Detroit Lions vs. Chicago Bears: 5 Keys to a Lions Victory

The Detroit Lions travel to Soldier Field to face the red hot Chicago Bears this Sunday. The Bears are coming off a huge win on Monday night over the disappointing Philadelphia Eagles. They have won three in a row.

With another win on Sunday, Chicago would be even with Detroit in the NFC North standings, which would improve their playoff hopes immensely.

Although the Bears will downplay this, they are also looking for payback for the thrashing Detroit gave them in Week 5 on Monday Night Football.

The Lions are coming off their bye week and need to protect their tenuous grasp on the Wildcard.  The rest of their schedule doesn't get any easier. 

They face Green Bay twice, New Orleans, San Diego and an improved Oakland team. 

That schedule doesn't exactly instill confidence that they can build on their 6-2 start, making it important to start the second half off with a win.

Let's hope that the Lions were not sitting by the pool sipping Pina Coladas for the past two weeks, because this game is going to be a barn burner.

These are the Lions' keys to victory.

5. Knock the Chip off the Bears' Shoulder

The Bears have had a chip on their shoulder the size of the Sears Tower all year. 

Why?

They feel they've been overlooked, underrated, and disrespected. It came to a head the week before the Eagles game, when the line for Monday Night Football came out. The Bears were eight-point underdogs.

Lovie Smith used this as a motivating tool during the week and the Bears responded by punching the Eagles in the mouth.

Even before that, the Bears felt disrespected. It seems that when you lose three out of five games to start the year, you should not expect people to consider you one of the top teams in the league. But everyone needs motivation; I get that.

Despite being favored by two or three points this week, the Chicago Bears will still have that chip on their shoulder.

The Lions beat them on national TV in Week 5. The Bears defense in particular will be itching to redeem themselves. Brian Urlacher is still sore about his mistake that led to Jahvid Best's 80-yard TD run.

The Lions need to expect this. The Bears will come out of the gates fast and amped up. The Lions need to weather the storm and ride it out. 

The Lions usually play with a chip on their shoulder regardless of the situation—decades of losing tend to do that—so I am confident that Lions can match the Bears' intensity and overcome.

4. Continue to Be Road Warriors

Can you believe the Detroit Lions are 4-0 on the road? 

For a team that didn't win a road game for what seemed like a decade, this is an amazing statistic and the Lions need to continue the trend.

Soldier Field can be an intimidating place to play. The raucous Chicago faithful and possible inclement weather could be obstacles to victory for the Lions.

Detroit has played in open air stadiums this year but the weather has never been a factor.  

The Chicago weather forecast for Sunday is windy with a few showers, highs in the 60s, lows in the 50s. This sounds mild, but with Soldier Field located on the banks of Lake Michigan, the Lions could be facing "The Perfect Storm" at any moment.

The Lions must be focused and play smart. They cannot let the home crowd disrupt their play like Detroit fans did to Chicago at Ford Field.

The Lions need to keep playing smart, disciplined football and their road dominance will continue.

3. Get the Most out of the Running Backs

Getting the most out of a suspect running game will be a daunting task for all parties involved, including the running backs, offensive line and offensive coordinator Scott Linehan. 

Daunting, yes. Impossible, no.

The Lions have assembled a makeshift, three-headed running attack. Maurice Morris, Keiland Williams and the newly acquired Kevin Smith will need to establish themselves and challenge Chicago's defense.

I'm not expecting anything flashy here. There will not be any 80-yard runs up the middle. 

But what I do expect is a healthy dose of four- to five-yard rushes and some flare passes out in the flat.

This trio can do this; we have seen it before. 

The Detroit Lions don't need to dominate on the ground, but they do need to be successful. They can't routinely lose yardage on run plays and cannot fumble the ball away.

The Lions need these backs to simply be average and not make any big mistakes. The Lions passing game is good enough to carry the offense.  

2. Linebackers and Ends Have to Protect the Edge

Detroit's defense has shown some vulnerability in the past, specifically in giving up big running plays. 

In general the biggest gains have been achieved because the Lions defense failed to maintain the edge. Doing this would force the running back inside, into the waiting arms of Ndamukong Suh and Corey Williams. 

Not an ideal place to be if you are a running back.

When the Lion defense does not "contain," they allow opposing running backs to turn the corner and out-sprint everyone to the open field. This leaves only a safety or cornerback between the end zone and the rusher.

Not an ideal place to be if you are in the secondary.

The strong-side linebacker and defensive end share the responsibility of containing. While Detroit has dramatically improved it's linebacking corps, there have been lapses.

Detroit's linebackers are ball-hawking tackle machines.  All three starters are adept at moving sideline to sideline to chase down plays, but sometimes they are too aggressive. They get caught out of position and take themselves out of plays.

Detroit's ends are equally as aggressive, but sometimes they miss their assignment, over-pursue the quarterback and surrender the edge.

Matt Forte is the type of runner that can break off huge gains when possible. He is fast, elusive and powerful, which makes it hard for a single defender to bring him down—especially a cornerback or safety.

The defense—especially when facing Forte—needs to maintain that edge and keep the rusher contained inside, funneling him into the middle. 

Let Suh and the d-line take care of the rest.

1. Get to Cutler

On Monday Night Football, the Chicago Bears' offensive line finally got their act together and didn't allow a single sack.

That was the first game all year—possibly all of Jay Cutler's career—that he didn't get sacked.

Their offensive line will be riding a wave of newfound confidence, looking to build on that performance against the Lions.

Detroit needs to remind Cutler of his experience at Ford Field in Week 5, in which he was hurried, pressured, knocked around, sacked three times and generally running for his life.

Cutler showed against the Eagles that he can be dominant when given the proper space and time to stand in the pocket and make plays. 

Cutler often gets a bad rap for his perceived attitude. but he is a top tier quarterback.

The Lions defensive line is capable of dominating the Bears up front. They can rotate guys like Willie Young, Nick Fairley and Lawrence Jackson in to spell the starters, keep up the pressure all day and eventually wear Chicago down. 

If they can take away Cutler's comfort and timing, they will take away any impact Cutler can make.

The Lions dominated the Bears once this year. If they can adequately address these five areas, there is no reason they cannot dominate the Bears again.