Can the Chicago Bears end their losing streak on Sunday? The Detroit Lions come to town for a NFC North showdown

The Chicago Bears (3-6) take on the Detroit Lions (2-6) at Solider Field on Sunday at Noon. The Bears will look to try to end their two game losing streak and get their first win versus a NFC North opponent. The Lions are coming into the game trying to continue their winning ways after beating the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. Here is a position by position breakdown of the Lions:

Quarterback: Jared Goff got off to a great start this season and after four games he had 11 touchdowns passes, 4 interceptions and averaging 282 passing yards per game. However since week 4, he has 3 touchdowns, 4 interceptions and averaging 228 passing yards per game. Goff’s record as the Lions starting quarterback is 5-16-1 and the Lions could trade or release Goff after the season with only a $10 million dollar salary cap hit. Currently, the Lions would have the 5th overall pick in the upcoming draft which is stocked with college quarterbacks that are thought of highly by NFL scouts.

Running Back: Coming into the season, the Lions had planned to rely on D’Andre Swift to be their breakout star on offense however the third year has only played five games this season due to ankle and shoulder injuries. When Swift has played, he has been great as he is averaging 7.3 yards per attempt. Swift is questionable for the game Sunday vs the Bears.

Jamaal Williams has stepped into the starters role and has provide some quality production. Williams has eight rushing touchdowns this season which is only behind the Titans Derrick Henry and Browns Nick Chubb. The Lions have rushed for over 100 yards in seven out of eight games this year. The Bears have the second-worst rush defense in the league and the Bears need to be prepared to deal with this successful rushing attack of the Lions.

Offensive Line: Despite some draft failings in the past, the Lions have done a great job of drafting and developing their offensive line. Four of the five starters that have played the most snaps this season were drafted by the team. This unit has allowed only 13 sacks which is the fourth fewest in the league. In addition, the Lions rank in the top ten in run block win rate this season and as mentioned before has only had one game that they rush for less than 100 yards.

The star of this group is center Frank Ragnow. Ragnow has only allowed one sack this season and only committed one penalty this season. He ranked in the top ten for highest run block for a center this past week. The Lions rushing attack starts up front and the Bears defensive line will need to be ready for this offensive line on Sunday.

Wide Receiver: The passing game of the Lions got off to a great start this season however in two out of the last three games the passing game has failed to surpass 200 passing yards. The leading receiver for the Lions is Amon-Ra St. Brown who also leads the teams in target, receptions and receiving touchdowns. Last season, St. Brown set the franchise rookie record for receiving yards and lead the Lions in receiving in 2021.

This season, he has had the only 100 yard receiving game for the Lions this season. The other two wide receivers Josh Reynolds and Kalif Raymond have lead the Lions in receiving in three and two games respectively this season. This group of wide receivers is nothing like the explosive group of wide receivers that the Bears faced last week vs the Dolphins.

Tight End: The Lions just traded TJ Hockenson to the Vikings at the NFL trade deadline. Hockenson was second on the team in receiving yards and led the team in yards per reception. Hockenson who was drafted 8th overall in the 2019 Draft had an inconsistent career with the Lions and was due to make more than $9 million dollars next season which played a factor in him being traded.

Tight End Brock Wright who started at times when Hockenson was injured made the start vs the Packers on Sunday. Wright got one target however his back up Shane Zylstra did catch a touchdown pass from Goff on Sunday. The Bears have held seven out of eight tight ends they have faced this season to less than 40 yards receiving this season and should have no problem with these two tight ends.

Defensive Line: The Lions have the second fewest sacks in the league and this defensive line has been dreadful and only has one player who has more than one sack and more than two tackles for loss. The star of this defensive line has been rookie Aidan Hutchinson. Hutchinson leads all rookies in the NFL in sacks, quarterback hits and pressures. He leads the Lions in all of those categories as well.

But the rookie defensive lineman has struggled with consistency after getting three sacks vs the Commanders in Week 2, Hutchinson has struggled to beat the double teams that he is seeing now as the only viable pass rusher the Lions have.

