Last week’s lost to the Carolina Panthers put a serious dent in the Lions’ playoff hopes. Every team they needed to lose lost, but they couldn’t take advantage.
Now with their backs against the wall, they’ll need to win these last two games and get some help. Even if they don’t get in, going from 3-13-1 to 9-8 would be one heck of a turnaround.
Here are five things to watch ahead of this Sunday’s matchup against the Bears.
Containing Justin Fields…hopefully
Last week, the Lions allowed the Panthers to rush for 321 yards—a Panthers franchise record. This week, they take on the top rushing offense in the league. QB Justin Fields is the headliner, and we all know how good the Lions are at containing mobile quarterbacks. They better hope whatever happened last week was an anomaly and not a sign of things to come.
Iffy starting again
Safety Ifeatu Melifonwu will be making his second career start in place of DeShon Elliott, who will miss his second straight game with a shoulder injury. He did not play very well last week, but nobody played well on defense. Elliott had been playing exceptionally well ever since his benching in Week 5 against New England. He had been particularly effective against the run, where Melifonwu especially struggled. He’ll need to at least be better than he was last week, otherwise it could be another long day for the Lions’ run defense.
Missing: Lions’ running game
Has anybody seen the Lions’ rushing attack? Maybe someone should put its picture on some milk cartons. Being able to run the ball last week probably wouldn’t have done much last week, but it wouldn’t have hurt, either. The Lions are averaging just 3.5 yards per carry over their last five games. They haven’t scored a rushing touchdown since Dec. 11 against the Vikings. Jamaal Williams is having a career season, rushing for a league-leading 14 touchdowns and a career-high 850 yards. With two games to go, he could easily break 1,000 yards. He, D’Andre Swift, Justin Jackson, and whoever else carries the football for this team need to get it going again.
Leaving a lasting impression
This is the Lions’ final home game of the season. They have a chance to have a winning record at home this season. Winning this game in front of a fan base that’s hungry for a winner would be a great way to leave a good taste in their mouths. Even if they can’t get into the playoffs, winning this last home game against a bad Bears team would be the least they could do.
SOL? Hear me out…
The SOL (same old Lions for those unaware) cries came back in full force last week after the loss to Carolina. I get it — they started off 1-6, got everyone’s hopes up by getting back up to .500, then got embarrassed by a bad Panthers team. That sounds a lot like something the same old Lions would do. What they would also do is lose a home game to a 3-12 Bears team to put an end to their playoff hopes. This feels so trivial, but they haven’t gone full SOL if they win this game.
Matthew Scheidel is a freelance writer.