The Detroit Lions (1-2) are coming off a huge win last week against the Washington Redskins and look to continue that success Sunday at Soldier Field against the Chicago Bears (2-1).  The win over the Redskins was the Lions’ first win in 20 games and it was a huge burden lifted off their shoulders.  The Lions will have a big challenge against the Bears though, and it looks like they may be over-matched.

The Lions passing game has struggled all year as their rookie quarterback Mathew Stafford has thrown five interceptions.  Those five interceptions came in the first two games though, and Stafford had much better game last week.  Stafford had no turnovers and threw for 241 yards and a touchdown on 21/36 attempts (58%).  He has a big weapon in Calvin Johnson to throw to, and although they have not hooked up a ton in the first few weeks, they have had a few big plays together.  Their running back Kevin Smith has been very reliable after a bad opener against the Saints, and in the past two games he has rushed for 184 yards on 40 attempts (4.6 avg).

Look for the Lions to try and attack the Bears with runs up the middle and short passes, as their line-backing core is very depleted.  With Brian Urlacher out for the year, the Bears had Hunter Hillenmeyer filling in.  Hillenmeyer was doing a solid job but left last week’s game with a rib injury.  The injury will keep him out of this one too, and they are now on their third-string middle linebacker with Nick Roach.  The Bears defensive line has played great though, as they have six sacks and have done a great job disrupting other team’s passing game.  They also have done a solid job of plugging up holes defending the run, but they are much more effective pass rushing.

Although it looks like Stafford and the Lions offense is improving, the Bears defense is still pretty strong especially with the defensive line they have.  The Lions defense have struggled all year and Bears’ quarterback Jay Cutler has been looking good the last two weeks.  The Bears’ running game has been very weak thus far, with running back Matt Forte having a sophomore slump.  The Lions run defense isn’t very good though, and Forte could finally have a breakout game.  The Lions are improving, but the Bears are the better football team and will win this one pretty easily at home.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Bears 31, Lions 17