Pride of Detroit
Coming off a difficult loss to the Green Bay Packers in Week 1, the Detroit Lions hope to bounce back at home to take on the Chicago Bears. Last week was a stinker, one of the worst losses the Lions have had under head coach Dan Campbell. While the score ended up being 27-13, it didn’t match what was on the field. The Lions have been blown out by opponents before under Campbell (2021 against the Philadelphia Eagles, 2022 against the New England Patriots, and 2023 against the Baltimore Ravens), but this one felt different.
The best time to correct those things is before your next matchup, and with former offensive coordinator Ben Johnson returning to Ford Field as the head coach of the Bears, you’ve got to focus on the next game. Johnson and the Bears are coming off a loss to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1, and with this game being in Detroit, Johnson will have his players ready for what’s coming.
There’s a lot to unpack with the Bears from last season into this one, so lets digest it together as we look ahead with our week two scouting report of the Chicago Bears.
Last season was a dumpster fire for the Bears, to put it bluntly. They started rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, who did fair in his first season, but wasn’t blowing anybody out of the water like he was in college. Part of that is the adjustment to the NFL from college, but also a huge part of that was on coaching. Williams ended up having to watch film by himself or get outside help to review film because the coaches weren’t doing it with him. The coaching staff last season, led by head coach Matt Eberflus, was questionable all over and was the biggest reason for the downfall.
Williams finished last season throwing for 3,541 yards with 20 touchdowns and six interceptions, while rushing for 489 yards. He had a plethora of weapons at wide receiver, throwing to his top option in receiver D.J. Moore, who led the team in catches (98) and yards (966), and Keenan Allen, who led the team in touchdowns (7). He also had a fellow rookie receiver in Rome Odunze, with 734 yards and three touchdowns on 54 catches. You also can’t forget about tight end Cole Kmet with his 474 yards and four touchdowns. Running back D’Andre Swift had a nice season with 959 rushing yards and tied with fellow running back Roschon Johnson in rushing touchdowns with six.
While the offense struggled at times, the defense was the team’s strength. While EDGE Montez Sweat had a down year with only 5.5 sacks, the back seven were the most helpful. The Bears allowed the fewest passing touchdowns (17) and the 10th-lowest completion percentage (64.6). Cornerback...
