Chicago (3-3) at Detroit (3-3)

 

VIDEO PLAYLIST

• Bears Leave Motown Atop the NFC North

SCOUTING REPORT

Garcia faces tough challengeDetroit head coach Steve Mariucci made it clear that Jeff Garcia is the starting quarterback, after Garcia led the Lions to a victory over Cleveland last week. However, Mariucci may not feel as strongly about his quarterback situation following this game. Garcia faces a Chicago defense that hasn't surrendered a touchdown in either of its last two games and held Detroit to just six points the first time these two teams played. While QB Joey Harrington is clearly struggling, the Lions also need their running game and pass protection to show significant improvement. That will prove difficult going up a against a very strong Chicago defense. The Bears' gameplan may not be pretty, but it's been effective and don't expect the team to fix what's not broken. Chicago will come out running the ball with RB Thomas Jones, in an effort to take pressure of QB Kyle Orton and keep the talented defense well rested. It will be up to the Lions to force them out of that gameplan, so Jones can expect to see plenty of eight-man fronts once again.

· Full Scouting Report

Matchup
	W-L	PF	PA	HOME	ROAD	DIV	CONF
CHI	11-5	260	202	7-1	4-4	5-1	10-2
DET	5-11	254	345	3-5	2-6	1-5	3-9
· Complete Standings

Individual Leaders

Chicago Passing   CMP% YDS TD INT Cutler 61.7 2524 15 18 Hanie 50.0 3 0 0

Detroit Passing   CMP% YDS TD INT Staffo... 55.2 1911 11 14 Culpep... 56.5 384 1 2

Chicago Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD Forte 157 516 3.3 3 Cutler 26 122 4.7 1

Detroit Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD Smith 162 560 3.5 3 Morris 38 141 3.7 1

Chicago Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD Hester 52 614 11.8 3 Bennet... 40 511 12.8 0

Detroit Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD Johnso... 39 597 15.3 2 Pettig... 29 334 11.5 2

Full Player Stats: Chicago | Detroit

TEAM AVERAGES & NFL RANKS
TEAM OFFENSE	TEAM	PER GAME AVERAGE
Total Yards	CHI	256.0
	DET	270.0
Yards Passing	CHI	125.1
	DET	178.0
Yards Rushing	CHI	131.2
	DET	91.9
TEAM DEFENSE	TEAM	PER GAME AVERAGE
Yards Allowed	CHI	281.8
	DET	322.4
Pass Yds Allowed	CHI	179.5
	DET	194.9
Rush Yds Allowed	CHI	102.3
	DET	127.5

HEAD TO HEAD MATCHUPS (SINCE 2001)
Chicago leads 6-4
Sep 18, 2005	CHI 38, @DET 6
Dec 26, 2004	CHI 13, DET 19
Sep 12, 2004	CHI 16, @DET 20
Nov 9, 2003	CHI 10, DET 12
Oct 26, 2003	CHI 24, @DET 16
Nov 24, 2002	CHI 20, @DET 17
Oct 20, 2002	CHI 20, DET 23
Dec 30, 2001	CHI 24, DET 0
Dec 2, 2001	CHI 13, @DET 10

Chicago (3-3) at Detroit (3-3), Sunday 1:00 pm EST

DETROIT (Ticker) -- Coach Steve Mariucci is not about to let Joey Harrington face the Chicago Bears again.

Jeff Garcia will make his second straight start at quarterback Sunday when the Detroit Lions host the Bears in a battle for first place in the NFC North.

The Bears intercepted Harrington five times in a 38-6 victory over the Lions on September 18 at Soldier Field. Cornerback Nathan Vasher had two picks and safety Mike Brown returned an interception 41 yards for a touchdown.

But Mariucci has made the switch from Harrington, who had a porous passer rating of 55.6 this season, to Garcia before last week's game at Cleveland. After recovering from a broken leg in the preseason finale, Garcia completed 22-of-34 passes for 210 yards and scored on a one-yard run to lead the Lions to a 13-10 win.

Now Garcia will face a defense that has yielded an NFC-low 11.3 points per game. The Bears have not allowed a touchdown in their last two games - wins over Minnesota (28-3) and Baltimore (10-6).

Chicago limited Baltimore to 12 first downs, held Jamal Lewis to 34 yards on 15 carries and recorded four sacks - two by defensive tackle Tank Johnson.

Thomas Jones topped the 100-yard mark for the fourth time in five games, rushing for 139 yards on 25 carries. In the first meeting against Detroit, Jones rushed for 139 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries.

The Lions lost two defensive starters - cornerback Dre Bly and tackle Shaun Rogers - along with wide receiver Kevin Johnson in the win at Cleveland.

Bly suffered a dislocated right wrist and Rogers sprained a right knee ligament. Johnson, the team's leading receiver with 17 catches, tore his right Achilles tendon and will miss the rest of the season.

The loss of Johnson is another blow to the Lions' depleted receiving corps. Charles Rogers is serving a four-game suspension for violating the league's substance abuse policy and Roy Williams missed last week's game with a quad injury.

Rookie Kyle Orton was efficient in the Bears' win over Detroit last month, completing 14-of-21 passes for 150 yards and a TD with no interceptions. Muhsin Muhammad caught six passes for 81 yards, including a 28-yard score.

Matchup to watch: Lions rookie Mike Williams, who had five catches for 95 yards last week, faces left cornerback Charles Tillman.

Series: The Bears lead, 84-62-5, but the Lions have won three of the last four meetings.

Next week: Chicago visits New Orleans, November 6 Detroit visits Minnesota, November 6

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