Windy City Gridiron
We preview the game with Pride of Detroit of two teams headed in opposite directions
For the Chicago Bears players, its media, and all of its fans, we all have the same goal: just get to the end of the season.
There are just three more games in the way of accomplishing that goal, but none of them will be easy wins as all three teams are in various battles for the playoffs.
Next one up: the Detroit Lions. We sat down with SB Nation’s Pride of Detroit to discuss the game with them and get the pulse on the Lions’ injuries, Ben Johnson, Ray Agnew, and plenty more. Here’s our conversation.
1. How is the mood of the fan base right now? I know the season has been incredible for Detroit, and the Buffalo loss aside, I would have to think the fans are a little dejected with these injuries. I know Dan Campbell says the injuries don’t matter, but I don’t see how the Lions can reach the Super Bowl with this many key players out.
I’m probably not the best person to ask this question because the injuries on Sunday, in my opinion, were far more significant than most seem to think. But if you say that part out loud, then you’re a non-believer and a negative Nelly who doesn’t believe in the team–which couldn’t be further from the truth, to be clear. I have a helluva lot of faith in Dan Campbell and his coaching staff, but I don’t expect them to be literal miracle workers. For a defense that has already suffered an unprecedented amount of season-ending injuries to their starters, it’s hard to imagine how, in a talent-driven league, the injuries to Alim McNeill and Carlton Davis can’t at least be viewed as the ones that finally put this unit up the creek without a paddle. To reiterate, the Lions lost their best defensive lineman in Alim McNeill–someone they signed to a $97 million extension earlier this season–and their No. 1 cornerback in Carlton Davis. The options for replacing all or at least some of McNeill’s workload are Levi Onwuzurike–a great depth piece who has yet to play a full NFL season–and Myles Adams–who signed with Detroit on Nov. 30. The replacement for Davis is someone Bears fans are familiar with in Kindle Vildor.
If David Montgomery ends up being put on the shelf for the rest of the season, that’s a huge blow to the offense’s identity. We’ve yet to see Jahmyr Gibbs carry the bulk of the workload for an extended period, but it’s just another uncertainty added to the pile. At the end of the day, the team that scores more points wins the game. The Lions' offense can still do that at a high level, so it looks like their games from here on out could be a race to 40, while the offense must avoid turnovers, and the defense needs to adopt the “bend don’t break” mantra completely....
