Thursday’s NFL Matchups
CHICAGO (3-7) AT DETROIT (0-9-1)
KICKOFF: 12:30 p.m. FOX
OPENING LINE: Bears by 3, according to FanDuel SportsBook.
AGAINST THE SPREAD: Bears 4-6; Lions 6-4.
SERIES RECORD: Bears lead 103-75-5.
LAST MEETING: Bears beat Lions 24-14 on Oct. 3 at Chicago.
LAST WEEK: Bears lost to Ravens 16-13; Lions lost to Browns 13-10.
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Bears QB Andy Dalton. The 11-year veteran is starting in place of injured rookie Justin Fields. Dalton filled in for Fields when he hurt his ribs last week. Dalton was 11 of 23 for 201 yards and two TDs against Baltimore . ... Lions RB D’Andre Swift. Swift had a career-high 136 yards rushing last week and has run for 266 yards and a TD over the last two games. He leads all RBs with 53 receptions.
KEY INJURIES: Bears WR Allen Robinson (hamstring) may return after missing a game. … DT Akiem Hicks (ankle) did not practice Tuesday after being out against Baltimore. … CB Duke Shelley (hamstring) went on IR. … S Eddie Jackson (hamstring) practiced on a limited basis, taking steps toward playing for the first time since Oct. 31 against San Francisco. … Lions QB Jared Goff missed the previous game with an oblique injury and coach Dan Campbell was encouraged on Tuesday that he could return to play this week. … DE Da’Shawn Hand (groin) was placed on IR.
STATS AND STUFF: Chicago has lost five straight under embattled coach Matt Nagy, who said a report that he has been told he will no longer coach the team after Thursday’s game is not accurate. … Chicago had a six-game losing streak last season, then bounced back to make the playoffs as the seventh seed in an expanded field. … Chicago has lost four-plus games in a row in three straight seasons. … Nagy is 6-1 against Detroit and 25-26 against every other team in four seasons with the Bears. …. The Bears have never fired a coach during a season. … Chicago has 31 sacks, tying for the league lead with Minnesota at the start of the week. The Bears had a total of 10 sacks the past two weeks after going two games without one. … LB Robert Quinn had a career-high 3½ sacks last week, giving him 10 this season after he had just two in 2020. … Detroit is the NFL’s only winless team and has a 14-game streak without a victory, dating to that December victory at Chicago.