As I mentioned earlier, the Lions would have the 5th pick in this year’s draft and they could go after one of the highly regarded defensive lineman such as Alabama Will Anderson and Georgia defensive lineman Jalen Carter.

Linebackers: The Lions have second worst rush defense in the league and are giving up 148.8 rushing yards per game. The team had one of their best performances of the season versus the Packers giving up 108 yards rushing which is the second fewest rushing yards they have allowed all season. One of the best players in that game was linebacker Derrick Barnes. Barnes lead the tackles with 12 and added a sack as well. He was also graded the best run stopper by PFF from the game on Sunday.

The Lions linebackers have struggled with mobile quarterbacks this season giving up 90 rushing yards to Jalen Hurts in Week 1 and gave up over 40 rushing yards to Geno Smith and Aaron Rodgers. Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell has vowed to have a spy on Justin Fields on Sunday to decrease his rushing yards and opportunities.

Secondary: This unit, has underperformed as well with inability to get takeaways and cover any wide receivers. Even though the Lions got 3 takeaways on Sunday versus the Packers, they still gave up 283 yards passing to Aaron Rodgers. The secondary is giving up 8.1 yards per attempt which is the worst in the league and 268.5 yards per game.

Earlier this season, the Lions fired defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator Aubrey Pleasant after the loss to the Dolphins. The Bears should be able to move the ball through the air against this atrocious secondary.

Kicking: Kicker Coming into the season, Austin Seibert was the kicker however he was released from the team after missing two field goals versus the Vikings. Michael Badgley is the now the starter and has brought some stability and consistency to the position. Badgley has made all of his field goal and extra point attempts since becoming the starting kicker in week after 7 vs the Cowboys. Badgley was on the Bears roster earlier this season because of absence of Cairo Santos to deal with a personal issue and made four field goals for the Bears in the lost to the Giants in Week 4.

Punter Jack Fox is tenth in the league with 49.1 yards per punt and the Lions have given up 185 return yards which is the fifth worst in the league. The weather on Sunday is expected to be clear with a wind of 10 MPH so the kicking game should not be affected by the weather.

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Can the Chicago Bears end their losing streak on Sunday? The Detroit Lions come to town for a NFC North showdown

The Chicago Bears (3-6) take on the Detroit Lions (2-6) at Solider Field on Sunday at Noon. The Bears will look to try to end their two game losing streak and get their first win versus a NFC North opponent. The Lions are coming into the game trying to continue their winning ways after beating the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. Here is a position by position breakdown of the Lions:

Quarterback: Jared Goff got off to a great start this season and after four games he had 11 touchdowns passes, 4 interceptions and averaging 282 passing yards per game. However since week 4, he has 3 touchdowns, 4 interceptions and averaging 228 passing yards per game. Goff’s record as the Lions starting quarterback is 5-16-1 and the Lions could trade or release Goff after the season with only a $10 million dollar salary cap hit. Currently, the Lions would have the 5th overall pick in the upcoming draft which is stocked with college quarterbacks that are thought of highly by NFL scouts.

Running Back: Coming into the season, the Lions had planned to rely on D’Andre Swift to be their breakout star on offense however the third year has only played five games this season due to ankle and shoulder injuries. When Swift has played, he has been great as he is averaging 7.3 yards per attempt. Swift is questionable for the game Sunday vs the Bears.

Jamaal Williams has stepped into the starters role and has provide some quality production. Williams has eight rushing touchdowns this season which is only behind the Titans Derrick Henry and Browns Nick Chubb. The Lions have rushed for over 100 yards in seven out of eight games this year. The Bears have the second-worst rush defense in the league and the Bears need to be prepared to deal with this successful rushing attack of the Lions.

Offensive Line: Despite some draft failings in the past, the Lions have done a great job of drafting and developing their offensive line. Four of the five starters that have played the most snaps this season were drafted by the team. This unit has allowed only 13 sacks which is the fourth fewest in the league. In addition, the Lions rank in the top ten in run block win rate this season and as mentioned before has only had one game that they rush for less than 100 yards.

The star of this group is center Frank Ragnow. Ragnow has only allowed one sack this season and only committed one penalty this season. He ranked in the top ten for highest run block for a center this past week. The Lions rushing attack starts up front and the Bears defensive line will need to be ready for this offensive line on Sunday.

