NFL experts giving Bears virtually no chance to beat Lions

My how times have changed in the NFC North.

The Chicago Bears (3-7) are huge … huge … underdogs in Week 11’s matchup against the Detroit Lions (7-2), and for good reason.

The Lions might be the best team in the NFC. They have as good a chance as any club in the conference to go to the Super Bowl.

Meanwhile, the Bears are staring down the barrel of a potential coaching change and more quarterback drama if they don’t win more games than they lose over the season’s final seven weeks.

So, yeah, it should be no surprise that NFL experts are all-in on the Lions this week, 98% are picking Detroit to win.

Chicago Bears fans shouldn’t be insulted by that number, but it still feels weird to be such big underdogs against the Lions. Except for a few good seasons between the Barry Sanders and Matthew Stafford eras, Detroit has usually been the doormat of the NFC North. Now, they’re the gold standard while the Chicago Bears try to claw back to relevancy.

The only way the Bears will get there is if Justin Fields plays a consistent brand of football in what might be his last seven-game chance to prove he’s Chicago’s franchise quarterback. A stong effort against the Lions will be a great way to kick it off.

Justin Fields was amid a two-game heater before struggling against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 6, he was knocked out of that game with a dislocated right thumb that kept him shelved for four games.He’s appeared in six games this season, completing 61.7% of his passes for 1,201 yards, 11 touchdowns and six interceptions. He’s run for 237 yards and one score, too.

Fields was the 11th overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft and was quickly embraced by Bears fans as the one true QB1. The honeymoon period is over, though, and fans (along with GM Ryan Poles and the rest of the front office) need to see results before committing another season of hope to the former Ohio State star.

A win over the NFC North-leading Lions in Week 11 could be the spark the team, Justin Fields, and the fans need.

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