Dissecting Most Crucial Matchups in the Bears’ Week 13 Contest with Detroit
Published by Matt Eurich on November 25, 2014
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
After a 21-13 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 12, the 5-6 Chicago Bears are set to go back on the road in Week 13 to take on the 7-4 Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day.
The Bears’ win on Sunday helped move them into sole possession of third place in the NFC North division. The Lions are currently second in the division behind the 8-3 Green Bay Packers.
In order for the Bears to win on Thursday and stay afloat in the playoff race, they are going to need to win these crucial one-on-one battles against the Lions.
Kyle Long vs. Ndamukong Suh
There are few defensive players in the league who strike more fear into their opponents than Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh.
The second overall pick of the Lions back in 2010, Suh has been a force in the middle of Detroit’s defensive line since he entered the league.
A three-time Pro Bowler, Suh demands extra attention from opposing offensive lineman each and every week. What makes Suh so dynamic is his unparalleled combination of size, speed and strength.
New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick had nothing but praise for Suh last week, telling the NFL Network, via Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com:
[Suh] changes everything. You can’t let him penetrate or he’ll foul the whole play up. You’ve got to secure him on the line of scrimmage and again, that’s a lot easier said than done because of his talent and also some of the different looks they give you. He’s very disruptive in both the running game and the passing game. He’s got great effort. He makes plays in pursuit and on the backside. So really there’s no weakness in his game.
On Thursday, Chicago’s second-year guard Kyle Long will draw the difficult task of trying to keep Suh away from quarterback Jay Cutler.
Long, the 20th overall pick of the 2013 draft, started all 16 games last season at left guard and was named to the Pro Bowl. He became the team’s first offensive rookie to be voted into the Pro Bowl since Gale Sayers in 1965.
He has started all 11 of Chicago’s games this season and is currently considered one of the best guards in the league by Pro Football Focus.
Long squared off against Suh in two games in 2013 with Suh registering a sack against Long in their first meeting back in Week 4 last season.
Suh lined up directly in front of Long and used his quick first step to gain leverage immediately off the snap of the football.
Long appeared to have gotten some of the leverage back when he forced Suh to the outside, but Cutler rolled to his right and was unable to avoid Suh‘s reach. He was sacked for a loss of 10 yards.
In order for Long to keep Suh from wreaking havoc all afternoon, he is going to need to be fundamentally and technically sound all afternoon. Long’s biggest mistake against Suh in their first meeting was allowing Suh to dictate where he wanted to go. Long will need to be aggressive at the point of attack and use Suh‘s overaggressive nature against him. For Chicago to have any shot at taking down the first place Lions on Thursday, Long is going to need to keep Suh away from Cutler.
Tim Jennings or Kyle Fuller vs. Calvin Johnson
After injuring his ankle earlier this season and missing a handful of games, Detroit’s Calvin Johnson has been a full participant in the Lions’ last three games. Since returning to the lineup in Week 10 against the Miami Dolphins, Johnson has hauled in 16 catches for 230 yards and one touchdown.
Despite being held to just nine total catches in the last two games, Johnson still has the ability to break a game wide open.
In his return to the lineup in Week 10 against the Dolphins, he proved he still has the ability to beat cornerbacks deep down the field. Miami used 5’10” cornerback Brent Grimes against the 6’5″ Johnson for much of the afternoon. Johnson was able to take advantage of his height on his lone touchdown grab of the game.
Grimes lined up opposite of Johnson and played him roughly seven yards off the line of scrimmage. Johnson ran a corner route off the snap before cutting back to the inside on a post route.
Grimes was able to stay in stride with Johnson down the field, but Johnson’s size and strength were simply too much for the smaller cornerback to handle. The play resulted in a 49-yard touchdown for the Lions.
In 13 career games against the Bears, Johnson has hauled in 63 catches for 928 yards and seven touchdowns. For many of those games, Johnson squared off almost exclusively against cornerback Charles Tillman. With Tillman currently on injured reserve, Tim Jennings or Kyle Fuller will likely get the call on Thursday.
Fuller injured his knee against the Buccaneers this past Sunday, but NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reported after the game on Sunday that Fuller will likely not miss time with the injury.
The Bears did not practice on Monday afternoon, but if they had, Fuller would not have practiced, via Adam Hoge of TheGameChicago.com:
If Fuller is able to play on Thursday, he will likely get the first crack at slowing down Johnson. At 5’11”, Fuller stands three inches taller than the 5’8″ Jennings. If Fuller lines up against Johnson, expect him to try to play more man coverage and get physical with Johnson at the line of scrimmage. If Fuller is unable to go, Jennings will likely play off Johnson in zone coverage and rely on his speed and instincts to slow him down.
If Jennings or Fuller can be physical with Johnson from the start, they may be able to keep him from running up and down the field on Thursday afternoon.
Matt Forte vs. DeAndre Levy
Even when the Bears have struggled to find stability on offense this season, running back Matt Forte has been as consistent as they come.
Through 11 games this season, Forte has rushed for 822 yards on 196 carries with five rushing touchdowns. In addition to his productivity on the ground, Forte has also hauled in 72 catches for 598 yards with three receiving touchdowns.
Other than a couple of strong performances on the ground, Forte has been up and down against the Lions in his last six games.
Despite his recent performances against the Lions, he has proven this season he is one of the league’s most versatile running backs. Even though he takes a pounding from week to week, he remains one of the NFL’s most durable running backs.
“I have been in this league a long time and I haven’t seen a running back take as many snaps as he does in a game,” said left tackle Jermon Bushrod about Forte, via Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune (subscription required).
According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Forte currently leads all running backs with 692 snaps this season.
According to Wiederer, Forte has a chance to break two records against the Lions on Thanksgiving Day. Forte currently needs three catches to break his career high of 74 catches and needs just 10 receiving yards to break Walter Payton’s team record of 607 receiving yards in a season by a running back.
Detroit linebacker DeAndre Levy is going to do his best to make sure Forte does not break those records on Thursday afternoon.
Levy has been a tackling machine for the Lions this season. In 11 games he has registered 106 tackles, and Pro Football Focus currently lists him as the league’s second-best outside linebacker with a plus-20.3 grade.
What makes Levy so effective against the run is his ability to move laterally and disrupt plays to the outside, via Sports Illustrated’s Aaron Nagler:
While he has excelled against the run this season, Levy has struggled at times in pass coverage. According to Pro Football Focus, he has allowed 57 catches for 520 yards with one touchdown this season.
If Forte struggles to pick up yards in the running game against Detroit, do not be surprised to see the Bears try to get Levy on Forte in passing situations to exploit his struggles against the pass.
Record/statistical information provided via email from the Chicago Bears or NFL.com.
Matt Eurich is an NFL/Chicago Bears Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and a member of the Pro Football Writers of America.
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