Wide Receiver: The passing game of the Lions got off to a great start this season however in two out of the last three games the passing game has failed to surpass 200 passing yards. The leading receiver for the Lions is Amon-Ra St. Brown who also leads the teams in target, receptions and receiving touchdowns. Last season, St. Brown set the franchise rookie record for receiving yards and lead the Lions in receiving in 2021.

This season, he has had the only 100 yard receiving game for the Lions this season. The other two wide receivers Josh Reynolds and Kalif Raymond have lead the Lions in receiving in three and two games respectively this season. This group of wide receivers is nothing like the explosive group of wide receivers that the Bears faced last week vs the Dolphins.

Tight End: The Lions just traded TJ Hockenson to the Vikings at the NFL trade deadline. Hockenson was second on the team in receiving yards and led the team in yards per reception. Hockenson who was drafted 8th overall in the 2019 Draft had an inconsistent career with the Lions and was due to make more than $9 million dollars next season which played a factor in him being traded.

Tight End Brock Wright who started at times when Hockenson was injured made the start vs the Packers on Sunday. Wright got one target however his back up Shane Zylstra did catch a touchdown pass from Goff on Sunday. The Bears have held seven out of eight tight ends they have faced this season to less than 40 yards receiving this season and should have no problem with these two tight ends.

Defensive Line: The Lions have the second fewest sacks in the league and this defensive line has been dreadful and only has one player who has more than one sack and more than two tackles for loss. The star of this defensive line has been rookie Aidan Hutchinson. Hutchinson leads all rookies in the NFL in sacks, quarterback hits and pressures. He leads the Lions in all of those categories as well.

But the rookie defensive lineman has struggled with consistency after getting three sacks vs the Commanders in Week 2, Hutchinson has struggled to beat the double teams that he is seeing now as the only viable pass rusher the Lions have.

As I mentioned earlier, the Lions would have the 5th pick in this year’s draft and they could go after one of the highly regarded defensive lineman such as Alabama Will Anderson and Georgia defensive lineman Jalen Carter.

Linebackers: The Lions have second worst rush defense in the league and are giving up 148.8 rushing yards per game. The team had one of their best performances of the season versus the Packers giving up 108 yards rushing which is the second fewest rushing yards they have allowed all season. One of the best players in that game was linebacker Derrick Barnes. Barnes lead the tackles with 12 and added a sack as well. He was also graded the best run stopper by PFF from the game on Sunday.

The Lions linebackers have struggled with mobile quarterbacks this season giving up 90 rushing yards to Jalen Hurts in Week 1 and gave up over 40 rushing yards to Geno Smith and Aaron Rodgers. Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell has vowed to have a spy on Justin Fields on Sunday to decrease his rushing yards and opportunities.

Secondary: This unit, has underperformed as well with inability to get takeaways and cover any wide receivers. Even though the Lions got 3 takeaways on Sunday versus the Packers, they still gave up 283 yards passing to Aaron Rodgers. The secondary is giving up 8.1 yards per attempt which is the worst in the league and 268.5 yards per game.

Earlier this season, the Lions fired defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator Aubrey Pleasant after the loss to the Dolphins. The Bears should be able to move the ball through the air against this atrocious secondary.

Kicking: Kicker Coming into the season, Austin Seibert was the kicker however he was released from the team after missing two field goals versus the Vikings. Michael Badgley is the now the starter and has brought some stability and consistency to the position. Badgley has made all of his field goal and extra point attempts since becoming the starting kicker in week after 7 vs the Cowboys. Badgley was on the Bears roster earlier this season because of absence of Cairo Santos to deal with a personal issue and made four field goals for the Bears in the lost to the Giants in Week 4.

Punter Jack Fox is tenth in the league with 49.1 yards per punt and the Lions have given up 185 return yards which is the fifth worst in the league. The weather on Sunday is expected to be clear with a wind of 10 MPH so the kicking game should not be affected by the weather.

