Detroit Lions vs. Chicago Bears: Live Score, Highlights and Analysis

Throw out the records for this game.

Throw out the stats, tendencies and histories. NFC North matchups never go according to plan. There are plenty of perfectly plausible predictions and outcomes for this game, and chances are none of them will happen.

It's not just that divisional games in the NFC North are notoriously close and that these teams know each other exceptionally well. Those things are true, but more important is that these teams are seemingly equally schizophrenic. Who wins the game effectively relies on what teams show up.

Will we see the Matthew Stafford that set franchise records in passing yards and touchdowns last year, or the one who can't run the offense until the fourth quarter?

Will we see the Jay Cutler who dominated the Jacksonville Jaguars 41-3, or the one who turns the ball over on every other drive and bumps his offensive linemen afterward?

The Chicago Bears have their division lead on the line, while the Detroit Lions may have their entire season on the line. The only certainties are that it's going to be a hard-fought game likely full of a bunch of penalties and scuffles, and that I'll be here to cover it all, starting about an hour before kickoff.

In the meantime, your weekly pregame reading list:

The 10 Keys for the Lions (Dean Holden)

The 10 Keys for the Bears (Alexander Crowe)

Keys to victory for both teams (Andrew Garda)

Final Score: Lions 7, Bears 13