Chicago Bears (0-1) @ Detroit Lions (0-1)
Sunday, September 14, 1:00 PM ET
All of the concerns we had about the Detroit Lions in the offseason seemed to be valid after the first week of the season.
We’ll avoid any confirmation bias here because the Lions have a chance to bounce back in Week 2 against the Bears, and they could look like the same operation we’ve seen under Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn in the snap of a finger. But against the Green Bay Packers, we saw a defeated-looking Lions team.
The Lions made things look better on the final score and box score late against the Packers with a ridiculous touchdown grab by rookie Isaac TeSlaa, but that came in garbage time and was merely for optics. Maybe a little confidence boosting going into Week 2. The Lions did not look like the same squad without Ben Johnson calling plays offensively, and Jared Goff has historically struggled without one of Johnson or Sean McVay calling the plays for him.
This is going to be a huge gut check for the Lions going up against a Bears team that now employs Johnson and is looking to make noise of its own in the NFC North this season.
The disappointment for the Bears is going to linger for some time. They didn't just have the Vikings on the ropes, they blew a substantial lead at home by giving up three touchdowns to a guy starting his first NFL game. That one is going to sting.
Now, they've got to go on the road and beat a Lions team that is going to be playing ticked off after losing in Week 1 as well. We didn't see enough from Caleb Williams and the Bears' offense in Week 1 to really buy that they can outscore a motivated Lions team.
Prediction: Lions win 23-19