▶ Nolan Bianchi: The Lions’ defense found its groove last weekend, coming up with timely turnovers and stifling the Packers’ chances at the end zone, time and time again. Perhaps the most positive sign from that performance was that a chunk of the production came from rookies and second-year players. In the blink of an eye, injuries have turned Detroit’s defense from a group that lacks confidence into a group that’s so young, they don’t know what they don’t know. But what we know is that right now, Kerby Joseph, Aidan Hutchinson, Derrick Barnes, Malcolm Rodriguez, Jerry Jacobs — they’re all balling, and it really does feel as if veterans like DeShon Elliott have started to become swept up by the energy. So, why not pick them to run it back? Lions, 23-20
▶ John Niyo: This one is a battle for second place in the NFC North, if you can believe it. It’s also a chance for the Lions to win consecutive games for the first time under Dan Campbell. But it’s on the road, where the Lions haven’t won in nearly two full years (0-12-1) since beating the Bears at Soldier Field. That victory was led by an interim head coach (Darrell Bevell) a week after Matt Patricia was fired in December 2020, and it was a shootout, with Matthew Stafford throwing for 402 yards. Detroit doesn’t need that kind of day from Jared Goff, but they’ll need more offense than they’ve mustered in the last month or so. And the opportunity is there, facing a defense that recently lost its two best players and now is starting three rookies, with a couple of others rotating in. Lions, 28-24
▶ Justin Rogers: The Lions defense should be feeling much better about itself after what they were able to accomplish last week against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers, but this week’s game against Chicago is an opportunity to rubber-stamp the improvements as legit. The Chicago Bears offense has been rolling in recent weeks, scoring at least 33 per game since making some adjustments to the Justin Fields’ playing style, allowing the quarterback to better utilize his feet to make plays. The Lions have struggled to defend mobile QBs, and a lengthy winless streak on the road continues to linger over the franchise’s head. Bears, 27-23
▶ Bob Wojnowski: The Bears have lost five of six but have a weapon the Lions lack — a quarterback that runs. Justin Fields leads the team in rushing, and set an NFL quarterback record with 178 yards last week. Scary for a Lions defense that has been shredded by mobile quarterbacks. Beyond that, the Bears are next-to-last in the league in passing and near the bottom in points. So yes, this is a chance for the Lions to win back-to-back games for the first time under Dan Campbell and show their youthful defense is actually growing. On offense, much again depends on how big of a workload D’Andre Swift can handle. If he can pop a couple of explosive plays, and Jared Goff takes care of the football, and the Lions hold Fields under 100 yards, it’s a win. It’ll be tight either way. Bears, 21-20