The Bears face the Lions for a second time on Sunday at Solider Field. Things went sideways for Chicago during the first meeting, when they engaged in a furious comeback and then fell just short.

 That was Matt Eberflus’ last game as Bears head coach. The organization fired him the next day, after that Thanksgiviing contest ended with disastrous time management where the game ended with a down and a timeout in Eberflus’ pocket.

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The Bears have lost two contest by large margins since then, as their winless streak has reached eight games.  

Now they’re 6.5-point underdogs at home, where they’ve played very well in recent seasons. That’s how bad things have gotten for the Bears, who are desperate to find that winning feeling before the season’s end.

With the Lions, Seahawks and Packers remaining on the schedule, that might be tough. Here are five questions that will get answers on Sunday afternoon.

1. Can the Bears avoid another slow starts?

That issue has plagued the Bears during this negative slide, with an inability to produce much of anything offensively in the first half of games. They haven’t scored a first-half point in three games, with double-digit deficits produced as a result. That has left the Bears playing catchup most of the season, with but a few first-quarter points all season long.

The Bears don’t have answers for the issue at this point, with little to discuss about the issue. The team feels their script is good, but they can’t generate any sort of rhythm early in games. That leads to lots of three-and-outs, where the run game can’t get established. That leaves Caleb Williams exposed in obvious passing situations, which has led to early troubles.

“I think, as far as a coaching part of it, we’ve got to make sure that we have our best stuff early, that the script is where it needs to be.” offensive coordinator Chris Beatty said. “And we need to make sure we’re putting these guys in a position to do all the things that they do fast, so there’s no questioning or no second-guessing of our thinking about what they got to do assignment-wise. We’ve felt like we’ve done that, but we’ve got to do a better job of it, clearly.”

2. Can Caleb Williams find some consistency?

We all know the rookie Bears quarterback can do spectacular things. We get glimpses of that every game, but we haven’t seem the type of offensive rhythm from a quarterback that will lead to sustained drives and point generation.

The Bears have struggled to protect Williams, but his decision making isn’t always great. That leads to mistakes that slow a drive down or to get behind the sticks, things that must be avoided to get the Bears going strong.

“When you’re getting live bullets, you’re not thinking so much about those small things, you’re thinking about a lot bigger things like pressures or coverages or the play and the routes and stuff like that,” Williams said on Wednesday. “I think it just comes down to the reps and footwork and fundamentals and just being in rhythm.”

If Williams can find that rhythm against the Lions, we’ll see the rookie’s talent shine.

3. Can Bears handle Jahmyr Gibbs, Lions rushing attack?

Let’s just say it. The Bears run defense isn’t good. They’ve allowed at least 106 yards on the ground during this losing streak. Some of that is opportunity, considering the Bears are falling behind early, but shutting that aspect of the game down has been troublesome. The Lions rushed for 194 yards in the last matchup, though the math has changed for this one.

David Montgomery has been lost for the season, leaving 2023 first-round pick Jahmyr Gibbs as the sole feature back. He’s fast and nimble, averaging 5.6 yards per carry. Montgomery was the thumper in the duo, and head coach Campbell said he’ll be wary of using Gibbs too much.

All that said, he can cause plenty of havoc against a Bears defense ranked No. 26 against the run.

“Whoever they line up at the running back position, we have to be ready to do a great job,” Bears defensive coordinator Eric Washington said. “The other tailback is averaging 6 yards a gain in their No. 1 running concept, and that’s the outside zone bounce play.”

4. How will Jared Goff fare in the cold?

The forecast for Sunday afternoon won’t be warm. It’ll be right around freezing during this contest, which adds a wrinkle for a Detroit Lions team that has played just one game outdoors all season.

In 12 games played at less than 40 degrees, Goff has a 75.33 passer rating with 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions, with 6.3 yards per attempt. His career mark is a 95.1 rating with 7.5 yards per attempt.

The cold weather might help the Bears in this one. They’re used to cold environments and practiced outside all week to prepare for the game.  If they can get Goff into some comprising situations and force some mistakes, that could provide a leg up in a game where the Lions are expected to win.

5. How bad does Thomas Brown need a win?

Pretty bad, I’d think, but nothing that’ll happen during this five-game stretch as interim will significantly hinder his long-term coaching career. He inherited a giant mess, with a team that wasn’t performing well and reeling after three winnable losses within the division.

This is someone well respected in the locker room who has taken on a lot, going from passing game coordinator to offensive coordinator to interim head coach in a matter of weeks.

A couple wins couldn’t hurt, as Brown enters the 2025 job market looking for a coordinator gig. A strong finish could put him in the conversation to be a head coach somewhere, even Chicago.

“Coming into the year this was not on anybody’s bingo card, as far as being in the interim head coach role,” Brown said. “I just put the work in, I let the work speak for itself. I’ve done enough around this league as far as guys I am connected to that will speak well on my behalf. Regardless of the not ideal or ideal scenario I make the most of what I am given. That’s all I focus on, the rest I can’t control.”