Julius Peppers needs to have a big game against the Detroit Lions

Despite Peppers having a big fumble recovery for a touchdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers last Sunday night, he still needs to have a big game against the Detroit Lions.

He reached Big Ben a couple of times but couldn’t get him to the ground as Roethlisberger was able to avoid the pressure or shake away from him. This weekend he’ll have the chance to get his hands on Detroit’s starting quarterback Matthew Stafford.

Peppers has done fairly well against the Lions, probably the best team he’s played against since joining the Chicago Bears. In 10 games against the Detroit Lions in his Chicago Bears career, he’s had 11 sacks, five forced fumbles and recorded two fumbles.

It’s a battle of first place and right now the Packers are on a bye week, so if the Bears want to keep momentum on their side in the division, they’re going to need to defeat the Lions tomorrow. With Burleson being out, this offense should more than likely key on Calvin Johnson and Reggie Bush if Bush is available to play.

Burleson and Stafford were on the same page early this season until Burleson recently broke his arm and is now inactive. Burleson currently leads the Lions in receiving with 239 yards on 19 receptions with a 12 yard average. So this Sunday Peppers and company are going to focus on applying consistent pressure on Stafford, forcing him to make mistakes.

Chicago is looking like a playoff team early on once again, they just need to tighten up their secondary and continue to do what they’re doing on the offense and should be able to reach the playoffs with ease.