The Detroit Lions (2-13) have a good shot at getting their third win of the season as they host the Chicago Bears (6-9) on Sunday.  The Lions are still without Mathew Stafford, and with Drew Stanton throwing three interceptions last week the Lions should start Daunte Culpepper.  Whoever they start under center, they need to make sure they don’t turn the ball over as that has killed the Lions all season long.  Either way, the Lions will need a big day from their running back Maurice Morris.  The Bears give up 128 rushing yards per game, so Morris should find success.

The Lions secondary needs to be aware of Devin Aromashodu, who stepped up big time last week for the Bears.  He caught 7 passes for 150 yards and a touchdown, helping the Bears upset the Minnesota Vikings last week.  With Devin Hester out and possibly Johnny Knox too, Jay Cutler’s new favorite target is Aromashodu so if the Lions can shut him down it will bode very well for them.  They need to stop Bears’ running back Matt Forte too.  He has not had a good season, but he found a lot of success against the Lions earlier in the season with 121 yards and a touchdown, so they cannot let him have a repeat performance.  If they cannot stop those two, they will not have much of a chance against the Bears.

PREDICTION:  Detroit Lions 13, Chicago Bears 24

The Detroit Lions (2-9) have a tough opponent this week in the Cincinnati Bengals (8-3).  The Bengals have a good all-around football team and have been finding ways to win close games all year.  This game may not be close for the Lions though, as the Bengals have an elite quarterback in Carson Palmer and the Lions are giving up 281 passing yards per game.  The Lions are giving up too much on the ground too (113 yards per game) and the Bengals have their star running back, Cedric Benson, returning.  Benson was the NFL’s leading rusher before missing the last 2 games with a hip injury.  If Benson is back in form, then it might get ugly for the Lions.

The Lions offense has been struggling all year with their rookie quarterback Mathew Stafford going through the ups and downs most rookies go through.  The only problem is that Stafford is being asked to do more than any other rookie in the league, as he has no defense or running game supporting him.  Even more is on Staffords’ plate now as he is going to play hurt with a shoulder injury.  The Lions are really going to need to get a lot out of their running game if they want a chance, but I don’t see that happening against a Bengals’ defense that only gives up 82 rushing yards per game.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Detroit Lions 10, Cincinnati Bengals 35

The Detroit Lions (1-6) are heading out west to take on the Seattle Seahawks (2-5).  The Seahawks have lost two in a row and have not been playing very well this year.  This could be a good opportunity for the Lions to get their second win of the year, but it will be difficult.  Their quarterback Matt Hasselbeck has a solid game last week against the Cowboys, throwing two touchdowns and 249 yards on 22-39 attempts.  The Lions need to do a better job at stopping the passing game, because the 251 yards per game is way too much.  Julius Jones will be the main running back the Lions will need to key in on.  They are giving up 117 rushing yards per game though, so Jones may have himself a big day.

The Lions offense needs to get more out of Mathew Stafford and the passing game.  Stafford returned from a knee injury last week, but didn’t play very well.  He went 14-33 for only 168 yards and threw an interception.  If Stafford has another game like that the Lions will not have a chance.  Things are just not improving enough for the Lions lately, so I think the Seahawks will win somewhat easily.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Seattle Seahawks 30, Detroit Lions 17

The Detroit Lions (1-4) are on the road Sunday against the Green Bay Packers (2-2) at Lambeau Field.  The Lions have lost 17 straight in Green Bay and things are not looking good going into this weekends game.  Lions quarterback Mathew Stafford may miss his second straight game with a knee injury and his favorite target, Calvin Johnson, also might be out with a knee injury.  It seems like Johnson will be out since the Lions just signed wide-receiver John Standeford, who had 15 catches for 244 yards in nine games for Detroit last season.

If Stafford does sit this one out, then Daunte Culpepper will start his second straight game.  Culpepper showed flashes of the Culpepper from the Minnesota Vikings years ago, but he did not take care of the ball very well.  He went 23 of 37 for 282 yards with one touchdown and one interception.  He held on to the ball too long and was sacked seven times while also fumbling three times.  The Lions should come with a strong running attack, as the Packers do not do a good job stopping the run.  They give up 112 rushing yards per game and the Lions running back Kevin Smith has rushed for 287 yards on 94 carries (3.1 avg) with three touchdowns.

The Lions do have a chance in this game, even if Stafford and Johnson are out.  The Packers offensive line is one of the worst in the league and they have given up a league high 20 sacks, so the Lions front line should be able to get to the Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.  Rodgers has proven he can still do a lot of damage despite his poor offensive line though, as he as already passed for 1098 yards with six touchdowns and one interception in only four games.  Rodgers has shown that he is one of the top quarterbacks in the league and the Lions secondary will be in trouble.  The Lions only chance is if they can control the time of possession by feeding it to Kevin Smith and attacking Aaron Rodgers and forcing some turnovers.  The Packers are the better football team, so I think they will prove that and win their 18th straight at home against the Lions.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Detroit Lions 21, Green Bay Packers 35

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