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NFL schedule 2020: Biggest game for all 32 teams

By Mike Phillips

MIAMI, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 02: Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs looks to pass against the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV at Hard Rock Stadium on February 02, 2020 in Miami, Florida. The Chiefs won the game 31-20. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 02: Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs looks to pass against the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV at Hard Rock Stadium on February 02, 2020 in Miami, Florida. The Chiefs won the game 31-20. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /
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DENVER, CO – DECEMBER 22: Kenny Golladay #19 of the Detroit Lions celebrates after scoring a third-quarter touchdown after a catch against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field on December 22, 2019, in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO – DECEMBER 22: Kenny Golladay #19 of the Detroit Lions celebrates after scoring a third-quarter touchdown after a catch against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field on December 22, 2019, in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) /

Detroit Lions: vs. Chicago Bears

The Detroit Lions were really two completely different teams last season. Early in the year, it looked as if the Lions could be a sneaky playoff contender, nearly topping the Kansas City Chiefs and starting out with a 2-2-1 mark that could easily have been 5-0 with a bit of better luck.

Everything changed when Matthew Stafford hurt his back. The issue sidelined Stafford for the rest of the season and the Lions never won again after he went down, sending Detroit spiraling towards the third-worst record in football.

Embattled head coach Matt Patricia has spent the offseason retooling his defense, signing Desmond Trufant as well as former Patriots Danny Shelton and Jamie Collins while dealing away Darius Slay. The moves should help, but the Lions still need to make significant inroads in the NFC North, where they went 0-6 a year ago.

A good place to start would be scoring some wins against the Chicago Bears, who appear to be the closest in talent level to Detroit right now. The Bears have made a string of questionable offseason moves and have an open quarterback question after trading for Nick Foles to push Mitchell Trubisky following the latter’s sophomore slump.

The Lions lost both of their meetings to the Bears by a combined 11 points and that was with Jeff Driskel under center. If Stafford is healthy this time around there is no reason why the Lions can’t at least score a home win over Chicago this season.

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