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What a difference ten weeks make. It wasn't that long ago that the Chicago Bears served the Detroit Lions their last loss before Detroit went on a 7-1 run. Here we are again in Week 14 and it seems as though the world is a completely different place. The Lions have an opportunity to do something they haven't done in 23 years: Win a division title.
Beating the Bears on Sunday is a crucial key to that success. But before we get to that, we have to back in time and learn how this rivalry got... Wait, didn't we do this already? We did. See I got lucky the last time the Lions faced a division rival for the second time, it was Thanksgiving. Therefore Random Stats was Turkey Day themed. Now things are different.
I fully encourage you to go back and read Week 4's Random Stats before this Sunday's game. Today's version will be a bit different. I want to know what the people want to know. So we went to Twitter and asked our amazing readers what they wanted to know. Here's what we came up with.
@POD_Payton @PrideOfDetroit stafford's career stats against Chicago in career
— Taylor McDowell ™ (@McTweett) December 6, 2016
I was pretty blown away when I saw this. Yes, the Lions are 7-6 against the Bears with Matthew Stafford under center. But, man, he has played some bad games against Chicago, especially early in his career. Stafford's total stat line against the Bears is 314 completions out of 503 attempts, 3,472 yards, 21 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. He's thrown an interception in all but three of the 13 matchups. Let's hope this trend doesn't continue on Sunday.
@POD_Payton @PrideOfDetroit records against each other when backup QBs start? When one uses a player who was on other's roster same season?
— ALDLAND (@ALDLANDia) December 7, 2016
That's a good question. The Lions are taking on the Bears with third string quarterback Matt Barkley this weekend. Let's see how history has panned out.
| Year | Player | Score | Win/Loss |
| 1986 | Doug Flutie | 16-13 | Loss |
| 1988 | Mike Tomczak | 24-7 | Loss |
| 1988 | Jim Harbaugh | 13-12 | Loss |
| 1989 | Jim Harbaugh | 27-17 | Win |
| 1994 | Erik Kramer | 21-16 | Win |
| 1997 | Steve Stenstrom | 26-3 | Win |
| 1999 | Cade McNown | 28-10 | Loss |
| 1999 | Jim Miller | 21-17 | Win |
| 2000 | Shane Matthews | 23-20 | Loss |
| 2002 | Chris Chandler | 23-20 | Win |
| 2002 | Chris Chandler | 20-17 | Loss |
| 2004 | Chad Hutchinson | 19-13 | Win |
| 2004 | Rex Grossman | 20-16 | Win |
| 2007 | Brian Griese | 37-27 | Win |
| 2007 | Brian Griese | 16-7 | Win |
| 2014 | Jimmy Clausen | 20-14 | Win |
Not bad. The Lions are 10-6 all time when playing against a Bears team that's starting its backup. As for the Lions with a backup quarterback, let's hope we never have to see that again. But here are the stats.
| Year | Quarterback | Score | Win/Loss |
| 1954 | Tom Dublinski | 28-24 | Loss |
| 1957 | Tobin Rote | 21-13 | Win |
| 1959 | Earl Morrall | 24-14 | Loss |
| 1960 | Earl Morrall | 36-0 | Win |
| 1961 | Earl Morrall | 31-17 | Loss |
| 1964 | Earl Morrall | 10-0 | Win |
| 1963 | Milt Plum | 31-21 | Loss |
| 1966 | Milt Plum | 14-3 | Loss |
| 1967 | Milt Plum | 14-3 | Loss |
| 1969 | Greg LAndry | 13-7 | Win |
| 1973 | Bill Munson | 30-7 | Win |
| 1973 | Bill Munson | 40-7 | Win |
| 1975 | Bill Munson | 30-7 | Win |
| 1975 | Joe Reed | 25-21 | Loss |
| 1976 | Joe Reed | 10-3 | Loss |
| 1984 | John Witkowski | 30-13 | Loss |
| 1985 | Joe Ferguson | 37-13 | Loss |
| 1986 | Chuck Long | 16-13 | Loss |
| 1989 | Bob Gagliano | 27-17 | Win |
| 1991 | Erik Kramer | 16-6 | Win |
| 1991 | Erik Kramer | 20-10 | Loss |
| 1992 | Andre Ware | 16-3 | Win |
| 1993 | Erik Kramer | 20-14 | Win |
| 1994 | Dave Krieg | 20-10 | Loss |
| 1999 | Gus Frerotte | 21-17 | Win |
| 2001 | Ty Detmer | 24-0 | Loss |
| 2005 | Jeff Garcia | 19-13 | Loss |
| 2008 | Dan Orlovsky | 37-23 | Loss |
| 2010 | Daunte Culpepper | 37-23 | Loss |
| 2010 | Drew Stanton | 24-20 | Loss |
Not so good on this end. 12-18. I guess it's not as bad as one might think. But man, unless it's Bill Munson, I really don't want any Lions backup in the game against the Bears.
@POD_Payton @PrideOfDetroit which team has won the 2nd meeting in a season more?
— nick coleman (@themadchef29) December 7, 2016
The Bears have, unfortunately, but it's really not that bad at all. The Lions are 39-46-2 against the Bears in the second meeting of the season. The good news is that they've won every single one of them since 2013. So that's cool.
@POD_Payton Combined winning percentage of the worst Bears coach and the worst Lions coach
— Lions:8-4, North:1st (@a_a_ron_att) December 7, 2016
Well that depends on who you think the worst coaches in these teams' history is. For the Lions it's easily Rod Marinelli. The guy went 0-16. For the Bears, it's Jim Dooley, according to many Bears fans on the internet. Their combined records are 30-74. Their combined win percentage is a chunky .288. Pretty bad. Pretty bad indeed.
@POD_Payton @PrideOfDetroit How many times have the Bears sacked Matt Stafford?
— Jake (@JFK_711) December 7, 2016
The Bears have sacked Matthew Stafford 28 times since 2009. That's not as bad as it sounds. The Lions should still be prepared to block this Sunday. The Bears defensive line is playing well in 2016.
@POD_Payton Any good analytics on their hibernation schedules?
— Sᴀᴍᴜᴇʟ ʟ. ᴠᴇᴠᴏ (@SamuelLNielsen) December 7, 2016
Well actually [pauses a moment to push glasses closer to face] not all bears hibernate, despite popular belief. According to Yellowstone National Park, some species go into a deep sleep during the winter, but do not hibernate as hibernation implies they sleep all winter long. Bears winter sleep habits depend on location and temperature and can range anywhere from seven weeks to seven months. Credit to Yellowstone for the article and to my wife for looking it up for me.
There you have it, Lions fans. Thank you to everyone who sent questions this week. We'll see you again next week when the Lions face the Giants. Be sure to send questions or comments below.