The Chicago Bears faced the prospect of their season going down in flames this Sunday. There is no question they have to beat the Detroit Lions. Style points no longer matter. Every game counts. The problem is they would have to face arguably the hottest quarterback in the league in Matthew Stafford who has 10 touchdown passes in his last three games. If he weren’t surrounded by a rather average team, he’d be in MVP conversations. Stopping him with an ailing defense and anemic offense certainly looks difficult.
However, recent news has changed the outlooked. At least somewhat. Ian Rapoport reported that there is a concern inside the Lions’ building that Stafford might not be able to go and is a game-time decision. The veteran QB has dealth with hip and back problems lately and it appears those issues might’ve flared up over the course of this week. Given his track record, one thinks Stafford will battle through it but this makes it seem like the team isn’t willing to risk the only player keeping their season afloat.
That said, Detroit is 3-4-1. Another loss would all but kill their playoff hopes in what is a stacked NFC. This is why Stafford may decide to play, even if it’s at less than 100%.
Chicago Bears will have to hit Stafford if he does play
If Stafford does not play, it will fall to backup David Blough to fill the void. He’s a rookie undrafted free agent out of Purdue who has done little in his career to this point, having not played at all. While mobile, he doesn’t come across as the most proficient passer. Then again the Bears have been humiliated by woeful backups plenty of times in the past. Besides, they don’t have the luxury of not taking him seriously.
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If Stafford does play, the objective should be obvious. Make him as uncomfortable as possible and hit him a few times to test out those hip and back issues.
