Chicago Bears vs. Detroit Lions: Complete Week 13 Preview for Detroit

The Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears renew their rivalry on Thanksgiving, and neither team can afford a loss.

Detroit returns home after two road losses that seemingly exposed the Lions as playoff frauds. The offense hasn't scored a touchdown in forever (which equals two weeks), and the defense just gave up 34 points.

But that was New England's smallest point total in a month, and the last seven were borne of frustration instead of failure. If not for Matthew Stafford's errant slide, there would have been something on the line in the fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, the Bears have gone the opposite route. Their rough start has been buoyed by two home wins over teams with a combined six wins.

Is this the week the Lions get back on track? Or is Detroit putting its fans through another gut-wrenching swoon? 

Click through to find out.  

Lions' Week 12 Game Recap

Steven Senne/Associated Press

The Lions vs. Patriots Week 12 clash was cancelled. In its place, Fox ran a rerun of The Brady Bunch.

In this episode, Tom Brady schooled the Lions like schoolchildren, putting up bunches of yards, first downs and points.

New England didn't bother running the ball. Instead, Brady threw the ball 53 times, connecting on 38 of those attempts for 349 yards and two touchdowns. 

Once the game was well in hand, head coach Bill Belichick turned the game over to LeGarrette Blount to add insult to injury to Detroit's No. 1 defense. Blount finished with 78 yards on 12 carries. 

The offense did move the ball, picking up 21 first downs. But for the second game in a row, the Lions failed to find the end zone, as the receivers dropped three sure touchdowns. You can do the math.

There's no shame in getting beaten in Foxborough, not even in a blowout. But the hangover has to be short because the four-day turnaround doesn't allow for dwelling in the dumps.

News and Notes

Rick Osentoski/Associated Press

Dominic Does It Again

Dominic Raiola has a reputation in Detroit for being gritty and tough. Unfortunately, those qualities also carry over to his non-football interactions.

There was the time he flipped off fans who gave the center a hard time during the Lions' winless 2008 campaign. He also allegedly threw around "hate speech" toward the University of Wisconsin marching band, per Ashley Dunkak of CBS Detroit. 

Now, Raiola finds himself in a mess again.

"

Dominic Raiola takes a dive at DT's knees late, Vince Wilfork calls him dirty. Watch the video & decide yourself http://t.co/mC6pEPjkay

— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) November 24, 2014"

The incident occurred on the last play of the game when the Lions took a knee to end the madness. This conduct falls under non-football interactions, regardless of the fact that it happened on the field.

Raiola had a career year in 2013. Considering the steep drop-off from that performance, fans on Twitter haven't been quick to forgive him for his actions, despite the NFL's declination of any punishment. 

As the Roster Churns

Kellen Davis plugged the hole in the dam, but with all three of Detroit's starting-day tight ends healthy, there wasn't a role left to be filled.

The veteran Davis was thanked for his service, and guard Rodney Austin was promoted from the practice squad to take his place. The move gives Detroit some flexibility along the offensive front, as Justin Rogers of MLive.com explains: 

"

If Reiff's left knee injury keeps him out Thursday, the Lions would keep Austin active as the seventh offensive lineman and the effective backup at guard or center. Garrett Reynolds can play guard or tackle but would be the go-to option if tackles LaAdrian Waddle or Cornelius Lucas suffered an injury.

"

The ramifications of Riley Reiff's injury could affect more than the left tackle position. We'll dig into the possibilities in the injury report, but Rodney's promotion could mean Detroit's beleaguered offensive line will be down to 60 percent of its starters against Chicago. 

The Playoff Picture Is Out of Focus

The Lions held a share of the NFC North from the outset. Now, they're looking up at the scorching-hot Green Bay Packers and their 8-3 record.

To make matters worse for long-suffering fans, Detroit is on the outside looking in at a wild-card berth. Head coach Jim Caldwell, as he told Rogers, understands what the Lions need to do:

"

'Well, it's a constant refrain,' Caldwell said earlier this year. 'It's something that you really have to do consistently in this league in order to be a factor. And not just in terms of drives and not just games, but it's every play, how you finish it. Whether it's finishing a run, or whether it's obviously finishing a drive where you're trying to score touchdowns as opposed to field goals, things of that nature, finishing is extremely important.'

"

That quote isn't directly related to a question about the current two-game skid. It's from earlier in the season, yet it's relevant to the task at hand.

The Lions aren't that far off from a playoff appearance and possibly a win. The last two losses against the league's best two teams record-wise could have been much different if the players had enough small-level focus.

Which is also known as finishing.

Finishing a catch. Finishing a block. Finishing a drive.

Caldwell's team has four games against inferior opponents to right the ship before heading to Lambeau Field. He can only hope that his message reaches his players in time.

Injury Report

Duane Burleson/Associated Press

Position	Player	Injury	Mon	Tue	Wed	Status
DT	Nick Fairley	Knee	NP	NP	NP	Out
T	Riley Reiff	Knee	NP	NP	LP	Questionable
G	Larry Warford	Knee	NP	NP	NP	Out
S	James Ihedigbo	Knee	NP	LP	FP	Probable
WR	Calvin Johnson	Ankle	NP	LP	FP	Probable
LB	Ashlee Palmer	Concussion	NP	LP	LP	Probable
DE	Ziggy Ansah	Elbow	LP	LP	FP	Probable
RB	Reggie Bush	Ankle/Back	LP	LP	LP	Questionable
DE	George Johnson	Foot	LP	LP	FP	Probable
CB	Rashean Mathis	Ankle	LP	LP	FP	Probable
S	Glover Quin	Back	LP	LP	FP	Probable

*The injury report is sourced from DetroitLions.com.

