Detroit Lions vs. Chicago Bears – Syndication Server

Lions pass rush vs. Bears pass protection: Something’s got to give

Something’s got to give in battle between Detroit’s injury-ravaged D and Chicago’s bad blocking and Caleb Williams’ terrible sack rate

The Chicago Bears have a very real problem with pass protection. The Detroit Lions, thanks to injuries, have a problem rushing the passer of late.

Something’s got to give when the two square off in Soldier Field on Sunday.

Detroit’s pass rush has fallen off since the team lost starters Marcus Davenport, Derrick Barnes and (especially) Aidan Hutchinson in a four-week period. The Lions rank 26th in sack percentage and 23rd in QB pressure rate, but those figures fall to 27th in sack rate and 30th in pressure rate since Hutchinson was lost.

Now the Lions roll into Chicago without their top remaining rusher, DT Alim McNeill. It’s hard to quantify just how much that will impact the Lions pass rush, but consider he’s been responsible for almost exactly 20 percent of the team’s QB pressures over the last five weeks. Needless to say, it’s not a good development.

If ever there was a fortuitous time for the dilapidated Lions defense to make a statement, it’s facing the Chicago Bears. Losers of eight games in a row, their inability to protect rookie QB Caleb Williams, as well as Williams’ own inability to protect himself, has been one of the big reasons for the losses.

No current starting quarterback gets sacked more frequently than Williams, who averages going down on every ninth dropback. Over the last four weeks, which includes the first meeting between the two NFC North rivals, Williams has been both sacked and pressured more frequently than any other quarterback. Chicago allows a sack rate over 12 percent in that timeframe, despite ranking in the middle of the pack (18th) in pressure allowed rate.

From NFL Inside Edge, the sack rate for starting QBs:

In the Thanksgiving meeting in Detroit, the Lions sacked Williams five times and recorded 16 QB hurries (per PFF) on 44 dropbacks by the Bears offense. In the two games since, the Lions have recorded one sack and the 21st-ranked pressure rate in the league. And that was with McNeill!

The Bears pass protection gave and the Lions defense took in that last meeting. If Detroit can win that battle of give/take on Sunday, it will go a long way toward helping the Lions to get back on the winning path.

Terrion Arnold’s performance against the Bears is a beautiful problem for the Lions defense

Whenever looking at the analytics for a player after a game, I never take it at face value. The data that gets charted on a player’s performance is a nice tool to have, but it doesn’t always tell the real story. That happens to be the case for Lions rookie cornerback Terrion Arnold after playing the Bears last week.

Looking at the data pulled from Pro Football Focus (PFF), Arnold was rated as one of the bottom-5 defenders for the Lions defense last week. He earned a 46.1 overall grade and has an overall grade of 49.5 this season.

However, when studying the tape against the Bears, it tells a different story about Terrion Arnold and his performance. Meanwhile, the Lions are faced with a beautiful problem with Arnold and his importance to the Lions’ defense. Let’s dive into some tape to look at what went right and what went wrong for Arnold on Thanksgiving!

That first career INT is coming for Lions CB Terrion Arnold. On this play, he’s comfortable using a trail technique with Kerby Joseph over the top. This puts him in a great position for any route that breaks in, out or back to the QB. #OnePride pic.twitter.com/ChyFf74JXD

— Russell Brown (@RussNFLDraft) December 3, 2024

Starting with what could have been the first career interception for Terrion Arnold, we go with the play above. Looking at that play, you’ll see see the Bears come out under center with their ’12’ personnel (one running back and two tight ends).

Playing with outside leverage on the bottom of the screen, you’ll see Arnold. Once the ball is snapped and the receiver releases up the field, you’ll see Arnold right behind the receiver. Using a trail technique, Arnold is in a great position to undercut a pass vertically down the field but he’s also in a good position to jump any route that breaks in, out or back to the quarterback.

In this instance, the wide receiver appears to be running some type of comeback or curl route. However, Arnold is in great position and is all over the route. Unfortunately, the ball is thrown somewhat lower than expected and Arnold isn’t able to get a hold of the ball for the interception. The good news is that Arnold was there and he made a great play on 2nd down.

