Detroit Lions vs. Chicago Bears: Complete Week 16 Preview for Chicago
The Chicago Bears played one of their most uninspiring games of the season in Week 15 against the New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football. Chicago lost 31-15 and racked up just 278 yards of total offense. Quarterback Jay Cutler threw for just 194 yards with two touchdowns, three interceptions and was sacked seven times.
"We never got going offensively," said veteran center Roberto Garza, via Larry Mayer of ChicagoBears.com. "Too many three-and-outs. When you don't protect your quarterback, you make it tough to stay on the field."
The Bears will now welcome the Detroit Lions to town in Week 16. Sunday will be the 180th meeting between the Bears and the Lions all time. The two teams last squared off on Thanksgiving Day, with the Lions coming away with a 37-14 victory. Chicago still leads the all-time series 96-68-5.
The Lions are coming off a 16-14 victory over the Minnesota Vikings in Week 15. Matthew Stafford completed just 17 passes for 153 yards with one touchdown. Joique Bell ran the football 15 times for 62 yards, while wide receiver Calvin Johnson was limited to 53 yards on four catches. Detroit's defense gave up 360 yards of total offense to Minnesota but forced rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater into throwing two interceptions.
“Defense has been huge for us,” Lions guard Rob Sims said, via Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com. “We were stalling early, a couple penalties here and there and just not hitting our stride. It’s like that sometimes, but when you have a defense that plays like that, we can fight back and make our adjustments and it’s nice.”
Detroit's defense is currently second in the league in total yards, allowing just 300.3 per game, and is first against the run, allowing just 63.8 yards on the ground per game. Detroit also has the fifth-most sacks in the league this season with 39.
In a surprising twist, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on Wednesday night that backup Jimmy Clausen will replace Cutler at quarterback against Detroit:
"To repeat and now confirmed: Bears starting QB Jimmy Clausen over Jay Cutler on Sunday vs. Detroit, per sources.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 17, 2014"
With Detroit still fighting for playoff positioning, expect its defense to come out strong Sunday afternoon against Clausen and Chicago's offense.
Here is our Detroit Lions vs. Chicago Bears preview for Week 16.
Week 15 Recap
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Even though the Bears were already eliminated from the playoffs, they had an opportunity to make a statement against the New Orleans Saints in Week 15.
Unfortunately for the Bears, they were unable to come away with a victory and were defeated 31-15.
Chicago's offense looked completely inept in the first half, with Jay Cutler completing just six of his 14 pass attempts for 56 yards with two interceptions. The Bears went into halftime down 14-0.
Cutler and the offense were able to get the football in the end zone twice in the second half, but they were unable to get anything going until the fourth quarter. Cutler finished with 17 completions on 31 attempts with two touchdowns, three interceptions and a quarterback rating of 55.8.
The offense accumulated just 278 yards of total offense on the night.
“Offensively, we didn't play well—you know that. We were very inconsistent. We had no passing game. We had seven sacks,” head coach Marc Trestman said, via Kevin Fishbain of ChicagoFootball.com. “Certainly not even close to being an offense that could compete through four quarters, although we finished the game.”
On the other side of the ball, Chicago's defense allowed 443 total yards of offense to New Orleans. Drew Brees led the way with 375 passing yards on 29 completions with three touchdowns.
"I'm at a loss for words, to be completely honest with you," defensive tackle Jeremiah Ratliff said after the game, via Jon Greenberg of ESPNChicago.com. "I'm not going to sit up here and B.S. you and give you some crazy speech. I don't got it for you."
The loss dropped the Bears to 5-9, on a season in which they were expected to contend for the playoffs in the NFC. They will head into their Week 16 game against the Detroit Lions with nothing more than pride to play for.
News and Notes
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Jimmy Clausen is the Starter for Now
After the news came out on Wednesday night that Jimmy Clausen would be replacing Jay Cutler on Sunday afternoon, ESPN's Chris Mortenson tweeted that the decision had already been made earlier that morning:
"Bears coach Marc Trestman told Jay Cutler this morning that he was being benched this week.
— Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) December 18, 2014"
Even though Cutler was informed of the decision that morning, Marc Trestman made no mention of the change in his press conference that afternoon.
