bb (CBS) — The Bears got a break last week with the bye and that means you got a break from the anxiety-inducing play of a team that now has just five games left on the schedule.
But will the Bears be saying goodbye to Justin Fields at the end of the season?Here are three things to watch when the Bears host the division-leading Lions Sunday.
Thing number one is, as expected, QB 1. It’s more so what we’re watching from Fields as he comes down the home stretch of season number three. The last time we saw him, Fields was throwing screen pass after screen pass (13 total) in an offense that went east and west more than north and south. So against the Lions defense we know loves to blitz, we’ll get to see if he can take a step forward by throwing downfield with more regularity. Even if the Bears have already planned that Fields won’t be their starter next season, he’s still auditioning for the rest of the league.
The second thing to watch is the turnover margin. The Bears built a 12-point fourth quarter lead in the last meeting with Detroit because of four Lions turnovers. But the Bears only scored 10 points off those turnovers and despite being plus-3 in turnover margin found a way to lose late. It’s imperative the Bears not only continue to get takeaways but actually capitalize on them. The defense has been better of late. It’s time to see if it can maintain those improvements from now until the end of the season.
And our final thing to watch is the man that’s been orchestrating said defense. Justin Fields’ future isn’t the only one being evaluated thoroughly over the final five games. Matt Eberflus is coming off his first division win in 10 tries against the NFC North. A win over a 9-3 Lions team fighting for the one seed and a playoff bye would by far be the best of his tenure. The defense has turned things around since he’s taken over. The question now is whether or not he can win enough to cool off what’s been a very hot seat all year long.
