| The Detroit News
Justin Rogers, Rod Beard, John Niyo and Bob Wojnowski of The Detroit News predict the outcome of Sunday’s Lions at Bears game (1 p.m., Fox/WJR 760).
►Justin Rogers: The Lions have played poorly enough through 11 games to get their coach and general manager fired, but for all the team’s shortcomings, they haven’t lost five straight in 2020. That’s where the Bears’ skid is at coming into this contest, putting their coach, Matt Nagy, also firmly on the hot seat. The Lions aren’t likely to look much different under Darrell Bevell, in terms of scheme and personnel, but there’s a sense there might be an injection of energy from the changes and that might be enough to get past this struggling Bears squad. Lions 24, Bears 22
►Rod Beard: With interim head coach Darrell Bevell making his debut, the Lions could get an infusion of newness with Matt Patricia gone. Bevell seems to be a players’ coach, so it’ll be interesting to watch. In the opener, the Lions handled the Bears easily through the first three quarters before falling apart in the fourth. Without Kenny Golladay, the Lions’ offense has struggled in recent weeks, and the defense is missing several key pieces, so just staying competitive will be a step forward. Bears 23, Lions 17
►John Niyo: Matt Patricia never beat the Bears. That’s just one reason among many Darrell Bevell will be coaching the Lions on Sunday. If he gets D’Andre Swift back, don’t be surprised if he gets his first win, too. The Bears might be headed for changes of their own soon enough. Lions 27, Bears 23
Subscription: Niyo: Darrell Bevell quarterbacked Wisconsin’s turnaround. Can he do it for the Lions?
►Bob Wojnowski: Chicago is a mess, but then, so are the Lions. The Bears have lost five in a row and at 5-6 are one game ahead of the Lions. But they do possess the Lion-killer in Mitch Trubisky, who’s expected to start and has three touchdown passes in each of his past four games against the Lions. If anything is different under interim coach Darrell Bevell, it might show up on offense, where you’d expect a looser, wide-open attack with (maybe) an energized Matthew Stafford. The personnel will hamper that, as Kenny Golladay and D’Andre Swift are unlikely to be available. I think the Lions get a Bevell boost for a while, but the defense isn’t getting better overnight, and old nemesis Trubisky will throw for a few more TDs. Bears 27, Lions 24