Pride of Detroit
The Detroit Lions are set to play the Chicago Bears in their first home game of the 2025 season. Following a lackluster loss to the Green Bay Packers the week prior, Detroit has a lot to prove against another division rival this week. The success of the Detroit Lions will rely on several key matchups on both sides of the ball:
St. Brown didn’t have a strong Week 1 debut, but he could see an uptick in production this week depending on which players are available to cover the slot for Chicago.
The Bears’ starting nickel cornerback, Kyler Gordon, missed last week’s game against Minnesota due to a hamstring injury and has yet to return to practice. With Josh Blackwell limited with a groin injury, the Bears turned to veteran Nick McCloud to man that position in Week 1.
In the five games where St. Brown and Gordon faced off against each other, the Lions receiver has amassed 26 receptions for 303 yards and a pair of touchdowns (average of five catches for 61 yards per game). Gordon has been the primary defender on St. Brown throughout their time as divisional rivals, and there have been times when he’s locked down the All-Pro receiver.
If Gordon is unable to play, his backup is Blackwell, who may also miss the game due to an injury. Blackwell is a decent player as a reserve defensive back, but he will struggle more against higher-caliber players such as St. Brown. In 2024, Blackwell was given a low 58.1 overall grade from PFF.
The most likely player to match up against St. Brown in this game is Nick McCloud. In Week 1, McCloud did not perform well, recording no tackles and earning a pitiful 43.1 coverage grade by PFF.
The Lions would do well to capitalize on this mismatch as much as possible. Detroit’s offense needs St. Brown to be involved more in order to succeed, and things are not looking well for Chicago in this regard. St. Brown does his best work from the slot, and he could be primed for a bounce-back performance if he has to play against a reserve defender.
With a new season came a new iteration of Detroit’s offensive line. While Taylor Decker and Penei Sewell are still holding down the fort at the tackle spots, the Lions’ interior line now consists of Christian Mahogany, Graham Glasgow, and Tate Ratledge.
Glasgow brings steady veteran experience, but he hasn’t been a full-time center since 2018. Ratledge just completed his NFL debut, and Mahogany is essentially still a rookie after logging only 75 snaps in 2024. That lack of cohesion showed in Week 1 against Green Bay as Jared Goff was sacked four times and the run game never took off, with Detroit’s running backs being held to just 44 yards on the ground.
They’ll soon be tested by Chicago’s...