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Dalen Terry struggles to find playing time with the Bulls and he’s been assigned to the G-League

The Chicago Bulls made a move not many could see coming, moving their 18th overall selection in this past year’s draft to the Windy City Bulls, the team’s G-League affiliate. Considering the minutes that Terry had been receiving since the start of the season the move doesn’t come as too much of a surprise.

Dalen Terry appeared in just seven games for the Bulls so far this season, averaging just 3 minutes, and .6 points per game according to ESPN.  

Unfortunately for Dalen Terry, he joined a Bulls team this season that was already heavy in the guard department. The team has 6 guards that receive consistent playing time, not including the impending return of Lonzo Ball. With that many guards getting playing time it was hard for the rookie to find a spot in the rotation.

Did the Bulls make the right decision with Dalen Terry?

This does beg the question of whether the Bulls should have used such a high draft spot on a position they were already so heavy on. Instead of going in a different direction like drafting a front-court player like Jake LaRavia, a 6 foot 7 inch power forward who was drafted 19th overall in the 2022 NBA Draft. LaRavia could have helped stretch the floor with his three-point shooting, shooting 52% from behind the line this season.

Or if many remember the Bulls were heavily involved in rumors of acquiring Rudy Gobert, before he was eventually traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves.Considering the substantial package that Gobert was traded for, I don’t think it was necessary a bad decision not to trade for him.

However, it does make you wonder if there was another trade that could have been made like a Jerami Grant of the Portland Trailblazers for instance. Grant was traded from the Detroit Pistons for a future first round pick and three second rounders, a trade that the Bulls could have probably topped.

Only time will tell for the Bulls and Terry if the right selection was made, this isn’t the kiss of death for a player like Terry. Hopefully, he can get into a nice groove with the Windy City Bulls and be called back up whenever needed.

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Class 8A: No. 5 Glenbard West at No. 9 Maine South, 6 p.m. Saturday

Junior Julius Ellens has been a revelation for Glenbard West (10-1). Running behind a big, experienced line anchored by Wisconsin-bound tackle Chris Terek, he made a splash with 242 total yards and five touchdowns in a Week 1 victory at Marist. In a victory last week against Glenbrook South, Ellens ran for 312 yards and five more TDs. Maine South (9-2) has won seven in a row and has pitched playoff shutouts against Bolingbrook and South Elgin. The Hawks’ offense got a boost when quarterback Ryan Leyden returned from an injury layoff for the postseason.

8A: No. 8 Warren at No. 3 Lincoln-Way East, 1 p.m. Saturday

As usual, Warren (10-1) has a dominant defense, allowing less than 10 points per game. The Blue Devils also have a capable back in Charley Thompson and an effective quarterback in Adam Behrens. Thompson averaged 10 yards per carry and scored three TDs last week against Andrew. Behrens is an Arizona State baseball recruit who returned to the football team for his senior season. Lincoln-Way East (11-0) is in the quarterfinals for the ninth time in the last 10 postseasons, but it has a bigger goal: its third state title since 2017. Quarterback Braden Tischer and running back James Kwiecinski lead a diversified offense, and linebacker Jake Scianna and sophomore end Caden O’Rourke are playmakers on defense.

Class 7A: No. 15 Brother Rice at No. 1 Mount Carmel, 6 p.m. Saturday

It’s the second consecutive season these South Side and CCL/ESCC Blue teams will meet in the Class 7A quarterfinals. Rice won 41-28 last season, but most of the key pieces of that team — including quarterback and Sun-Times Player of the Year Jack Lausch — have graduated. But don’t underestimate these Crusaders (7-4), who lost 28-21 to Mount Carmel in Week 6. Mount Carmel (11-0) has one of the best big-game quarterbacks in the state in Blainey Dowling and a defense that has held eight opponents to single digits. Linemen Asher Tomaszewski and Danny Novickas are headliners on that unit.