The shortest week sees the longest injury report of the season.

It seems a certainty that Detroit will have to roll without Fairley and Warford. No indication on when either will return has been given, so C.J. Mosley and Travis Swanson will continue to start in their respective spots.

Reiff is also a huge question mark. Cornelius Lucas has been taking reps on the left side, putting to rest any hopes of LaAdrian Waddle switching spots with the overmatched rookie.

Everyone else on the report was able to give it a limited go on Tuesday. One could presume that so many are practicing lightly because of the short week, especially veterans Ihedigbo, Johnson and Mathis. And it's of particular interest that none of these guys—save for Bush, of course—failed to finish the game against New England.

The two you should be most concerned about are Palmer and Bush. Four days isn't much time between a concussion and the next game. If Palmer can't go, Josh Bynes and presumably rookie Kyle Van Noy will see more snaps.

And Bush has been an enigma for the past week. He seemed adamant that he'd play against the Patriots and was scratched on Saturday. There's chatter dating back to last week that he's been targeting Thanksgiving since he was declared inactive in New England, per Pro Football Talk. Whether he can inject any life into the stuffed turkey that is Detroit's offense remains to be seen.

X-Factor and Matchups to Watch

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

QB Matthew Stafford vs. Detroit's WRs and TEs

Chicago's secondary struggles against the pass. Only two teams give up more than Chicago's 8.1 yards per attempt, and one is a defense that Detroit has already sliced through this season (the New York Giants give up 8.3).

Frankly, the only things that should stop Stafford from rebounding in a big way are himself and his receiving targets.

Last week, there were miscommunications and a few poor throws. There were also at least three dropped touchdown passes. New England played tough defense, but opportunities were still there for points and yards. Now, the Lions must convert those chances against a defense that has obliged more than a few opponents.

Lions OTs vs. DEs Jared Allen and Willie Young

Two defenders could make the reconciliation featured in the first matchup difficult, and neither is a new face.

Defensive end Jared Allen has been ruining Sundays for Lions fans for years. First as a Minnesota Viking and now as a Bear, the mulleted one has 9.5 sacks in his last eight games against Detroit, including two in last year's season finale. 

Willie Young is perhaps defensive line coaches Kris Kocurek and Jim Washburn's greatest achievement. They turned the former seventh-rounder into a stud who now leads Chicago with eight sacks.

LaAdrian Waddle will have his hands full because the tight end or running back is going to be needed on the left side. Undrafted rookie Cornelius Lucas has to look as sweet as pie to Allen.

DE Ezekiel Ansah vs. OT Jermon Bushrod

The defense's pressure percentage dropped from 28.6 for Weeks 5 though 10 to 18.8 percent versus the Cardinals, per Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com. It dipped even further against the Patriots to just 9.4, and the results have been four passing touchdowns against in the past two games.

The loss of Nick Fairley plays a role, but the absence of the dominant Ansah is more concerning. He—like the defense—hasn't notched a sack in two weeks, and he only has four hurries over that span.

Jay Cutler, like most quarterbacks, struggles when pressured, putting up just four touchdowns and four interceptions when under duress, according to the same Rothstein article. Ansah must find a way around Bushrod, who has only posted a positive grade once in the last five weeks and given up 13 hurries and two sacks during that time period, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

Lions' X-Factor of the Week: WR Calvin Johnson

By now, you've been hit over the head with the fact that Detroit hasn't put up more than 24 points since Week 1. Only once has Calvin Johnson matched his first-week output of at least one score and 100 yards.

As noted above, Chicago is vulnerable through the air. Johnson needs to be the main thrust of the offense, which would allow guys like Golden Tate, Joique Bell, Reggie Bush and Eric Ebron to play complementary roles where they can blow this game apart.

Prediction

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

The recent struggles have opened up plenty of room on the bandwagon. That dropped weight of expectation should allow things to move much faster—much like the pared-down offense was intended to do.

It didn't work last week. However, Detroit did move the ball, pushing into Patriots territory six times. Tough defense by Darrelle Revis and mental errors cost the team a chance to finally break through, but the confines of Ford Field and a friendly defense should help immensely.

"

Calvin Johnson said the #Lions consider all their home games must-wins. #DefendTheDen

— Detroit Lions (@Lions) November 25, 2014"

The Lions have only one fluky blemish (no kicker in the Bills game) and two wins over teams with winning records on their home record. After an exhausting two weeks away from home, the players will be ready to rock in the traditional Thanksgiving game.

Chicago does have the playmakers to keep things interesting. However, bettors can rely on Jay Cutler and the 7.5 points that OddsShark.com is giving them. I won't be one of them against a motivated Detroit defense that knows how important this game is.

My bold prediction is the offense finally finds the end zone. My less bold prediction is so does the defense.

That's not a recipe for a costly upset.

Score: Detroit 27, Chicago 14

Brandon Alisoglu is a Detroit Lions Featured Columnist who has written about the Lions on multiple sites. He also co-hosts a Lions-centric podcast, Lions Central Radio. Yell at him on Twitter about how wrong he is @BrandonAlisoglu.

All advanced stats, grades and positional rankings are courtesy of Pro Football Focus and require a subscription.