Chicago Bears Week 2 Preview: Bears at Detroit Lions
The opener on MNF was so awesome… until it wasn’t. For three quarters, Chicago Bears fans were enthralled with this domination of the Minnesota Vikings who went 14-3 last year. Then the 4th quarter happened. It all fell apart. QB J.J. McCarthy became a star after he was god-awful miserable for three-fourths of the game. The Vikings scored 21 points, upending the Bears 27-24.
So now the Bears need to pick themselves up and look forward. The Detroit Lions await, in their den. Chicago travels to Detroit (15-2 last year) for Week 2, and the Lions are surprisingly 0-1 as well, after losing their opener at Green Bay to the hated Packers. Geez NFL schedule makers, tough start huh? FTN’s 2025 Almanac has the Bears with the NFL’s 3rd hardest schedule coming into the year. Mostly, this is because of the rugged NFC North who boasts the 15-2 Lions, 14-3 Vikings, and the 11-6 Packers. Six games against those foes will boost the Bears schedule difficulty into the stratosphere. But outside of those games, the other 11 games are moderate in severity. But can the Bears survive until then?
This week the edge certainly belongs to Detroit, who goes to Ford Field ready to defend their division championship. However, losing both coordinators in the offseason will be an adjustment, as we saw in Week 1. Was Green Bay simply that good? Or was Detroit simply that bad in the Packers 27-13 victory?
So Bears new HC Ben Johnson was Detroit’s OC for the last three years, and the Lions finished with the 7th (2022), 5th (2023), and 3rd (2024) best offenses. Good golly Miss Molly. Can he infuse Chicago with these numbers? Perhaps, but probably not right away. The Bears have a young quarterback with a new offense and new teammates. For those that are rushing to judgment after Week 1, they need to have a little patience. Break out your Guns N’ Roses and sing along with Axl….. “all we need is just a little patience”.
What to Watch For:
- Will QB Caleb Williams avoid sacks again as he so masterfully did last week, most of the game? He was sacked only twice against Minnesota. Two sacks per week times 17 games would be 34 sacks for the year, which would be exactly half of his franchise record 68 sacks from last season. So keep an eye on this stat.
- Will RB D’Andre Swift have a big homecoming in his former den, in which he played under Johnson, and Lions HC Dan Campbell for three years (2020-2022)? In Week 1, Swift had 17 carries for just 53 yards (3.1 ypc). Can he improve on those numbers in Week 2?
- What happened to the “Tez Effect”? When GM Ryan Poles traded for DE Montez Sweat in 2023, the Bears openly talked about how good Sweat was, and how he helped the entire defense. It’s true, he really did have a big impact on the team over the second half of ’23. Then last year, he didn’t do much. He had only 5.5 sacks all season, a year after he had recorded 12.5 sacks, including 6 sacks with the Bears in only 9 games. Was it just a down year? or a sign of bigger problems? Last week, Sweat only had 2 tackles. The Bears need Sweat to get back to dominating on his pass rush.
- The injured defenders that should be back. Three Bears starting defenders were out last week: CB Jaylon Johnson, CB Kyler Gordon, and LB T.J. Edwards. As of press time, Kyler Gordon is still out. Can the other two guys make an impact today?
Ok, it’s time to make a pick. Detroit is favored by 6.5 points. Unfortunately, the “Dutch Lion” thinks Detroit will cover at home.
PREDICTION: Detroit Lions 27, Chicago Bears 20
Season Records: Chicago Bears 0-1, Dutch Lion 0-1
The Bears fan in us hopes we’re wrong. Enjoy the game!
Dutch Lion Sports 