Knowing the Enemy: Bears vs. Lions Preview

The Chicago Bears must learn the roster, schemes, and tendencies of the Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, and Minnesota Vikings. In the NFL season, those divisional opponents make up 35% of the schedule. Division games matter more. That's why Bears On Tap is taking a more in-depth look at the Bears' divisional opponents heading into the 2024 NFL season, starting with the Detroit Lions.

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“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” - Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Detroit Lions Roster

On the most recent episode of Bears On Tap, we were joined by Ryan Mathews , the Senior Editor for Pride of Detroit . This article is heavily based on our conversation with Ryan.

2024 Detroit Lions Goals

After coming within one game of the Super Bowl in 2023, the primary goal for the 2024 Detroit Lions is to win the Super Bowl. Detroit features a talented roster that's been on the rise in recent years and appears to have finally arrived in 2023. The Lions' strength in the trenches should keep them in the picture for the next few seasons, at least.

Detroit Lions' Biggest Strength

The clear strength of the Lions' roster is the offensive line, which drives everything the team wants to do offensively. It all starts with Penei Sewell, who was recently named the second-best offensive tackle in the league by NFL executives, coaches, and scouts. Sewell is incredibly athletic and allows the Lions to use unique structures within their blocking concepts and scheme.

The Lions also have the eighth-best interior offensive lineman, according to the same ESPN survey , in Frank Ragnow. With the retirement of Jason Kelce, one could argue that Ragnow is the best center in the NFL. His toughness and grit are an embodiment of the culture that Dan Campbell has instilled in the Lions locker room.

In the offseason, the Lions lost right guard Jonah Jackson to free agency while adding Kevin Zeitler, one of the best pass-blocking guards in the NFL. There's some risk with Zeitler's age (34 years old), but he's continued to produce and remain healthy in recent seasons.

Detroit also features consistent starters Taylor Decker and Graham Glasgow at left tackle and left guard, respectively. Behind the starters, the Lions boast solid depth with Dan Skipper, Colby Sorsdal, and Christian Mahogany on the bench. The five players up front are the lifeblood of what the Lions excel at offensively. The group is the clear strength of the team and the primary hurdle the Bears will have to clear to beat the Lions twice.

Detroit Lions' Biggest Weakness

The most glaring weakness on the Lions' roster is the cornerback room. Detroit revamped its secondary in the offseason through trades, free-agent signings, and draft picks. The first addition was via trade, acquiring Carlton Davis from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in exchange for a third-round pick. The Lions then signed free agent Amik Roberston, formerly of the Las Vegas Raiders.

In the draft, the Lions used their first two picks to address the cornerback position. They selected Alabama's Terrion Arnold in the first round and Missouri's Ennis Rakestraw in the second round. On the outside, Carlton Davis and Terrion Arnold are expected to start.

While there's a lot to like in Arnold's draft profile, it's well-known that rookie cornerbacks tend to struggle early. Look no further than Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, who gave up 836 yards and nine touchdowns as a rookie. Stevenson did find his footing in the final third of the season, but it took time for him to acclimate to the speed of the NFL.

The nickel corner spot is a little more difficult to project. Early indications are that Amik Robertson should be the starting nickel, but he played outside more often in his career. Safety Brian Branch is also an outstanding option in the nickel, but the Lions want to find him a more permanent role at safety. The nickel situation seems fluid for now, but there are solid enough options available for the Lions.

Ultimately, the questions in this room aren't as much about talent as they are about familiarity and youth. As the biggest weakness on the roster, this is the area for the Bears to attack against Detroit. With the wideout trio of DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, and Rome Odunze, the Bears could take advantage of a younger, less familiar cornerback room in games against Detroit.

What Is the Lions' Offensive Scheme?

The Lions offense wants to bring physicality to your doorstep and kill you with 1,000 paper cuts. This offense is happy to pound the rock 30+ times in a game if they feel they have the mental and physical advantage. Within that run game, the Lions' offense is extremely diverse. Detroit features plenty of gap and zone concepts to keep opposing defenses guessing.

The Lions' talent up front and exotic run scheme allows them to find the most vulnerable areas of a defense and attack it on the ground. This is a coaching staff that's content with getting 4-5 yards on every play, and they have no shame in spamming the same concepts over and over until a defense proves it can stop it. Then, once opposing defenses get comfortable with the concepts they are seeing, the Lions will throw in a trick play for an explosive gain.

The offensive philosophy boils down to running the football on early downs to get to third and manageable, avoiding turnovers, and hitting the defense with explosive concepts off of those same looks. The powerful offensive line and gritty running style of David Montgomery make it all possible.

How to Attack the Lions' Offense

If you want to stop the Lions' offense, the first thing you have to do is stop the run on early downs without committing extra bodies. If you can achieve that, you can get to the Achilles heel of the offense, which is pressure up the middle.

It's not unique. Many offenses struggle to manage pressure through the middle of the offensive line. But with Jared Goff under center, it's a more limiting factor than it might be for some of the more physically talented quarterbacks around the NFL. Goff isn't a quarterback who excels off-schedule. He doesn't do well when forced to extend plays, use his legs, throw off-platform, or alter his arm slot.

Generating interior pressure is the key to getting the Lions pass offense off schedule, but it all starts with stopping the run without giving them easy answers in the play-action pass game. Last season, the Bears were able to stop the run and generate pressure with well-timed blitzes and simulated pressures. Continuing to do that will be the key to slowing down this Detroit offense.

What Is the Lions' Defensive Scheme?

Detroit's defensive scheme in 2024 should look much different than what we saw in 2023. Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn wants to be in press-man coverage, and they finally have the personnel in the cornerback room to do so. Last year, they didn't have the talent in the room to run their preferred scheme.

Additionally, the team will be able to commit more bodies to coverage due to the addition of defensive tackle DJ Reader (96 career starts). Last year, the Lions were committing linebackers to play near the line of scrimmage to limit teams on the ground. The addition of Reader makes their defensive line more capable of handling the line of scrimmage. The trio of Reader, Alim McNeill, and Aidan Hutchinson is right there with any defensive line in the league.

How to Attack the Lions' Defense

This is a defense that you want to attack with talent at the skill positions. The Lions have proven talent in the defensive trenches that will make them difficult to beat on the ground. But they're far less proven at the cornerback position. Pass-catching talents like DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, and Rome Odunze , among others, could pose a real threat to the Lions' defense.

Additionally, this defense has historically struggled with mobile quarterbacks. That seems likely to continue unless a player like Jack Campbell grows significantly in his reaction time. Fundamentally, Aaron Glenn doesn't believe in having a player on the field tied to spying on the quarterback. This opens the door for more mobile passers to pick up yards on the ground, especially when you pair that with man coverage.

While Caleb Williams is mobile enough, he isn't the same caliber of runner as Justin Fields. Williams can pose a threat on the ground, but he'll need to use that ability to set up throwing action downfield since he won't rip off the home-run plays on the ground we saw from Fields.

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