NEWSLETTER
The Chicago Bears have come to a turning point kind of moment in their season.
Think of it as a fork in the road.
Go one way, and there is a light at the end of the tunnel. You’ll have to squint in order to see it. Maybe put on your glasses to help a little bit. But it’s there. Win, and look competent on offense, and your team is in an OK spot. No one is drawing up parade routes after a 2-2 start. But there would be worse places to be than 2-2 after four weeks. We’ve been there as Bears fans. And I doubt any of us want to re-visit those dark days.
Those places include what happens if your team goes in a different direction at the fork. Because anything less than 2-2 backed by a strong offensive performance will continue to ratchet up the noise surrounding the Bears, their head coach’s job security, and the forecast for this team’s future. Maybe that would be a good thing? Sometimes, cages must be rattled before the newspaper on the cage’s floor gets changed.
I’m not sure if today is more of a “must-win” or “can’t-afford-to-lose” from the Bears’ standpoint. But we’ll have a better idea of how to feel once the smoke clears after the game ends.
Go Bears?
Game Info
Chicago Bears (1-2) vs. Detroit Lions (0-3) – FOX-TV (Gus Johnson, Aqib Talib, and Megan Olivi), WBBM-AM 780 and WCFS-FM 105.9 (Jeff Joniak, Tom Thayer, Mark Grote)
Kickoff time: Noon CT
Site: Soldier Field; Chicago
Referee: Shawn Smith
Odds: Bears -2.5 (-115), O/U 47 (via DraftKings Sports Book)
Game Thread (Week 4 Preview)
Your game thread is down in the comments, so let’s have some good, clean (safe-for-work) fun.
Hype Video
Coaches
Bears Matt Nagy (29-22) vs. Lions Dan Campbell (5-12 overall, 0-2 in DET)
Week 4 Starting Quarterbacks and Projected Game Stats
BEARS: Justin Fields: 20/31, 231 passing yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; 6 carries, 26 rushing yards
versus
LIONS: Jared Goff: 22/34, 251 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; 3 carries, 7 yards
Projected stats via ESPN projections
Bears Offense (Projected Starters in Bold)
RB David Montgomery
Reserves: Damien Williams, Khalil Herbert
WR Allen Robinson II, Darnell Mooney, Marquise Goodwin
Reserves: Damiere Byrd, Nsimba Webster
TE Cole Kmet
Reserves: Jimmy Graham, Jesse James, J.P. Holtz
LT Jason Peters
LG Cody Whitehair
C Sam Mustipher
RG James Daniels
RT Germain Ifedi
Reserves: Elijah Wilkinson, Alex Bars, Lachavious Simmons
Bears Defense
DT Akiem Hicks
NT Eddie Goldman (he’s back!)
DE Bilal Nichols
Reserves: Angelo Blackson, Khyiris Tonga
OLB Khalil Mack, Robert Quinn
Reserves: Jeremiah Attaochu, Trevis Gipson
ILB Roquan Smith, Alec Ogletree
Reserves: Christian Jones, Caleb Johnson,
CB Jaylon Johnson, Kindle Vildor
Reserves: Duke Shelley, Xavier Crawford
S Eddie Jackson, Deon Bush
Reserves: Marqui Christian, DeAndre Houston-Carson
Bears Special Teams
Cairo Santos (kicker), Pat O’Donnell (punter), Patrick Scales (long-snapper), Khalil Herbert (kick returners), Nsimba Webster (punts)
Bears Inactives
Inactives for #DETvsCHI: pic.twitter.com/S1n5AFREud
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) October 3, 2021
With Andy Dalton out, Nick Foles serves as QB2 today. Be good and healthy today, Justin!
Lions Projected Starters
Offense
• QB Jared Goff
• RB D’Andre Swift
• WRs Kalif Raymond, Quintez Cephus, Amon-Ra St. Brown
• TE T.J. Hockenson
• LT Penei Sewell, LG Jonah Jackson, C Frank Ragnow, RG Halapoulivaati Vaitai, RT Matt Nelson
Defense
• DEs Michael Brockers, Nick Williams
• OLBs Charles Harris, Romeo Okwara, ILBs Alex Anzalone, Jalen Reeves-Maybin
• CBs Bobby Price, Amani Oruwariye
• S Trac Walker III, Will Harris
Specialists
• Austin Seibert (kicker), Jack Fox (punter, holder), Scott Daly (long snapper), Godwin Igwenuike (kick returns), Kalif Raymond (punt returns)
Lions Inactives
#DETvsCHI inactives presented by Henry Ford Health System. pic.twitter.com/crlARprAHW
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) October 3, 2021
