WHAT A WONDERFUL NEWS: Detroit Lions coach receives one of the best….

In four games against the Bears since joining the Lions in 2021, Goff has thrown for 961 yards with eight TDs, no interceptions and a 118.6 passer rating while being sacked eight times. Making Goff uncomfortable in the pocket will be crucial for the Bears, who have only recorded 13 sacks but bolstered their pass rush with the Oct. 31 acquisition of defensive end Montez Sweat in a trade with the Commanders.

The fifth-year pro fueled an improved pass rush in the Bears’ last game. In a 16-13 win over the Panthers Nov. 9 at Soldier Field, Sweat generated eight pressures and three quarterback hits, helping create opportunities for fellow linemen Yannick Ngakoue, Justin Jones and Rasheem Green to record sacks.

Bears coach Matt Eberflus likened the addition of Sweat to when the Colts signed free agent defensive tackle DeForest Buckner in 2020 when Eberflus was Indianapolis’ defensive coordinator.

“Very similar,” Eberflus said. “That’s a premier player, an All-Pro player and a guy who can affect the quarterback. You can really see the effect, the ‘Tez Factor’ that I called it the other day. We had a lot of good pressures last week, a lot of good hits on the quarterback, a few sacks. That’s got to continue. It really helped our coverage. You can see that. A lot of the incomplete passes were definitely created by that pressure.”

The Bears defense takes a big step up in class against the Lions Sunday. Detroit is the NFL’s only team that boasts four players with at least 400 yards from scrimmage and four scrimmage touchdowns in running backs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs, receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and tight end Sam LaPorta.

“Certainly, this offense is a good offense,” Eberflus said. “It’s got a lot of skill, and they distribute the ball around to different players and make you defend it horizontally and vertically. It’s going to be a big challenge for us.”