7A: No. 6 St. Rita at No. 12 St. Charles North, 1 p.m. Saturday

St. Rita (9-2) has won eight in a row, and its only losses were to the top two teams in the area (Mount Carmel and Loyola). In coach Todd Kuska’s 25th and final season before retirement, the Mustangs are two victories away from their third consecutive trip to the state finals. Junior back DJ Stewart has emerged as a dependable leader for the offense. St. Charles North (10-1) won the DuKane, one of the deepest conferences in the state, and hasn’t lost since falling in Week 1 to Class 8A quarterfinalist Palatine. Two-way standout Drew Surges had more than 200 all-purpose yards, two TDs, an interception and a forced fumble last week against Hoffman Estates.

Class 5A: No. 23 Morgan Park at No. 24 Nazareth, 1 p.m. Saturday

Morgan Park (10-1), in the quarterfinals for the first time since 2007, has plenty of playmakers. Among them are two-way standout Tysean Griffin, quarterback Marcus Thaxton (1,656 yards, 21 TDs), receiver Chris Durr (11 TDs) and linebacker Jovan Clark (91 tackles, 12 tackles for loss). Nazareth (7-4) played one of the toughest schedules in the state and has gone 6-1 after a 1-3 start. Two-way star Justin Taylor, a Wisconsin recruit, and sophomore quarterback Logan Malachuk are players to watch.

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LOS ANGELES — With a two-year contract in hand, Colin Blackwell entered the season with the Blackhawks poised to take the next step in his long, impressive journey to establish himself in the NHL.

So far, though, he hasn’t taken that next step. And he accepts that fact — and takes responsibility for the reasons behind it.

“I definitely haven’t gotten off to a start that I personally would’ve liked,” Blackwell said. “I have a lot more to give, and I take the onus for that. There’s a lot of ‘look in the mirror’ type of things that I can do better. I have to own up to some of the mistakes I made. But, at the same time, I have confidence in myself. I wouldn’t be here today if that wasn’t the case.”

Blackwell re-entered the Hawks’ lineup Thursday against the Kings — positioned on the fourth-line wing next to Reese Johnson and Boris Katchouk — for the first time in 11 days. He had been healthy-scratched by coach Luke Richardson for three consecutive games.

That benching came after a stretch of game-altering errors. With the Hawks leading the Sabres in the third period Oct. 29, Blackwell had two opportunities to clear the puck out of the defensive zone along the right-side wall. He failed both times, Tage Thompson scored seconds later and the Sabres rallied to win in overtime.

The next night against the Wild was even worse. Blackwell was responsible for both first-period goals the Hawks conceded.

On the first play, he twice anticipated zone exits and cheated up the ice for breakout passes that never came, then lost track of Matt Boldy as he slipped behind the Hawks’ defense and scored. On the second play, he lost inside positioning on — and failed to keep pace with — Mason Shaw, who scored on an easy rebound tap-in.

“It’s just a mental breakdown,” Blackwell said. “It’s about falling into our team structure and trusting that some other things are going to happen so I can be that safety valve. I was trying to do a little too much, and that’s how those breakdowns happen. I didn’t think I did a great job, from a ‘layer’ perspective, of being there for other guys. Those are little things that happen throughout the course of the game, but I had a big one, and it cost us.”

The Sabres and Wild produced 16 scoring chances to the Hawks’ five during Blackwell’s five-on-five ice time that weekend. For the season overall, Blackwell’s 32.8% on-ice scoring-chance ratio ranked 400th among 408 forwards leaguewide entering Thursday.

“He’s just over-trying sometimes,” Richardson said. “[He’s] back-checking and trying so hard that you’re not really aware of what’s coming behind you. . . . We showed him all that. He’s a pro, and he knows that. But it’s good to see it and talk about it.”

One month doesn’t define a player, and Blackwell has two full years of stellar defensive results with the Rangers and Kraken to prove he can succeed in this role.

He’s also a good penalty-killer, speedy forechecker and eager shot-blocker — all positive traits that Richardson said the Hawks will “welcome back.” He simply needs to flush away October’s bad memories and start anew.

“It happens to everybody,” Richardson said. “And there will be a 10-game stretch [later on] when he’s feeling like the top of the world and everything is going right for him. We just want to get him in that right mindset to go out and play free and do his job right.”

Added Blackwell: “If I clean up some of those things and continue my general work ethic and stuff I was bringing to the table beforehand, good things will come.”

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