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Chicago Bears’ Season On the Line vs. Detroit Lions On Thanksgiving

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The headline isn’t anything new. The Chicago Bears have to win seven straight games to have a shot at the playoffs. So far, that winning streak is two. To stay grounded in reality, beating the Minnesota Vikings and Tampa Bay Buccaneers at home isn’t commendable, it’s expected.

Chicago now travels to the Motor City to take on the Detroit Lions in a game where they find themselves a touchdown underdog. The Bears haven’t been able to beat a good team this season, except for their miraculous second-half comeback against the San Francisco 49ers, but they have a chance to prove themselves this week against the 7-4 Lions.

The Bears are catching the Lions at the right time. Detroit has lost two straight games, and even before that, they won their previous three games by a combined six points. The Lions can’t run the ball, and their passing game has not been what it was expected to be this year. Their defense has been excellent, but it might have been exposed last week by the New England Patriots.

This is a chance for a statement game from the Bears. The Bears have to win two more games, this week and next week against the Dallas Cowboys, before anyone can even think about making the playoffs, but a win against Detroit would prove that the embarrassing losses against the Patriots and Green Bay Packers were the exceptions, not the rule.

Both teams are going to struggle to run the ball, but Chicago is going to have to keep Matt Forte involved if they have any chance to win. If they can’t get the ground game established, then they need to establish Forte frequently in the passing game.

The Bears’ pass defense is porous, and Matthew Stafford is going to have a chance to have a big game on Thursday.

Calvin Johnson is the key to this game. Johnson missed a month due to injury and hasn’t been himself since he returned. He has caught nine passes for 117 yards with zero touchdowns total in the Lions’ last two losses. If the Bears can keep Johnson from becoming Megatron, the Bears will have a legitimate shot; but you can believe Stafford and Johnson are drooling at the chance to hook up on several big plays and crush this secondary, much like Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers did.

I think Jay Cutler and the Bears are going to have a good game offensively, looking much better than they did last week against Tampa Bay. The Bears really haven’t had an overall good performance since Oct. 12 against the Atlanta Falcons, but I think Chicago has one of the better performances of the season still up it’s sleeve.

The line is seven, and I think the Bears definitely cover and keep this game close. But I also think Johnson and Stafford break out and it’s a little too much for the Bears to handle. I think the Bears’ season ends at Ford Field on Thursday. Lions 31, Bears 27.

Bill Zimmerman is a Chicago Bears writer for www.RantSports.Com. Follow him on Twitter, like him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google.

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