Back on December 8, Trestman noted there would only be one reason why the Bears would sit Cutler out this season, via Adam Hoge of TheGameChicago.com:
"Marc Trestman on Dec. 8: "As long as Jay is healthy, he'll be playing quarterback for us.” #Bears
— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) December 18, 2014"
One reason for his benching could be the amount of turnovers he has had this season.
"Why might the Bears bench Jay Cutler? He's averaging a turnover every 33 snaps this season, 3rd-worst in the NFL. pic.twitter.com/pfij4iSGaY
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) December 18, 2014"
Considering how poorly Chicago has played as a whole this season, the benching of Cutler seems questionable at best.
Chris Conte is Not Worried About His Long-Term Health
After missing a handful of games this year due to injuries, free safety Chris Conte opened up to WBBM Newsradio in Chicago, via ESPN.com, in an interview before Chicago's matchup with the Saints about how he is not worried about his long-term health or life after football, saying:
"As far as after football, who knows? My life will revolve around football to some point, but I'd rather have the experience of playing and, who knows, die 10, 15 years earlier than not be able to play in the NFL and live a long life. It's something I've wanted to do with my life and I wanted to accomplish. And I pretty much set my whole life up to accomplish that goal. So I don't really look toward my life after football because I'll figure things out when I get there and see how I am.
"
The Bears say that Conte suffered two concussions this season, but he refutes that claim, via Jeff Dickerson of ESPNChicago.com:
"Conte: "Only had one slight one in pre season. My reference wasn't even to concussions just the associated risk with football."
— Jeff Dickerson (@ESPNChiBears) December 17, 2014"
Regardless of whether he suffered one or two concussions, Conte made a strong statement and showed how many players in the league have a warped perception on what their quality of life could be like after they are out of the game.
Matt Forte Is Unfazed By Possible Future Changes to Coaching Staff
Following Chicago's loss on Monday night, 670 The Score radio host Dan Bernstein tweeted about head coach Marc Trestman's future in Chicago:
"Source: #Bears ownership met last night. Trestman likely fired at season's end, Emery's fate still undecided.
— Dan Bernstein (@dan_bernstein) December 16, 2014"
When asked about a possible change to the coaching staff next season, running back Matt Forte sounded unfazed by it.
“I don’t worry about that, no,” said Forte, via Dickerson. “That’s not my job, to be worried about that stuff. If changes happen, you roll with the punches and all that stuff. I’m here to play football and be coached and be coachable. Whatever happens... happens."
Given the team's struggles on offense this season, it would not come as a surprise if Trestman is let go at the end of the season.
Injury Report
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| Player | Position | Injury Status |
| Chris Conte | FS | Limited |
| Tim Jennings | CB | Did Not Practice (DNP) |
| Robbie Gould | K | DNP |
| Alshon Jeffery | WR | DNP |
| Jeremiah Ratliff | DT | DNP |
| Will Sutton | DT | DNP |
All injury statuses courtesy of Michael C. Wright of ESPNChicago.com.
After missing the last two games with a quad injury, kicker Robbie Gould missed practice on Thursday. If he is not ready for Sunday's game, Jay Feely will remain as the team's kicker.
Free safety Chris Conte sat out in Week 15 against the Saints with a back injury but returned to practice on a limited basis this week. If he is unable to play, rookie Brock Vereen will get his second straight start.
Cornerback Tim Jennings, wide receiver Alshon Jeffery and defensive tackles Jeremiah Ratliff and Will Sutton all did not practice on Thursday.
Al Louis-Jean would likely get the nod at cornerback if Jennings is unable to go, while rookies Ego Ferguson and Brandon Dunn will see an increase in their playing time if Ratliff and/or Sutton are forced to miss Sunday's game.
According to Kevin Fishbain of ChicagoFootball.com, Jeffery missed Thursday's practice due to a non-injury issue.
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X-Factor and Matchups to Watch
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Kyle Fuller vs. Calvin Johnson
When these two teams first met on Thanksgiving Day, Calvin Johnson got the best of rookie cornerback Kyle Fuller.
Johnson finished the day with 11 catches for 146 yards and two touchdowns. According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Fuller gave up nine catches for 117 yards and both touchdowns to Johnson that afternoon.
Fuller spent most of his day covering Johnson one-on-one, and many believed that was too much for the Bears to ask of their rookie, including Bleacher Report's Ian Kenyon and NFL columnist Dan Pompei:
"Kyle Fuller is a very good CB, but asking a rookie to cover Megatron one-on-one in the end zone is a tough assignment.
