The Lions look to bounce back after their second loss of the season when they visit the Bears in Chicago.
Detroit is 12-2 on the year and coming off a thrilling 48-42 loss to the Bills. That loss snapped an 11-game winning streak for Detroit dating back to Week 3. The Lions beat the Bears 23-20 at home on Thanksgiving and split with Chicago last year after a 2022 sweep in favor of Detroit.
Chicago is 4-10 and out of the playoff picture with three games remaining. The Bears started the season 4-2 prior to the bye week but have lost eight straight games since. Chicago will be underdogs versus Detroit and Seattle, plus the finale at Green Bay, so chances are they finish 4-13 and have a top-five draft pick.
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Game Details and How to watch the Detroit Lions vs. Chicago Bears on Sunday
· Date: Sunday, December 22, 2024
· Time: 1:00 PM EST
· Site: Soldier Field
· City: Chicago, IL
· TV/Streaming: FOX
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Game odds for Steelers vs. Ravens
The latest odds as of Friday courtesy of DraftKings:
Moneyline: Detroit Lions (-305), Chicago Bears (+245)
Spread: Lions -6.5 (-115)
Total: 48.0
The opening spread has not moved an inch from Detroit -6.5 but the total has taken money at 46.5 to 48.0, passing the key number of 47. The Lions should be a hot ticket coming off a loss. The last time Detroit was coming off a loss was in Week 3 at Arizona and the Lions won 20-13.
Expert picks & predictions for Lions vs Bears
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Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports) likes the Detroit Lions to cover the -6.5 against the Bears:
“The Lions didn’t cover on Thanksgiving against the Bears in Detroit, but they did dominate that game for nearly three quarters (23-7 lead) before Chicago made a late push with 13 fourth-quarter points.
Detroit was a -9.5 favorite in the last meeting, so Chicago’s backdoor cover ruined a lot of Thanksgiving dinners, but I think this is a good spot to get back on the Lions wagon after the loss to Buffalo.
Detroit, Philadelphia, and Minnesota are all tied for the best record in the NFC with a 12-2 record, so the Lions can’t afford any mistakes down the stretch if they want the No. 1 seed.
In some interviews, it seemed like Bears’ players are checked out after this eight-game losing streak and the Lions seem more motivated than ever. I like the Lions to cover the -6.5 in Chicago and lean the first half spread of -3.5.”
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Detroit Lions vs. Chicago Bears team stats, betting trends
- Detroit is 9-5 ATS and 4-1 ATS as a road favorite.
- Chicago is 6-6-2 ATS and 4-1-1 ATS as the home team.
- As a home underdog, Chicago is 1-0-1 ATS this season.
- Chicago is 9-5 to the Under and 6-3 to the Under following a loss.
- Detroit is 7-7 on the total but 4-2 to the Under on the road and 4-1 to the Under as a road favorite.
- Caleb Williams has eight touchdowns and zero interceptions over the last four games.
- Keenan Allen has caught four of Williams’ eight touchdowns over the past four games, including one last week versus Minnesota.
- Jared Goff threw for season-highs across the board last week with 494 yards, five touchdowns, 59 pass attempts, and 38 completions.
- Jahmyr Gibbs had a season-low eight rushing attempts against Buffalo, but scored twice and will be the lead back with David Montgomery out.
- Amon-Ra St. Brown had a season-high 14 receptions, 18 targets, 193 yards, and scored a touchdown against Buffalo.
Quarterback matchup for Detroit vs. Chicago
Detroit: Jared Goff – Goff is having a career year with 30 touchdowns (second-most, 32), 3,759 yards (7th-most, 4,688), and a 71.4 completion percentage (best). With three games remaining, there is a good chance Goff sets career highs across the board in those three categories.
Chicago: Caleb Williams - Williams has struggled in parts of his rookie season, but 17 touchdown passes to five interceptions isn’t too shabby. Williams is on a stretch of eight touchdown passes to zero interceptions over the last four games. The rookie has 2,937 passing yards, so he will eclipse the 3,000-yard mark this weekend.
Lions and Bears injury update
Chicago’s OL Ryan Bates (concussion), RB Darrynton Evans (hamstring) and DE Gervon Dexter (knee) are all out, while S Tavarius Moore (questionable), RB Roschon Johnson (concussion), and OL Kiran Amegadjie (calf) are questionable.
For the Lions, LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin (neck), RB David Montgomery (knee), S Ifeatu Melifonwu (ankle), DE Brodric Martin (knee), LB Trevor Nowaske (concussion), DB Ennis Rakestraw (hamstring) and OL Christian Mahogany (illness) are out.
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