Lions vs. Bears: Chicago expert picks Detroit to win

With the Detroit Lions welcoming the Chicago Bears to Ford Field in front of a Thanksgiving audience, we head behind enemy lines for some insider intel.

The Detroit Lions were beaten by the Chicago Bears 34-22 in the Windy City a mere two weeks ago. Between now and then, what has changed? Outside of some key injuries on both sides, not much for either team.

Still, the Lions are coming off a surprising win over the Carolina Panthers and have won three games at home. For Thanksgiving, Detroit will welcome Chicago to Ford Field. And in preparation for the holiday matchup, we went behind enemy lines to ask five questions of Mike “Boomer” Burzawa, contributor for BearGogglesOn.com, FanSided’s Chicago Bears fan site.

1. After all the offseason additions, have the Bears finally found their identity? 

MB: After years of struggling to find themselves, I think the Bears finally have a plan and an identity.  That’s a credit to GM Ryan Pace. Pace was hired a few years ago, but was “assisted” in selecting his first head coach, John Fox, by outside consultant Ernie Accorsi.

Translation – Pace didn’t really get to pick his first head coach.  The John Fox experience was a big bust, and Pace was given a chance to hire his head coach, plucking a ripe and ready Matt Nagy off the Andy Reid tree. So far, so good.

Now the Bears have a coach and quarterback who are aligned. They’ve tailored the offense to take advantage of Mitch Trubisky’s strengths and move the ball downfield aggressively. They play complementary football with an aggressive, relentless defense spearheaded by last-minute addition Khalil Mack. He has been a game-changer for the Bears defense, elevating the entire defense.