The game: Justin Fields will start at quarterback for the Bears for the first time since Week 6 against Minnesota, when he suffered a dislocated thumb, as they attempt to snap an 11-game losing streak in the NFC North. The entire starting Bears backfield is back to take on a Lions squad captained by former Bears running back David
Montgomery. Also making their injury returns are running back Khalil Herbert and fullback Khari Blasingame. The two Lions losses came to Baltimore and Seattle, and Detroit now leads the NFC North by a margin of 1 1/2 games over Minnesota.
The Series: The 187th game overall, which included a 1933 playoff game that the Bears won 9-0 indoors at Chicago Stadium following the game’s indoor relocation due to a blizzard. The Bears’ last victory in the series came on Thanksgiving, 16–14, at Ford Field in 2021. The Bears lost both of their games against the Lions the previous season. In the last ten games in the series, the Bears have prevailed seven times.
The Coaches: Matt Eberflus, the Bears’ second-year coach, is 6-21 and the team lost both of its games against the Lions in the previous season. Dan Campbell, the head coach of the Lions, is currently 19-23-1 in his third season and 24-30 overall in his four NFL seasons. With Detroit, he has a 2-2 record against the Bears. The previous week, the Bears defeated the Panthers 16–13 thanks to D’Onta Foreman’s 80–yard touchdown run and the defense’s season-
low 213 total yards allowed. Riley Patterson’s 41-yard field goal gave the Lions a 41-38 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers. While quarterback Jared Goff threw for two touchdowns and 333 yards, Montgomery ran for 116 yards.
