Category: Regular Season

Detroit Lions Podcast: What does it take to win?

The Detroit Lions Podcast asks, and answers, what does it take for the team to win?

The latest episode of the Detroit Lions Podcast featuring Lions Wire’s Jeff Risdon as co-host is now available.

So here we are, 12 weeks into the 2021 NFL season, and the Detroit Lions have yet to notch a win. They’ve been close against teams that they shouldn’t even have been in games with. They’ve let games slip away against teams they should have beaten. In the last three games, no team has scored more than 16 points on them, and they’ve been outscored by only 5 points total. It feels like the Lions are close, but it remains possible that they just run out of time.

Detroit Lions Podcast Talks Wins

The Lions are facing NFC North rivals, the Minnesota Vikings this Sunday. In their last meeting as US Bank Stadium, the Lions were defeated with a last second field goal (a familiar story in the 2021 NFL season). Is Minnesota a team that the Lions can beat at home? Are there any teams remaining on the schedule that the Lions can find a win against? Where are the players right now?

The show is available on all your favorite podcast providers. You can stream the episode here, or also watch on YouTube.

6 Bears players who deserve Pro Bowl consideration

Let’s take a look at some Bears who should garner Pro Bowl consideration during their 2021 season.

The Chicago Bears have had a disappointing 2021 season, but that doesn’t mean there haven’t been some standout performers on the roster.

With the fan voting portion of the Pro Bowl underway through Dec. 16, fans can vote for their favorite players to make the NFL all-star roster. Fan voting counts as a portion of the final vote, which will also include votes from players and coaches.

Let’s take a look at some Bears who should garner Pro Bowl consideration for their 2021 season.

Bears OLB Robert Quinn named NFC Defensive Player of the Month

Bears OLB Robert Quinn had an impressive November, which garnered him NFC Defensive Player of the Month honors.

Bears outside linebacker Robert Quinn looks like a completely different player after his disappointing debut for Chicago last season. Not only does Quinn look every part the dominant defender the Bears believed they were signing, but he’s making a strong case for Comeback Player of the Year.

Quinn has been named the NFC Defensive Player of the Month for November, which is made even more impressive by the fact the Bears played just three games.

Quinn had 5.5 sacks and 5 tackles for loss in three games during November, and that was all without outside linebacker Khalil Mack, who landed on season-ending injured reserve with a foot injury.

Quinn has 11 sacks through 11 games, which is tied for the fourth-most in the NFL behind the likes of Myles Garrett, T.J. Watt and Matthew Judon. Quinn has been one of the Bears’ best defensive players this season and a huge part of the success of Chicago’s pass rush, which ranks second in the NFL with 32.

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LOOK: Bears rookie Justin Fields returns to the practice field

Here’s a look at Bears rookie QB Justin Fields, who returned to practice on Wednesday in a limited fashion.

As the Chicago Bears prepare to face the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, one of the big questions involves the status of rookie quarterback Justin Fields, who is nursing a rib injury.

Fields suffered cracked ribs in a Week 11 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, an injury that sidelined Fields for Chicago’s Thanksgiving game against the Detroit Lions.

There was encouraging news about Fields’ status for Sunday’s game against the Cardinals as Fields returned to practice Wednesday, although in limited fashion as Andy Dalton took starters reps in his place.

According to the Chicago Tribune‘s Dan Wiederer, Fields “looked better than I expected him to be” during the portion of practice open to the media. Wiederer said Fields “was moving around well and delivering the ball with normal zip.”

But Fields is far from in the clear for Sunday’s matchup, especially given the Bears will be facing a Cardinals defense that’s among the top pass rushes in the NFL.

If Fields isn’t 100 percent, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Chicago play it safe and roll with Dalton for a second straight week.

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Bears Week 13 injuries: Packed injury report from Wednesday’s practice

Here’s the Bears’ injury report from Wednesday’s practice, where there were several Bears starters who didn’t participate.

The Chicago Bears released their first injury report ahead of Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals, which featured a slew of key starters who didn’t participate in practice on Wednesday.

There were some familiar names on the injury report, including defensive tackle Akiem Hicks and wide receiver Allen Robinson, as well as some new names, including tight end Cole Kmet.

Here’s a look at the full injury report from Wednesday’s practice:

Bears QB Justin Fields will return to practice Wednesday

There’s some encouraging news about the status of Bears QB Justin Fields (ribs), as Matt Nagy said Fields will return to practice Wednesday.

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Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields suffered a rib injury in a Week 11 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, which sidelined the rookie for one week. But there’s an encouraging sign that Fields could make his return to the starting lineup.

Bears head coach Matt Nagy met with the media ahead of Wednesday’s practice, where he confirmed Fields will return to practice.

The distinction of limited or full participation was unclear until Nagy revealed that backup quarterback Andy Dalton will take starter reps during Wednesday’s practice, an indication that Fields will be a limited participant.

