The Bears and Lions bring their NFC North rivalry to Monday Night Football.

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Lions or Bears? Bloggers debate who will cover

The NFC North shines bright in the Monday night spotlight when the Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears tangle in a classic division rivalry. Oddsmakers have tagged the Bears as 6-point home favorites.

We enroll the help of expert bloggers Sean Yuille of Lions blog “Pride of Detroit” and Adam Oestmann of Bears blog “Chicago Bears Huddle” to help us cap the Monday nighter. They strap on the pads and debate which team will cover the spread – Lions or Bears?

THREE REASONS WHY DETROIT WILL COVER



Sean Yuille is the managing editor for Pride of Detroit and SB Nation Detroit. You can follow them on Facebook and on Twitter @PrideOfDetroit.

Dominant D-line returns

Through the first four games, the Lions' defensive line was quite disappointing. Calls of overrated didn't seem that far off, as the D-line really hadn't done a whole lot. Last week in Philadelphia was a much different story. The Lions hit Michael Vick 11 times and had three sacks and 10 tackles for a loss.

In general, Vick was running for his life quite a bit and back-to-back sacks in overtime essentially won the game for the Lions. Based on how Chicago has struggled at keeping Jay Cutler upright at times, the Lions' D-line could have a field day in Chicago.

"Cardiac Cats"

No matter what the score is going into the fourth quarter, the Lions never actually seem to be out of a game. They play their best football in the fourth quarter and Matthew Stafford has now led comebacks in seven of his 15 career NFL victories.
 
A big part of this stems from the Lions starting slow much too often. But, even if they're down a few possessions, look for the Lions to make this game close Monday night.

Desperation mode

To put it bluntly, the Lions can't afford to lose this game. They need a victory much more than the Bears because of their 1-3 start and current 2-3 record. Falling to 2-4 would put them in a really tough spot and make the odds of returning to the playoffs that much longer.

Bouncing back and getting their record to 3-3, on the other hand, would set the Lions up quite nicely to get back into the playoff hunt, especially if they are able to win back-to-back road games. To say the least, the Lions will be the more desperate team in Chicago Monday.

THREE REASONS WHY CHICAGO WILL COVER



Adam Oestmann is the managing editor for Chicago Bears Huddle on ChicagoNow. You can follow them on Facebook and Twitter @BearsHuddle.

Lions are not as good as advertised

I can tell you all about how great Detroit’s Greektown and the Riverfront are, and the truth is that they really are nice. But the rest… well, the rest is steaming pile of… OK, I didn’t come here to pick on Detroit. But the Lions are no different than their home town: Flashy in a number of areas, dilapidated in most others.

Calvin Johnson and Matt Stafford are great. Ndamukong Suh, Cliff Avril and Kyle Vanden Bosch are great. But the core group is suspect and football is the ultimate team sport. The offense is one-dimensional and the defensive, beyond the front four, is suspect. The team as a whole is undisciplined. The Lions rank third-worst in the league in penalties committed and both the Bears’ offense and defense will expose them and show the nation that “they are who we thought they were”.

Special teams

The Bears’ special teams are far superior to the Lions’ in just about every facet. Detroit has given up more than a couple big plays on special teams this season, and the Bears are itching to take a couple impact ones from them. Devin Hester has five career returns for touchdowns on Monday Night Football. And he’s oh so hungry.

History says the Bears will win

Through the last two seasons, the Bears have managed to play their best football following the bye week. They’ve gone on winning streaks of three and five games post-bye in 2010 and 2011, respectively. Lovie Smith is 5-3 following the bye week in Chicago (2-1 at home, 3-2 on the road), including one win against Detroit.

In addition, the Bears are 8-2 under Lovie Smith on Monday Night Football. The Bears have won six of their last seven against the Lions at Soldier Field and seven of their last nine since 2003, including four straight. The Bears’ 53 home victories against the Lions are the most against any individual NFL team.

Join the debate. Who covers on Monday Night Football – Lions or Bears?

