Our On Paper previews have a tough job early in the season. For an analysis piece that relies so heavily on data, the first few weeks of the season deal with incredibly small sample sizes and last year’s outdated metrics.

For the Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears, last year’s data may not mean much. The Bears have a completely new coaching staff and new offensive and defensive schemes that they brought with them. The Lions may be holding onto the same schemes, but with two new coordinators, it may not look exactly the same.

So while this week’s On Paper...

The Detroit Lions are back at home in Week 2, hosting their division rival Chicago Bears. After a loss in Week 1, the Lions will be looking to rebound against Ben Johnson’s team, and to do that, they’ll need to follow the keys to victory laid out in this week’s Honolulu Blueprint.

“I just want to get better from last week. I want to get significantly better from last week,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said on where he’s looking for the team to improve. “I want to cut our MAs (missed assignments) in half, I want to be much more...

Alright, alright, alright, last week’s prediction was a fat dud. Many people didn’t expect the Detroit Lions to get bullied like they did against the Green Bay Packers, so I wasn’t alone in getting a strike to start the season. This week, though, I like my chances at turning things around and at least getting close to having my prediction come true. The Chicago Bears and former Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson come to town, and it should turn into a Lions victory, but we can’t count our chickens before they hatch. If my prediction comes true, there’s no way...

The two teams responsible for the Detroit Lions’ last two losses will square off on Thursday Night Football, as the Washington Commanders (1-0) are headed to Wisconsin to take on the Green Bay Packers (1-0).

Despite these two teams having rich histories, they have only faced off 40 times over the last 90+ seasons. The Packers lead the series 20-16-1 in the regular season and 2-1 in the postseason, and they could be in line to win again, as the home team has won 10 of the last 11 meetings. Even the betting line favors Green Bay and is set...

The Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears were back on the practice field on Thursday, as they each look to get a tally in the win column this Sunday at Ford Field. The Lions had two starters sit out Wednesday’s practice, and while Jack Campbell was able to return on Thursday, Taylor Decker missed his second practice in a row.

Let’s take a look at Thursday’s initial injury report and get you up to date with what we know. Note: Any changes from the previous injury report will be bolded.

No practice on Thursday

• LT Taylor Decker (shoulder)

While...

The Detroit Lions coordinators had a lot to answer for after the team’s lackluster performance in all three phases against the Green Bay Packers in Week 1. The three spoke on Thursday, addressed their units’ struggles, and spoke about how they plan to fix things in Week 2 against the Chicago Bears.

Offensive coordinator John Morton

Lions offensive struggles are “an easy fix”

Detroit’s offensive troubles vs. the Packers—particularly in the run game—have been well established at this point. But if you need a quick reminder: 2.1 yards per carry running the ball, and no touchdowns until the...

For the second week in a row, the Detroit Lions find themselves squaring off with another divisional opponent in the Chicago Bears. Both teams dropped their opener to the other teams in the NFC North, and each one has to be highly motivated to not lose more ground in what could very well end up being the most competitive division in the NFL this season.

We’re back this time around with Bill Zimmerman, Windy City Gridiron’s Deputy Editor, to give us some insight into what feels different about this Bears team under Ben Johnson, where Caleb Williams stands to improve...

After a rough showing in Week 1 at the hands of the Green Bay Packers, the Detroit Lions are back at home this week, where they will be taking on the Chicago Bears in what will be another pivotal early-season NFC North matchup. Both teams head into Week 2 sitting at 0-1, with this game being the first return to Ford Field for Bears’ coach Ben Johnson.

Joining me in our second edition of the “Before the Roar” preview podcast are my good friends Meko Scott and Brandon Knapp. We discuss some of what went wrong for the Lions in...

Week 1 of the NFL season provided plenty of entertaining matchups. From Aaron Rodgers’ return to New Jersey, an NFC South nail-biter between the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and “Sunday Night Football” providing late-night fireworks, it was quite the way to kick off the year.

As we have done in past seasons, our staff will be making weekly predictions for every game on the NFL schedule. Each of the Pride of Detroit staff will pick the moneyline (winner of the game, no spread), but some of the members will also pick against the spread and even the over/under...

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:

WR Amon-Ra St. Brown vs. whoever plays nickel cornerback for the Bears

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...

One of the more heavily-criticized plays from the Detroit Lions defense in their 27-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers happened on the very first drive. The Packers, at the Lions’ 42-yard line, were facing a third-and-6. The Lions were showing pressure from two linebackers up the A-gap, in the hopes to pressure quarterback Jordan Love into a quick throw. On the edges, star defensive end Aidan Hutchinson was not adding to the pass rush. Instead, he was dropping into coverage, hoping that pass rush would force Love to overlook his coverage and potentially land him an interception.

The play...

In Week 1 against the Green Bay Packers, the Detroit Lions rushed for just 2.1 yards per carry on 22 rushes. Out of the 61 games under coach Dan Campbell in which they rushed at least 20 times in a game, that was the Lions’ second-worst output by yards per carry. The only performance worse was in 2023 against the Buccaneers (22 carries, 40 yards), when the Lions were without Jahmyr Gibbs and lost David Montgomery to injury around halftime.

Needless to say, the Lions are committed to turning things around when it comes to running the football. The ground...