Time for Dan Campbell’s first win

Free Press sports writers make their predictions for the Detroit Lions‘ game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field (1 p.m., Fox) in Week 4 of the NFL season:

Jeff Seidel

The Bears have the better team but the Lions have the better coaching staff. Somehow, Bears coach Matt Nagy will mess this up. I’m guessing, it will be the game plan. The Lions defensive line will get a bunch of sacks and it doesn’t matter who is playing quarterback for the Bears. The Lions offense will get production out of D’Andre Swift and T.J. Hockenson and Dan Campbell will get his first win. The pick: Lions 21, Bears 17

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Carlos Monarrez

Yes, I’m picking the Lions to win their first game, based mostly on the Lions playing well in all three of their losses and how much of a mess the Bears are on offense. Chicago has one of the NFL’s worst offenses, ranking last as the only team that doesn’t average at least 200 yards. The Bears also average only 13.3 points per game — second-worst to the Jets’ 6.7 points. Andy Dalton and Justin Fields have combined to throw one touchdown pass. The Browns sacked Fields nine times last week, so the Lions should have plenty of opportunities to slow down the rookie if he starts. The pick: Lions 23, Bears 19.

Shawn Windsor

Jared Goff found something with the short passing game late against Baltimore. He does again Sunday in Chicago and the Lions grab their first win. The pick: Lions 26, Bears 16

Dave Birkett

Story continues

This is the worst game on the NFL schedule this week, though at least the Lions and Bears are evenly matched. Both have struggled to move the football for long stretches of their first three games, and both rank in the bottom half of the league in scoring. Chicago’s offensive problems are more pronounced given their uncertainty at quarterback, and while the Lions have a worse record they actually have played better football for longer stretches of time. I worry some about a let-down coming off an emotional game, even if it was a loss, but Dan Campbell said the Lions had one of their best practices of the season on Thursday. If Andy Dalton were healthy, I’d lean Chicago here. But the Lions are a scrappy team and good enough in the trenches on both sides of the ball that they start October with a win. The pick: Lions 20, Bears 17

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions predictions vs. Chicago Bears: Time for 1st win