Bears vs. Lions: What to Watch 4

KEY MATCHUP

Against a Bears defense that ranks fourth in rushing yards allowed per carry, Lions wide receivers Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones present the biggest threat even with David Blough starting at quarterback rather than Jeff Driskel. Bears cornerbacks Prince Amukamara and Kyle Fuller have been solid all season, but even at their best are vulnerable to two quality receivers like this.

Golladay, the St. Rita product, has 43 receptions for 792 yards (18.4 average) and eight touchdowns. Jones has 56 catches for 701 yards (12.5 avg.) and eight touchdowns. In six games against his hometown team, Golladay has 20 receptions for 306 yards (15.3 avg.) and two touchdowns, including a 47-yard touchdown in Week 10 at Soldier Field.

“It’s a dynamic duo,” defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano said. “They can take the top off. They’re great route runners. They’re competitive guys. You gotta do a great job of disguise. You gotta mix your coverages. You gotta play tight coverage. You want to try to jam and reroute when you can.

“Being on the road and playing indoors . . . it’s going to be a little bit different [than at Soldier Field]. I know they’re going to take a bunch of shots down the field to those guys. Golladay is one of the most targeted guys down the field in the league right now. We gotta do a great job. It will be a huge challenge for us.”

TRENDING

Since a 38-carry, 162-yard rushing outburst against the Chargers in Week 8, the Bears’ running game has reverted to form — an average of 70 yards per game and 3.1 yards per carry in their last four games.

It’s painfully obvious a consistently productive run game is the key to unlocking Matt Nagy’s offense. They’ll have another shot against a Lions defense that ranks 24th in rushing defense and 20th in yards per carry.

PLAYER TO WATCH

Second-year wide receiver Anthony Miller is coming off productive games against the Rams (six catches, 54 yards) and Giants (6-77). The last time he had back-to-back productive games — against the Saints (5-64) and Chargers (3-67), he had one target and no receptions against the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.

The Bears say he’s come around and is fully engaged in Nagy’s offense. A third consecutive game of even modest production would go a long way to confirming that.

X-FACTOR

When the Bears played the Lions in Week 10, they prepared for Matthew Stafford and got back-up Jeff Driskel. This week they prepared for Driskel and are likely to get David Blough, who will start in place of the injured Driskel (hamstring), according to an NFL Network report.

Blough is an undrafted rookie from Purdue who was with the Browns in the preseason and acquired by the Lions in a trade prior to the start of the regular season.

The Bears have not been beaten by a rookie quarterback since the Cowboys’ Dak Prescott in 2016 — a 31-15 loss at AT&T Stadium. They’ve faced the Giants’ Daniel Jones (last week), the 49ers’ Nick Mullens (2018), the Jets’ Sam Darnold (2018) and the Browns’ DeShone Kizer (2017) since then.