Getty Bo Scarbrough runs against Washington.
The Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears will finish off the 2019 edition of their rivalry with a game on Thanksgiving Day, and it will be a battle to see which side manages to overcome their issues the most in order to grab a much needed win.
When the sides last met, Chicago managed to put away a narrow 20-13 win over Detroit that was fueled largely due to the incompetence of the Lions defense and offense. Since that game, the Bears have been average, but the Lions have seen a major dip in their play and have nosedived a bit.
So what will be the key this time around? Here’s a look at the top matchups that will decide the game on Thanksgiving.
Mitch Trubisky vs. Lions Secondary
This season, it’s been no secret how bad Trubisky has played. The Lions allowed him to have one of his better games of the season a few weeks back, where he threw for 173 yards and 3 touchdowns on the day. Typically, Trubisky hasn’t been this good, but he gets the advantage of going up against a Detroit secondary which is once again dinged up in a huge way given the likely losses of Tracy Walker and Rashaan Melvin. It will be important for the Lions to find a way to slow Trubisky down a bit considering his struggles and the poor job their secondary has done most of this season. Simply put, the Lions can’t let him dominate again.
Bo Scarbrough vs. Chicago’s Front
The Bears didn’t face Scarbrough, Detroit’s resurgent young running back, the last time the teams played and still managed to surrender 98 yards on the ground to Detroit. With Scarbrough now in tow and having rushed for an impressive 153 yards and 1 touchdown in his first two games in Detroit, Chicago will have a big challenge ahead as it relates to stuffing the tough runner. It will be interesting to see if Scarbrough can get going against a division rival in a significant game. If he can, the Lions offense could benefit huge.
Kenny Golladay vs. Bears Secondary
The last time the teams met, Golladay didn’t do much outside pulling down a deep touchdown which got the Lions into the game late and managed to make things interesting. The last few weeks, Golladay has been up and down with the emergence of Jeff Driskel at quarterback, and it would be wise for the Lions to try and work him into the mix. The Bears will try and shut him down, but Detroit needs to find a way to target Golladay and get more big plays from him. It will only help a struggling offense to get into the end zone more.
Devon Kennard vs. Bears Front
The Lions will likely be down Trey Flowers again, and without him, there is simply no way to know if the team will be able to rush the quarterback. One guy who’s been good at that has been Kennard, who has had another solid season for the Lions in terms of being explosive as an edge player who can press the pocket a bit and cause mistakes. The Lions will need Kennard in a big way for this game to expose some trouble up front for the Bears and their offensive line. The bad news? Minus Kennard making a big impact, it will be hard to project who will get any pressure, seeing as the Lions struggled with that in Washington. It the Bears shut him down, it could be another long day for the defense.
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