Alliance... » The Chicago Bears have a rare opportunity

LAKE FOREST White Mike Singletary Jerseys , Ill. (AP) — to beat the Detroit Lions and pick up a victory over an NFC North opponent.As accomplishments go, those seem rather modest. Then again, consider their recent history.The division-leading Bears have a chance to check off two more boxes when they host the struggling Lions on Sunday.They have lost nine of the past 10 games against Detroit and have dropped 10 in a row to division opponents heading into their matchup at Soldier Field.Since the start of the 2014 season, Chicago is 4-21 against the NFC North. But these Bears aren’t those Bears.Chicago (5-3) hit the halfway mark with its best record in five years and sole possession of the NFC North lead for the first time since 2013. It’s a big change for a franchise with four straight last-place finishes. But the Bears have already matched their win total from last year and are making a push for their first playoff appearance since the 2010 team advanced to the NFC championship game.“There’s just so much ball left,” said coach Matt Nagy, in his first season. “For our team, we’ve won in different ways and we’ve lost in different ways. I think we’ve kind of learned different ways to do it. And when you lose, you try to figure out why and how to not let it happen again. When you win, you figure out why and how you can always improve and be better. I like where we’re at, but we understand we have a ways to go.”Chicago is coming off back-to-back wins over two struggling teams, with a 41-9 blowout at Buffalo after beating the New York Jets at home.Detroit (3-5) has dropped two in a row and last week’s 24-9 loss at Minnesota was particularly ugly. Matthew Stafford got sacked 10 times Mike Singletary Jerseys 2019 , and the Lions were held to single digits in points for the first time since a 17-6 loss to the New York Giants on Dec. 18, 2016.They also traded wide receiver Golden Tate to Philadelphia prior to the Vikings game, and they fired special teams coordinator Joe Marciano on Monday night.“Definitely have to learn from some of those things that we’ve done in the past that haven’t been up to par or haven’t been good enough, and try to minimize those or eliminate them as we go forward,” coach Matt Patricia said. “That’s the most important thing.”Here are some things to know about the matchup:ON THE MENDThe Bears might get star outside linebacker Khalil Mack (ankle) and top receiver Allen Robinson (groin) back from injuries.Both players missed the past two games. But they went through full practices on Wednesday. Tight end Adam Shaheen might also return from a foot injury he suffered in the preseason.ANSAH BACKThe Lions got a boost last week with the return of defensive end Ziggy Ansah.He had a sack in the second quarter that forced the Vikings to settle for a field goal, after missing six games because of a shoulder injury. Having Ansah back means more pressure on the quarterback and maybe better luck stopping the run. The Lions rank 30th in that area.“We’ve just got to set an edge and whoever has got a gap to be in, they’ve just got to be in there,” Ansah said. “Just play fundamental and be able to execute.”FAMILIAR FOESThe Bears are about to meet the Lions twice in a 12-day span, with a Thanksgiving matchup at Ford Field and a primetime Sunday game against Minnesota at home in between.This three-game run facing the NFC North comes after four in row against the AFC East. Chicago hasn’t played a division team since a 24-23 season-opening loss at Green Bay, when it blew a 20-point lead against an injured Aaron Rodgers.STRUGGLING STAFFORDAfter a solid stretch, Stafford has struggled a bit the past two weeks with 13 sacks and a 90.3 rating. He had ratings above 100 in each of the previous five games.“He’s been with the Lions for all of his career and he has a great group of receivers White Gale Sayers Jerseys , and for some reason they’re not putting games together,” Bears cornerback Prince Amukamara said. “But they’re still a great team and I know for a fact we won’t take them lightly.”GETTING OFFENSIVEWhile a defense that ranks fifth overall has gotten much of the credit, the Bears insist their offense is doing its part.Though Trubisky has been wild at times, his rating (96.1) is similar to Stafford’s (96.5). Chicago also ranks fifth in the NFL in scoring. The good news is that the team is already in a solid place. The bad news is that barring a trade, Ryan Pace will not draft until the third round, and the Bears have a number of big contracts coming up. This means that options for the Bears to improve are suddenly limited. To that end, Windy City Gridiron has been discussing what the top priorities for the Bears should be between this season and next. For first part addressed lesser priorities.Now it’s time for what the contributors and the community identified as the real problem areas. Before going on, however, it’s necessary to quote Lester Wiltfong to get some perspective: “In my opinion the top 3 priorities for the Bears aren’t very critical to the team’s success. This is a young team that is still ascending, and as long as they continue to draft and develop well, they’ll be able to overcome any free agent losses.”With that context out of the way Gale Sayers Jerseys 2019 , here are the top two priorities for the Bears to be able to sustain their success. #2: Defensive BackThis was an unpopular choice among the community, with cornerbacks and safeties together garnering only 5% of the vote. Part of that probably has to do with the quality of the secondary as it exists. The problem, of course, is that it might not exist on that level for long. This might be why it was one of the top concerns among the contributors.Concerns over Adrian Amos and Bryce Callahan both being free agents next season jumped this position group into second place as a priority. Here is what we had to say about the position.Lester said this about what he called the top priority for the team in the offseason: Callahan is undoubtedly one of Ryan Pace’s best finds, and the fact that he was brought in as an undrafted free agent makes his addition to the team all the more enjoyable (and finding him all the more impressive). Many agreed with Lester, and Erik offered the following analysis: This lead him to assign the defensive back position the second-highest priority overall.Meanwhile, WhiskeyRanger disagreed, but not when it came to priorities. Instead, while he felt that cornerback was the second-highest need, he offered this bit of wisdom:Andrew Link, on the other hand White Walter Payton Jerseys , thought that the secondary was the single most important area of emphasis. I like the secondary the Bears have put together, and simply keeping it together should give them a solid foundation for the future.#1: Offensive Line60% of those polled felt that either tackle or guard was the spot that most needed attention in the offseason. Most of the contributors felt that one of these two positions (or some other area of the line) was one of the top two priorities for the team. In other words, there is general agreement that the O-line needs work soon.The man who writes Sackwatch offered the following thoughts: Like Lester, Andrew Link thought that the O-line was the second-highest priority, although he chose to focus on the right side: WhiskeyRanger was even more worried about the line, calling it the top priority: It is probably not surprising that our resident optimist, ECD, thought that the line was at a lower priority, and he provided reason for hope: Those are our thoughts on the what the Bears need to sustain their success. What are yours?