PLAYER NOTES
–QB Matthew Stafford wore a wrist band with play calls on his arm for the first time in his NFL career last week. Stafford said he wore it not because of any grand change in scheme, but because the Lions had an abundance of new personnel at wide receiver and because of issues with his helmet speaker going out this year.
–LB Devin Kennard had his first sack since Oct. 7 last week against Cam Newton. Kennard leads the Lions with six sacks, a career high.
–K Matt Prater has made his last 10 field-goal attempts and 19 of 22 kicks on the year. He’s also a perfect 21 for 21 on extra points.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: WR Bruce Ellington. The Lions’ once mighty receiving corps has been depleted by injury (Marvin Jones Jr.) and trade (Golden Tate), and that’s left Ellington to take a bigger role than anticipated on offense. The Lions signed Ellington earlier this month, a few days after he was released off injured reserve by the Houston Texans. He played 33 of a possible 65 offensive snaps in his Lions debut last week, when he caught six passes for 52 yards on nine targets and played primarily out of the slot. The Lions aren’t getting much from receivers not named Kenny Golladay right now, so Ellington should see an even heavier workload this week.
GAME PLAN: The Lions have been spotty running the ball this year, and their task got tougher with the loss of Kerryon Johnson, but they need to generate some sort of a rushing attack Thursday to keep the Bears defense from teeing off on Matthew Stafford. Stafford attempted 42 passes and was sacked six times in the first meeting, when the Lions fell behind 26-0. They can’t afford to dig themselves that kind of hole in the rematch, which means no turnovers and no drive-stopping penalties. Running Zach Zenner or LeGarrette Blount at Leonard Floyd isn’t a bad idea, and if the Lions can stay ahead of the chains they can take some chances downfield with Kenny Golladay.
On defense, the Lions have done a better job against the run the last two weeks, and they’re better equipped to match up with Chicago’s receivers now than they were in the first meeting. Darius Slay, back from a knee injury, probably draws the assignment on Allen Robinson II, which should allow Nevin Lawson to play inside against slot receiver Anthony Miller. Robinson and Miller combined for 255 yards receiving in the first meeting as head coach Matt Nagy was able to match them up against slower Lions cornerbacks. The Lions didn’t put enough heat on Mitchell Trubisky in the first meeting, but they’ve used Jarrad Davis effectively as a spy on mobile quarterbacks to limit the damage they do with their legs.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH
–Lions CB Darius Slay vs. Bears WR Allen Robinson II. Slay missed the first Lions-Bears game two weeks ago with a knee injury, and his absence was felt hard in the Lions secondary as Mitchell Trubisky threw for a career-high 355 yards and Robinson scored two touchdowns. Slay isn’t 100 percent, but he returned to action last week and played well against a big receiver in Devin Funchess (two catches, 39 yards). He should draw the assignment Thursday on Robinson, and his presence should have a positive impact on a Lions secondary that looked lost against Trubisky and Robinson earlier this month.
–Lions RT Rick Wagner vs. Bears OLB Khalil Mack. We highlighted this matchup a couple weeks ago and it clearly went Mack’s way as he had two of the Bears’ six sacks and Chicago’s aggressive front made life hell on Matthew Stafford. Wagner and the Lions’ entire offensive line get a chance at redemption Thursday, and if they don’t play better the Lions have no shot. With no Kerryon Johnson to respect in the running game, the Bears will be coming after Stafford and it’s up to Wagner and Co. to keep him clean.
