Chicago Bears @ Detroit Lions – Week 2 Game Preview: Overview, Keys to Game, Insights
The Bears began the 2025 season on a similar note to 2024 with a late game meltdown that squandered a lead to the rival Vikings Monday night. The offensive line was shaky despite personnel changes and quarterback Caleb Williams was inconsistent in his first game operating Head Coach Ben Johnson’s system.
Things don’t get any easier for Chicago who travel to the Motor City for a Week 2 matchup with the reigning NFC North Champion Lions Sunday. Dan Campbell‘s squad racked up 15 wins in 2024 with the number one scoring offense in the NFL, a unit which was coordinated by the aforementioned Johnson. Any Super Bowl aspirations last season were quickly extinguished when Detroit was stunned by the Washington Commanders in the divisional playoffs at Ford Field.
The Lions also lost defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn to the Jets in the offseason and they had a major struggle playing against the Packers at Lambeau Field in their first game of the new season losing 27-13. Which has raised the question of if the coaching turnover will have a significant impact on the performance of the team.
The offense returns basically all of the same weapons from last season’s group that averaged 33.2 points a game. Jared Goff had a tremendous season at quarterback, throwing for over 4000 yards and 37 touchdowns. The two-headed monster of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery at running back combined for over 2000 yards and scored 28 TD’s.
Detroit head two 1000 yard receivers with Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams hitting the mark. Sam LaPorta is also one of the best tight ends in football, although he has had some injury issues. One problem area could be the offensive line which lost a couple of key pieces, mainly center Frank Ragnow, who retired after the season.
Defensively the Lions were absolutely ravaged by injuries, most importantly, a broken leg that ended star pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson‘s season after just five games. The unit was basically a shell of itself by the time they got lit up by Jayden Daniels in the playoffs. When healthy, they have a devastating pass rush that could be a real problem for Chicago.
The Bears are likely to get star cornerback Jaylon Johnson back from injury but the other starter Kyler Gordon remains out. This is a very tough test for a team that has had issues playing a full 60 minutes consistently. It will be interesting to see if they can bounce back more effectively under a new coaching staff after facing adversity.
Where to Watch/Listen
- Sunday, September 14 at 12:00pm CT on FOX, WBBM Radio (English), and WRTO Radio (Spanish).
Keys to Victory
Here are my keys to Sunday’s game. If these things happen, the Bears should have a shot to win.
- Better blocking from the offensive line. The Vikings had tons of pressure throughout the game and completely stifled the Bears running game on Monday. They are going to need to be better against the fearsome front of the Lions.
- Don’t give Jared Goff time to throw. Goff will make mistakes when people are in his face and he had a very difficult time against the Packers when they did that.
- Williams needs to feel more comfortable in the pocket. Chicago’s young quarterback seems like he is having the game speed up on him at various points. If he can be more under control he can limit some of the overthrows and mistakes that cost him against Minnesota.
Don’t Tell Me the Odds
The Lions are favored by 6.5 points at home against the Bears Sunday afternoon. The over/under of 46.5 indicates the oddsmakers expect a decent amount of points to be scored.
It’s Football Weather
Ford Field is indoors so weather is not a concern for this one.
My Prediction
It will be a close contest but Detroit will come out on top thanks to a couple of explosive plays from their big time weapons. The Bears will struggle to protect their quarterback and drop a 21-17 game.
Official NFL Preview
Here is the official preview of the Bears-Lions game from the NFL.