Fields suffered cracked ribs in that loss to the Ravens, which caused him to miss Chicago’s Thanksgiving game against the Detroit Lions. Still, the prognosis was positive as it was believed Fields wouldn’t miss too much time before returning.

Nagy also confirmed that linebacker Roquan Smith won’t practice Wednesday, which isn’t too much of a surprise after he suffered a hamstring injury last Thursday against the Lions.

We’ll know the full extent of Fields and other players when the Bears release their first injury report of the week ahead of Sunday’s game against the Cardinals.

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Chicago vs. Arizona: Which Cardinals player would you want on the Bears?

The Cardinals have a ton of talent on their roster, from Kyler Murray to DeAndre Hopkins. Which player would you want to steal for Bears?

The Chicago Bears (4-7) will host the Arizona Cardinals (9-2) on Sunday, where Chicago will be looking to upset Arizona to keep in the thick of the NFC wild-card race.

The Bears are coming off a narrow Thanksgiving victory over the winless Detroit Lions amid rumors and speculation about head coach Matt Nagy’s future. Still, they needed a last-second field goal by Cairo Santos to beat the worst team in the NFL, which isn’t exactly encouraging. The Bears are also banged up with quarterback Justin Fields still on the mend and linebacker Roquan Smith nursing a hamstring injury on top of injuries to defensive tackle Akiem Hicks and receiver Allen Robinson.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals are coming off a bye week, where they’re well-rested ahead of this matchup. Quarterback Kyler Murray and wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins are also expected to make their returns in this contest, which isn’t encouraging for a Chicago defense that could be down Smith and Hicks.

The Bears are early 7.5-point home underdogs against the Cardinals, according to Tipico Sportsbook. Which isn’t really a shock considering Arizona is the NFC’s top-ranked team and Chicago narrowly avoided losing to the Lions.

If the Bears hope to upset Arizona, there’s going to have to contend with a ton of talent on their roster, from Murray to Hopkins to outside linebacker Chandler Jones.

Which Cardinals player would you want to steal for the Bears?

VOTE!

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Bears signing CB Dee Virgin to their practice squad

The Bears are adding CB Dee Virgin to their practice squad after K Brian Johnson was signed by Washington.

The Chicago Bears are pretty thin at cornerback right now, and aside from Jaylon Johnson, there’s been nothing to write home about.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Bears are signing cornerback Dee Virgin to the practice squad. The transaction comes after Washington signed kicker Brian Johnson off Chicago’s practice squad.

Virgin has appeared in 21 games — all with the Detroit Lions — from 2018 to 2020, where he had 12 tackles and 1 forced fumbles. He’s also spent time with the Houston Texans (2017-18), Los Angeles Rams (2020) and New England Patriots (2021). Virgin ha splayed primarily on special teams.

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Bears-Lions saw uptick in viewership from previous year’s early Thanksgiving game

There wasn’t anything appealing about a Thanksgiving matchup between the Bears and Lions, but audiences still tuned in.

There wasn’t anything appealing about a Thanksgiving matchup between the struggling Chicago Bears and winless Detroit Lions. Except for maybe the appeal of seeing rookie quarterback Justin Fields on national television.

But even that wasn’t the case as the country was gifted Andy Dalton vs. Jared Goff as Fields dealt with a rib injury. Still, the lack of an appealing matchup didn’t deter people from tuning on on Thanksgiving.

In fact, Bears-Lions drew a bigger audience than you probably would’ve expected with approximately 26.7 million viewers across all platforms, which was up 14 percent from last years early Thanksgiving game between the Lions and Houston Texans.

Chicago was able to snap a five-game losing streak with a win over the hapless Lions amid drama surrounding the future of Bears head coach Matt Nagy, as rumors involving Nagy’s firing and unrest in the locker room surfaced.

While the win over Detroit might be enough to save Nagy’s job at present, it’s safe to assume that Nagy won’t be the Bears’ head coach next season following another disappointing season and for the sake of Fields’ development.

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Bears-Packers remains in prime-time slot for Week 14

The NFL is sticking with Bears-Packers on Sunday Night Football in Week 14.

The Chicago Bears aren’t exactly must-watch television this fall, despite what their four prime-time contests and Thanksgiving matchup against the Detroit Lions indicated.

With Chicago struggling at 4-7, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the NFL flex one of their remaining prime-time games, perhaps even a Week 14 showdown between the Bears and Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football.

But it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the NFL has decided to stay with Bears-Packers in prime time next week. Even with the rivalry being as one-sided as it’s been for years. The allure of the NFL’s oldest rivalry and quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers and Justin Fields is too much for the league to pass up.

The Bears are coming off a narrow victory over the winless Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving, which snapped a five-game losing streak, but they’ve got some tough matchups against the Arizona Cardinals and Packers on the horizon.

Despite Chicago’s 4-7 record, they’re still just one game out of the final wild-card spot in the NFC playoff hunt. That dream will either be dashed this weekend against the Cardinals or, with a miraculous upset, be kept alive.

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