Lions CB Terrion Arnold playing with outside leverage and forcing the WR to release inside. Unfortunately, he falls for the double move to the inside from Rome Odunze and he gives up a passing window to the outside. DC Aaron Glenn was not happy. #OnePride pic.twitter.com/8ft9RHrjVq

— Russell Brown (@RussNFLDraft) December 3, 2024

Next, I want to focus on what could have been for Terrion Arnold. The play above could have been a huge play that would have prevented the Bears from scoring a touchdown on the following play.

Looking at the play above, you can see Arnold at the bottom of the screen and he’s playing with outside leverage. By playing with outside leverage, he forces Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze to release inside. This is good for Arnold because he’s got safety Kerby Joseph playing over the top and inside with potentially some expectation of jumping an inside route such as a post, dig or slant.

The unfortunate reality is that Arnold bites on the head fake to the inside and this gives Bears quarterback Caleb Williams a passing window to the outside. Despite being right there, the ball is completed for the first down and the Bears get the ball inside the Lions 10-yard line for first-and-goal. Had Arnold been able to break this pass up, it would have been a huge stop for the Lions on 3rd down.

As you can see, the data will paint one picture but the film paints another. There was a lot of good to come from Terrion Arnold in this game against the Bears. Personally, I think it was his best game as a rookie and that’s promising for a Lions defense that has been depleted by injuries and is currently dealing with a knee and thumb injury for the cornerback opposite of Arnold in Carlton Davis.

Against the Bears, Arnold was credited with giving up 2 receptions for 6 yards despite being targeted 6 times. He did record one tackle and a pass deflection in this game. Overall, it was a good bounce back performance for Arnold after missing the Colts game with a groin injury.

For us fans, we need to remain patient with Terrion Arnold. Meanwhile, he needs to continue to stay patient and disciplined when dropping into coverage. If he does, good things will turn into great things for him and the Lions defense.

Detroit Lions Podcast: Bisch and Brown preview the Lions and Bears on Thanksgiving

The Detroit Lions are fresh off their 9th straight and 10th win of the season! On Sunday, they beat the Indianapolis Colts by a score of 24 – 6 but it sure felt like that the Lions could have won by more. To break that game down, Russell Brown and Scott Bischoff are back for another episode of Bisch and Brown on the Detroit Lions Podcast!

On this episode, the guys discuss the following:

Lions beat the Colts 24 – 6 but doesn’t it feel like the Lions left some meat on the bone after this one?
Injuries are piling up for the Lions. What’s the latest with Taylor Decker, Carlton Davis, David Montgomery and others?
Lions vs. Bears Preview on Thanksgiving!

The guys get into all that and more! You can rate, review and subscribe to the Detroit Lions Podcast on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and all other podcast platforms!

Top takeaways from film review of the Lions’ Week 14 loss to the Bears

Top takeaways from film review of the Lions’ Week 14 loss to the Bears, with notes on Goff, the pass rush, replacement players and more

This week’s Detroit Lions film review was not a happy experience. Some weeks when the Lions lose, there are enough positives and circumstantial developments that watching the All-22 can make me feel better about the loss. Not this week, not this team’s performance in Chicago. If anything, I felt even worse about the Lions’ 28-13 loss to the Bears.

Normally I do the film review package as a “What I learned from…” piece, but this week I wanted to instead focus more on the “quick hits” portion of those breakdowns.

Stock report following the Lions Week 14 Loss to the Bears

It was a bear market for too many Lions in the ugly loss to Chicago

This is about as bad as the Lions have looked this season and could very easily be winless against the Bears this year. They had to have a comeback victory a few weeks ago when they hosted them but the success the Bears had was duplicated and this time they finished the job. With the score being 29-13, this game couldn’t have been further apart if you watched it.

The offense looked lost with play-caller Ben Johnson seemingly looked lost. The defense looked like they were playing on a playground having each member do their own thing. All of it wrapped up creating one of the worst games of the year and could be a sign of things to come.

It wound up being a bear market in Chicago for Detroit on the stock report.

Snap count notes from the Lions Week 14 loss to the Bears

Lions snap count notes on the RB mix, DL rotation, Hutchinson never leaving the field, rookies and more from the loss in Chicago

It’s always interesting what stories the snap counts from a game tell about a team. For the Detroit Lions in the Week 14 loss to the Chicago Bears, it shows a team that made some questionable personnel choices.

Take the running back splits. David Montgomery played just 23 of the Lions’ 65 offensive snaps. Jahmyr Gibbs has taken over the lead-back role lately and that was reinforced in Chicago, with the rookie playing 41 snaps. Both Gibbs and Montgomery rushed for 66 yards in the game. Third RB Craig Reynolds played one. Montgomery played just one of Detroit’s 11 snaps in the third quarter.

