The Chicago Bears received a piece of seemingly good news on Wednesday. Their division rival Detroit Lions, who will host them for the second-straight year on Thanksgiving, won’t be starting either of their top two quarterbacks. Matthew Stafford is dealing with a fractured back and now backup Jeff Driskel is ailing with a hamstring issue. This leaves their holiday fate in the hands of undrafted rookie David Blough.
Detroit traded for him back in the offseason when it became clear the Cleveland Browns, whom he originally signed with didn’t have plans to keep him. He’s remained their third-stringer ever since. To date, he’s yet to throw an NFL pass and had two touchdowns and two interceptions during his work in the preseason. So it would be easy for the Bears to believe they have high odds to win this game despite it being on the road.
However, they would be wise to take this kid a little more seriously. Despite his inexperience, Blough does have a track record of surprising people. A perfect example came just last season when he led underdog Purdue against powerhouse Ohio State and stunned the Buckeyes 49-20. It was easily the biggest upset of the season. One that Blough led directly with 378 yards pass and three touchdowns.
David Blough has everything to gain and nothing to lose
One also can’t deny that if anybody will be playing loose in this game, it’s Blough. Expectations won’t be much lower than they are. The Lions are a bad team and virtually out of the playoff picture. If they lose, it’s not like he’ll be blamed for it. He’s a rookie thrust into a rough situation. All of the pressure is squarely on the Bears. They have a better, healthier team. Blough can just go out and play. They still have the burden of hope on their side.
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Chicago needs their defense to do their jobs and be what they’ve been all year. A top 5 unit. If they play at that level and they can get 20 points out of the offense, they should win this football game. If they all show up assuming this will be a cakewalk, history suggests they’re going to have a bad time and Blough will be the one to spark it.
