Bears-Lions: 4 storylines to watch

Oct. 18--1. Nothing has gone right

The Lions' 0-5 start casts them as the NFL's only winless team, a plight they're all too familiar with, having experienced that frustration seven times before. That's an NFL record. Most troubling: Quarterback Matthew Stafford appears to be regressing. He threw three interceptions and was benched last week in a 42-17 home loss to the Cardinals and has a league-high nine turnovers. Still, Lions coach Jim Caldwell believes Stafford can bounce back. "He's a tough-minded guy," Caldwell said. "And he's back on pace and working hard like you would anticipate."

2. The Alshon update

Alshon Jeffery's recovery from a hamstring injury has taken awhile, putting him in danger of missing his fifth consecutive game. For context, the offense has run 327 plays this season and Jeffery has been on the field for only 56. Officially, Jeffery is listed as questionable for Sunday. Yet he insisted Thursday that his hamstring feels better than it did in Week 5. Said Jay Cutler: "The biggest thing with him is just staying in shape and being able to stay in game shape. Because the rest of us are kind of there."

3. Same old story

The Bears offense has been ravaged by injuries through five games. Yet the team has remained competitive in big part because of the reliability of Matt Forte. With 438 rushing yards, Forte not only entered Week 6 as the NFL leader, he's on pace to post a career-high 1,402 yards. His presence and consistency allow the Bears to chew clock and shorten games. And it has given Cutler and coordinator Adam Gase added calm. "I admire his ability to see the holes he's seeing," Gase said. "It could be the smallest crease, and he hits it."

4. On the defensive

The Bears defense has seen its confidence growing in recent weeks. And it finds itself ranked fourth in yards allowed at 304.6 per game. The defense also has nine sacks over the last three games, finding ways to generate consistent pressure. Still, against a Lions team that has had major ball-security issues, the Bears must generate more takeaways. To this point, the "D" has just three, all by outside linebackers: interceptions by Jared Allen and Pernell McPhee and a fumble recovery by Sam Acho.