Blocking was stable in this one. Kayode Awosika got the starting nod at right guard with Graham Glasgow playing center for the injured Frank Ragnow. The entire starting line played all 65 reps. Extra tackle Dan Skipper was on the field for five. Blocking tight end, James Mitchell played 11 snaps and still hasn’t seen one passing game target for the entire season.

Jameson Williams continues to grow into the No. 2 receiver role, trailing only Amon-Ra St. Brown (57) in snaps with his 38. That’s two more than Josh Reynolds, who led the Lions in receiving in Week 14 with three catches for 44 yards and a touchdown. Williams got one target and one handoff in his time on the field.

Defensive end Aidan Hutchinson continues to play almost every snap. In this game, Hutchinson played 64 of the 71 defensive reps, a 90 percent rate. Hutchinson played very well and is in tremendous physical shape, but leaning on a pass rusher to go for 90 percent of the snaps is asking a lot. It’s a reflection that the team doesn’t trust the defensive front without its top player.

The EDGE snap count breakdown:

Hutchinson: 64

John Cominsky: 50

Julian Okwara: 17

Romeo Okwara: 8

Isaiah Buggs got the majority of the Alim McNeill replacement reps at DT, playing 43 of the 71 available snaps. Rookie Brodric Martin didn’t record a stat, but he was on the field for six snaps in his first action since Week 8. Levi Onwuzurike also failed to record a stat in 14 reps.

Kindle Vildor made his Lions debut in the secondary with 17 reps. Some of those came at the expense of Jerry Jacobs, who played 53 snaps, or 75 percent. Veteran safety Tracy Walker did not play on defense, only appearing on special teams.

Two defenders only played one snap: LB Malcolm Rodriguez and DB Will Harris. Rodriguez did not appear at fullback in this game.

Lions rookie report: How they fared vs. the Bears in Week 14

Breaking down how the Detroit Lions rookies fared vs. the Bears in Week 14

The Lions as a whole right now are struggling with a lot, the rookie class is part of that. While some have had flashes of excellence, the bunch collectively is finally playing like rookies. Which is okay, apart from it coming down the stretch of the season when the team should be out of this phase.

Jahmyr Gibbs has been Mr. Reliable since coming out of Alabama and being drafted 12th overall in April. Sam LaPorta has been on a feverish pace set to break some records as well but there are weeks he has disappeared.

On defense, Jack Campbel has been consistent but some glaring mishaps have let some big plays happen, especially against mobile quarterbacks. Brian Branch has been dealing with injuries but when he he has been on the field he has also fashed brilliance.

The class in general will be fine but they have hit some roadblocks in recent weeks. Sunday’s game against the Bears was arguably the worst of the lot of them.

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Quick takeaways from the out-of-tune Lions in their loss to the Bears

Quick takeaways from a bad Detroit Lions loss in Chicago in Week 14

The Detroit Lions made some awful music in Week 14. Given a chance to dance to a potential division title as road favorites in Chicago, the Lions instead played out of tune and got run off the stage.

Cue the Limp Bizkit.

“It’s just one of those days”…

It certainly was one of those days when the Detroit Lions made their fans want to break stuff. A sloppy, discordant Lions team froze on the chilly stage in Soldier Field, falling 28-13 to the Chicago Bears in a game that strikes a troubling tune for Dan Campbell’s team.

Rollin’ the takeaways…

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Studs and Duds for the Lions in their Week 14 loss to the Bears

Here are this week Detroit Lions’ Studs and Duds from their road loss against the Chicago Bears

In the midst of their playoff push, the Detroit Lions aimed to advance in both their division and the broader NFC playoff standings. Unfortunately, they faced setbacks as they appeared underprepared and undisciplined in this week’s matchup against the Chicago Bears, resulting in a disappointing 28-13 loss.

Despite a commendable second quarter, the Lions were ill-equipped to handle the Bears on both offense and defense. The offense struggled to establish sustainable momentum, while the defense faltered in making crucial stops to force the Bears off the field. The team has been on a downward trajectory lately, prompting the need for a thorough examination of their challenges and a concerted effort to correct course for a successful postseason run.

While this week’s performance may not offer much to highlight, let’s delve into the Studs and Duds from the Lions’ loss to the Bears.