If you have any feedback or suggestions for our Editorial Team, please contact us at Editorial

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Posted by mgmprofits
7 months ago

I think the Eagles are better than the Bears...and Im not smoking anything now. The eagles will shine this season, while the bears will slump as usual. Detroit +7
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Posted by toddcd84
7 months ago

i am in the hole from this weekend and need to get out of it tonight. it seems like well bears -6.5 come on yeh they are gonna win the game but the weather there tonight is supposed to be rainy and well detroit can put up points. im just confused cause you never know who will show up with detroit and well chicago is as hot a team as there is. oh and coming off a bye-week too. is chicago -6.5 the way to go???
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Posted by veenhuis
7 months ago

Can't believe ALL you guys and the BS...If you want to be "heard" go do itnsomewhere else...this forum is for sports betting!!! Tonight's game comes down to 2 players...Both with the same first name..."Which" Stafford vs "Which" Cutler!! Personally, I like Stafford to regain some form tonight and keep it VERY close, if not an outright win! Consider the Detroit ML
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Posted by Worm1996
7 months ago

No wonder the article is by "Covers.Com Staff"....... It is simply moronic,and has absolutely nothing to do with this game to rip the City of Detroit. There are plenty of run down cities in America. Don't recall you saying that about the Great Atlanta Falcons(which this has nothing to do with tonight's game either,but a cousin was robbed at gunpoint after leaving a eatery in Atlanta 2 years ago. She lost her $$$ but was not physically harmed. As for " it is like a 3rd world country".....What does that have to do with this game?....Nothing,just a personal view from someone that obviously lives outside the state of Michigan.....MORONIC!!!! I travel all over the country for business,and have been in a lot of not so desirable neighborhoods,yet i don't come on a sports forum for a football game and blast each one that i may have had/seen an incident in. Fact-----Every state has it's "BAD" neighborhoods,and to simply rip them,or revel in the misfortunes of the communities is ignorant. Now to the game...............Chicago -6. GLTA.
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Posted by Rabbage101
7 months ago

Philly better then Chicago? Whatever your smokin I want some.
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Posted by thesoulpurpose
7 months ago

matt forte OVER 80.5 rushing yards
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Posted by mjrojas
7 months ago

going with the points!!
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Posted by hernandd619
7 months ago

Detroit can't run against the Bears front 7 which calls for a lot of throws resulting in pick 6 for the Bears. Detroit special team is just that.. SPECIAL and not in a good way. Final score 34-13 BEARS
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Posted by Darrellw1985
7 months ago

I htink I'll go with the +7 with DET, They beat Philly away and I think Philly is a better team than CHI. so I have DET covering the spread.
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Posted by fullkrause
7 months ago

^^^ I wish I was your guys bookie!!!!
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Posted by hernandd619
7 months ago

Philly Better then the Bears.. That was crazy talk from that other guy.
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Posted by Sammy_Ace
7 months ago

Wow, thats pretty low to take the down the whole city of Detroit on a post thats about why the Bears should cover. Shame on you. You should stick to the relative facts about the two teams. I hope Cutler gets sacked a bunch of times and has a temper tandrum on national television.
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Posted by fullkrause
7 months ago

I think he took it easy on Detroit!! I understand that this may not be the place, but I was in Det two years ago for the Bears game and it is like a 3rd world country. I didn't see a single cop all weekend until we got to the game. I take that back, on Saturday we sat in a BBQ restaurant in Greek Town watching college FB for a good 4 hrs and there were 3 Uniformed officers sitting there when we got there and still there when we left and yes they were drinking!! Cabbies run red lights like they were optional too!! No meters in the Cabs and the drivers tried ripping us off on several occasions. If I ever go back I will be staying in Windsor!!!
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Posted by larryv123
7 months ago

goin with the points also.
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Posted by bigbooze
7 months ago

GREAT POINTS FROM BOTH GUYS BUT GIVE ME THAT 7 WITH DETROIT
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Top Response

Posted by hernandd619
7 months ago

"Philly Better then the Bears.. That was crazy talk from that other guy. "

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