When the Bears take on the Lions on Sunday, keep an eye out for the following matchups:
Bears CB Kyle Fuller vs. Lions WR Marvin Jones
Cornerback Kyle Fuller was a key part of a Bears defense that could do no wrong against the Bills on Sunday. Fuller tallied three pass deflections, three tackles and his fourth interception of the year. The Virginia Tech product was a ball magnet, breaking up plays everywhere on the field. In the second quarter he broke up a pass that ended up in the hands of safety Adrian Amos Jr. for an interception and on the Bills next drive he lit up a Bills receiver causing the ball to fall into the hands of linebacker Leonard Floyd who took it back for a pick-six. Fuller's performance was enough to garner the honor of breaking down the postgame huddle in the locker room.
Fuller has played well against the Lions in the past, tallying 29 tackles in six games against the divisional rivals. This week he'll square off against a new-look Lions offense who traded away receiver Golden Tate two weeks ago. With Tate gone, receiver Marvin Jones will have to become a more focal part of the offense. After recording no more than four catches in any of the Lions' first six games, Jones has recorded seven and six receptions over the last two games, respectively. He's also on pace to tie his career high for touchdown catches with 10 this year. In Jones' last game against the Bears in December of last year, Fuller and company limited him to just three catches, but Jones tallied 85 yards on the limited receptions. That yardage per catch wasn't so atypical last year. Jones averaged a career-high 18 yards per reception last season. This year, that number is down to 14.2 yards per catch. If Fuller can bring the same pressure that turned the Bills game into a blowout early, the Bears could be looking at their first divisional win this season.
Bears LB Leonard Floyd vs. Lions RG T.J. Lang
Linebacker Leonard Floyd and the rest of the Bears defense were likely giddily wide-eyed watching film of the Lions from this past week. Detroit allowed 10 sacks against the Vikings on Sunday, the most its allowed in a game since 2007. Meanwhile, the Bears defense got back into its own rhythm with four sacks against the Bills. Floyd is still looking to record his first quarterback takedown of the season, but his pressure was critical in creating opportunities for others to get to the QB on Sunday. He also was effective out in space and grabbed one of the Bears' three interceptions on a pick-six score in the second quarter.
He'll go opposite a Lions offensive line that looks to bounce back after a rough showing last week. Quarterback Matthew Stafford was hit a total of 17 times. Right guard T.J. Lang and the rest of the offensive line will look to tame a Bears defense that ranks tied for seventh in the league with 24 sacks this year. Lang split snaps with offensive lineman Kenny Wiggins last week. Lang, who suffered a concussion in Week 4 and was forced to miss one game afterwards, has been cleared to play since and been in the starting lineup the last three weeks. Lang's ability to limit Floyd and the rest of the Bears dynamic pass rushers from getting to Stafford will be crucial for the Lions. If the O-Line is anything less than superb, Stafford could be in for a second straight week of heavy pressure.
Bears QB Mitchell Trubisky vs. Lions CB Darius Slay
Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky was solid last week against the Bills despite the team getting most of its early scoring from its defense. Trubisky completed just 12 passes, his fewest completions in a game this season, but the biggest takeaway from the rout of Buffalo was his willingness to take shots downfield. Three deep passes produced pass interference calls and netted the Bears 100 yards via penalties. Trubisky will have to be on target on Sunday against a Lions defense that has allowed just 214.6 passing yards per game this season.
Cornerback Darius Slay leads the secondary which gave up just 155 yards through the air last week. Slay is coming off his first Pro Bowl appearance last season, a year in which he tallied 26 pass deflections and eight picks. Slay got his second interception of the year last week, picking off Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins. The former second-round pick may have had his best performance of last season against the Bears. Slay picked off Trubisky twice in the team's second matchup of the year and also tallied five tackled and three total pass deflections. Both Trubisky and Slay are young players making a name for themselves, and this could be a divisional matchup to watch between these two teams for many years to come.
