. He completed 11 of 23 passes for 201 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions in the loss to Baltimore.
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Detroit Lions installed as +3.5 underdogs
The pressure is mounting on Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell after his side stumbled to yet another defeat in Week 11, losing 13-10 to the Cleveland Browns. This season, the Lions remain the league's only winless team, with Detroit carrying an abysmal 0-9-1 record.
The Lions came close yet again to end their 14-game winless skid, cutting the deficit to three points following a 10-0 run in the second half. Unfortunately for the Lions, they had no answer for Nick Chubb, who managed to ice the game with runs of 3, 4, 11, and 15 yards in the final two minutes and 29 seconds.
The Lions were without Jared Goff, who was sidelined with an oblique injury. Tim Boyle started in his place, completing just 15 of 23 passes for 77 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions in the loss to the Browns. The Lions will rely on Boyle again to get the job done against Chicago as Goff has been ruled out for their Turkey Day clash.
Writer's Prediction
Detroit finally records its first win of the season.
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