Published Articles
Detroit vs. Chicago
Click here for NFL Lines.
It is the tale of two teams heading in opposite directions in this NFC North tilt of old and bitter rivals.
On the upswing are the Chicago Bears (2-2), who come into Ford Field for their one o’clock game with some new vigor and determination. After dispatching the Philadelphia Eagles this past Sunday night, the Bears realize that perhaps their only stumbling block to the division championship this year could be themselves. With the health of Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers up in the air, not to mention his team’s two game losing streak, and the Minnesota Vikings continued struggles, the Bears realize that they just might be the class of the division and will only lose if they beat themselves. The Bears feel their defense is up to their 2006 standards, if not better, and have excelled at the end of their Week 4 game, rather than folding in the fourth quarter like they did in their two losses this season.
Their opponents on Sunday hope that they fit into the NFC North equation somehow. The Detroit Lions (0-3) return from their bye week hoping they did enough to bale out the sinking ship. The Lions finally parted ways with embattled General Manager Matt Millen last week and are prepared to move forward. Just how they will move forward will remain to be seen. The Lions are dead last in defense and ranked 26th in offense and it is hard to imagine Millen’s firing, while a good thing in the long run, will change these statistics.
This could be a mismatch in the making, depending on which Chicago Bears team shows up in Detroit. If the Bears team from Week 1, Week 4 and the first three quarters of Weeks 2 and 3 show up, they should not have a problem. Their defense should be able to force Jon Kitna into making his usual mistakes and turnovers while Chicago’s much-maligned offense should have some success against the Lions defense.
Be weary of crowning the Bears the winner too quickly, however. This may be a trap game for Chicago. After winning on national television over a good Philadelphia team on Sunday night, they head on the road to take on a seemingly listless Lions team with nothing going for them. The Bears have been the one NFC North foe Detroit has had success against in recent years. They swept Chicago in the team’s two games last season and are 4-2 against the Bears in Detroit since Ford Field opened in 2002.
Click here for Football Betting at WagerWeb.com