— Ian Kenyon (@IanKenyonNFL) November 27, 2014"
"6. Single covering Megatron with Charles Tillman in his prime was one thing; singling him with Kyle Fuller is another.
— Dan Pompei (@danpompei) November 28, 2014"
Expect the Lions to try and exploit Fuller again on Sunday afternoon if the Bears decide to use Fuller against Johnson one-on-one. If the Bears opt not to use a safety over top to slow Johnson down, Fuller should play more man coverage where he would be allowed to use his size and strength to combat Johnson off the line of scrimmage.
Stephen Paea vs. Dominic Raiola
After racking up just six sacks in his first three seasons in the NFL, defensive tackle Stephen Paea has six total sacks this season. In addition to his sacks, he also has 26 tackles and one forced fumble. According to the team's official Twitter account, Paea leads all defensive tackles in Pro Bowl voting:
".@PAEA92 is currently leading all NFL DTs in Pro Bowl voting. #VotePaea now: http://t.co/lmaulvfqY8 https://t.co/DdoiKdql16
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) December 11, 2014"
He struggled with injuries in his first three seasons but has shown this season why he was worth the second-round pick the Bears used on him back in 2011.
Paea is set to face off against Detroit center Dominic Raiola on Sunday afternoon. Raiola is in his 14th season with the Lions. According to Pro Football Focus, he has allowed 12 quarterback hurries and four sacks this season and has a minus-9.6 grade in 915 snaps.
While Raiola has been average against the pass rush, he has struggled mightily trying to open up lanes in the running game. Paea should have no issues clogging up the middle, but if he can take advantage of Raiola early and often, he may be able to apply plenty of pressure against quarterback Matthew Stafford.
X-Factor of the Week: Jimmy Clausen
Amid all the turmoil that was taking place in Chicago's locker room last week after reports surfaced that offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer leaked information to the NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, quarterback Jay Cutler had an opportunity to prove many people wrong on Monday night against the Saints.
Instead of proving doubters wrong, Cutler struggled all night long against a Saints defense that came into the game ranked 31st overall. He finished with three interceptions and was sacked seven times.
"No, I don't think so," Cutler said after the game when asked if the distractions at Halas Hall during the week had an impact on his game, via Michael C. Wright of ESPNChicago.com. "Just have to look at the film. I have to play better. We'll take a look tomorrow and see exactly what slowed us down."
After tossing three interceptions on Monday night, Cutler now leads the NFL with 18. He also has 12 fumbles this season.
Because of Cutler's struggles, the team has decided to go with Jimmy Clausen at quarterback against Detroit.
Picked in the second round of the 2010 draft by the Carolina Panthers, Clausen started 10 games in his rookie season and threw for 1,558 yards with three touchdowns and nine interceptions.
He was replaced by Cam Newton in 2011 and struggled with injuries before he was waived in 2013. He signed with the Bears this offseason and beat out Jordan Palmer for the backup quarterback job. In three appearances this year, he has three pass completions for 42 yards.
It is unlikely that Clausen is viewed as the future for the organization, but if he plays well on Sunday, he could jump-start a comeback for his once promising career.
Prediction
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The Bears have a 5-9 record and nothing but pride to play for at this point. Sunday's performance against the Detroit Lions could go a long way for a lot of players who are not guaranteed a roster spot next season.
Guys like Matt Forte, Alshon Jeffery and Martellus Bennett are all but assured a starting spot next season, but many players on the back half of the roster have an opportunity to prove they have the ability to compete for playing time next season.
Expect the Lions to put forth one of their best efforts of the season on Sunday, since they have an opportunity to clinch a playoff spot with a win at Soldier Field.
The Lions are currently second in the league in total defense and first against the run. With Jimmy Clausen taking over at quarterback, expect the Lions to stack the box and force the Bears to throw the football.
Clausen may wind up playing a solid game, but it is unlikely the change at quarterback alone will make the difference for this struggling Bears team.
Prediction: Lions 37, Bears 17
Record/statistical information provided via email from the Chicago Bears or NFL.com unless otherwise noted.
Matt Eurich is an NFL/Chicago Bears Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and a member of the Pro Football Writers of America.
Follow @MattEurich
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