When I told my son about this game, he was adamant that the Lions were going to win. His reasoning was simple — Lions roar louder than Bears. He’s two, and in his world that’s all that matters. Detroit probably wishes it really were that simple. If it were, then there aren’t many teams that could beat a Lion. Sadly, though, it’s about football, not your spot on the food chain, and on that front the Lions are in a very tough spot. The truth is that this year they just haven’t been very good, and now they have nothing at all to play for.

The Bears, on the other hand, have a lot to play for. Chicago does not control their own destiny, but they are one of three teams that is alive for the sixth and final playoff spot. Their job is simple — they need to win this game and then hope that Green Bay beats the Vikings in the late afternoon game. If that happens then Chicago will be the No. 6 seed and would play at the winner of the NFC West next weekend.

Bears at Lions Betting Storylines

Any pride left for the Lions? - See what I did there? Lions. Pride. Lions live in a pride. My kid would have loved it even if you don’t. Bad pun aside, the question here is if the Lions are going to put up any fight at all. Last week they lost, but they played at least a little hard because they were committed to getting the single-season receiving record for Calvin Johnson. With that in the books, though, will they even show up? They have lost seven in a row, so they aren’t exactly in form. The difference between 1-7 and 0-8 in their last eight is insignificant, and changes are coming in bulk regardless of how this game turns out. Therefore, it’s hard to see how they come into this game particularly motivated. They have lost their last two and eight of nine to Chicago, so it’s not like the rivalry serves as a significant motivator, either. At this point I would be surprised if Detroit puts up a fight.

Will the Bears roar? - If Detroit isn’t likely to show up, then will the Bears be poised to take advantage? They should be highly motivated because their playoff berth is on the line. Often, though, we see teams misfire when they should be ready to explode — especially if they don’t control their own destiny. Before beating up on the hopeless Cardinals last week, Chicago has lost five of six, and hadn’t shown a lot of resilience or grit in bouncing back from setbacks, so their strength here is far from certain. At this point they would be backing into a wild card spot instead of earning the division title they thought they were on track for two months ago.

Banged up Chicago secondary - If Detroit does decide to play, then they could do some real damage against a banged up Bears’ secondary. Corner Charles Tillman is questionable. Corner Tim Jennings should play, but he’s struggling with a shoulder injury that could limit him. Safety Chris Conte tweaked his hamstring last week and will be limited. There are going to be depth concerns and opportunities for the Lions to exploit, and since Matthew Stafford has a decent shot at surpassing 5,000 yards passing in this game (he needs 305 yards, which is below his season average), he could be able to exploit it. The problem, though, is that Stafford has struggled to convert those yards into points, so even if he does exploit the Bears that might not be enough.

Bears at Lions NFL Odds and Betting Trends

The game opened with the Bears favored by three points. It can still be found at that price, though with 75 percent of support coming in on the Bears the line will likely be on the move. The total opened at 44.5 and has been stable at that level to this point.

The Bears have gone “under” in their last six games against their NFC North foes. The Lions are 0-4 ATS in their last four games following a straight up loss. Chicago has won four of the last five meetings between the teams but is just 1-4 ATS over that stretch.

Bears at Lions Betting Predictions and NFL Picks

I don’t really like the Bears, and I don’t think they deserve to be a playoff team. There is no way I could justify picking against them here, though. I have absolutely no faith that the Lions will show up in this one, and even if they do I don’t think they are good enough to keep this one close. Picking Chicago may be a public pick in this one, but it is also an easy pick.

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