Jeff Hughes | December 14th, 2017

Why Do I Like the Chicago Bears This Week?

I always like the Chicago Bears. And yes, they may have fooled me last week. Again.

Poem

once more unto the breach, dear friends, he wrote

and so i do commit myself to battle

many know not to trust these capricious lads

many, like i, are merely cattle

so unto the breach i go, once more

believing, yes always believing

and surely you know, come saturday night

i shall, once again, be grieving

Five Thoughts on The Actual Game

Don’t look now but Jordan Howard is only 73 yards behind Le’Veon Bell in the race for the NFL rushing title. In their first meeting this season, Howard put 125 yards on the board and the Lions defense has actually gotten worse at stopping the run since. Just last week they allowed the Bucs, one of the league’s worst running teams, to average nearly 5 yards a carry. Could be a big Saturday afternoon for the unheralded Bears superstar.

Staying on the run game, don’t be surprised if the Lions don’t even bother with it this week. They are, by every conceivable metric, the league’s worst rush unit. And they’ve pretty much been that since Barry Sanders walked away from the game.

That would mean Matthew Stafford, the NFC’s most prolific passer, is going to drop back and sling it forty-plus times. The Bears will need to get far more pressure on Stafford than they got on Andy Dalton last weekend and I’m just not sure how they’re going to do that with their current collection of pass rushers.

This will be the first team Trubisky sees for the second time and – by definition – the first team to see Trubisky a second time. That’s a fascinating dynamic. What did he learn from attacking them the first time around? What did they learn about how to approach the rookie? Saturday’s performance will tell us a lot about far Trubisky and his offensive coaches have progressed.

The only way John Fox has any chance of returning in 2018 is to win out. (And it’s still a long shot at that point.) Jim Caldwell is rumored to be gone in Detroit if the team doesn’t make the playoffs. So here we are, one game, loser goes to the unemployment line. Can’t have higher stakes on the sidelines.

Tweet of the Week

CURTAINS ✌🏾 Appreciate all of the love for all these years!!! Y’all made the ride incredible!!! pic.twitter.com/jkcVrRLcNI — Devin Hester (@D_Hest23) December 12, 2017

The single most electrifying football player of my lifetime and it will be a disgrace when the selection committee keeps him out of the Hall of Fame. (Early next week, Data will have a deep dive into the statistics that quantify Hester’s greatness.)

Video of the Week

Game Prediction

Shootout. Old school. And this time Trubisky doesn’t leave it up to a kicker at the death.

Chicago Bears 38

Detroit Lions 34