Oct 30, 2005 5 min read

DETROIT (AP) – Marcus Pollard paused for a moment while he pondered the significance of the Chicago Bears-Detroit Lions matchup. “At this point, it’s as big as the Super Bowl,” Detroit’s tight end said.

Well, that’s quite a stretch, but the winner of today’s game will claim first place in the NFC North despite being only one game over .500 almost midway through the season.

The Bears (3-3) are going for their third straight win, while Detroit (3-3) is shooting for consecutive victories for the first time this season.

Chicago and Detroit are ahead of preseason favorite Minnesota (2-4) and Green Bay (1-5) in the scuffling division. With 10 games left in the regular season, Bears defensive end Adewale Ogunleye said it’s too early to bash the NFC North.

“I think the people they thought were going to be leaders in this division kind of flopped a little bit and that threw everybody off,” Ogunleye said.

Chicago coach Lovie Smith pointed out the NFC North is not the only division with mediocre – or worse – records. New England is atop the AFC East with a .500 record, leading three teams with losing records.

“I don’t think at this stage in the season that it really matters a lot who has what type of record,” Smith said. “I think in time, the NFC North, like it is every year, will be one of the stronger divisions in our game and this will seem like a distant memory.

“We are going to have one or two teams who are having good seasons that will be comparable to other divisions.”

Smith said the matchup in Detroit could be the game where the winner begins to pull away in the muddled race.

While the game is big for both teams, the Lions might have a greater sense of urgency because of the previous meeting in Week 2 at Chicago. Joey Harrington threw a career-high five interceptions and the Bears scored 31 points in the first half, rolling to a 38-6 rout.

“I don’t know if words can describe how big this game is for us,” Detroit guard Damien Woody said. “It’s a must-win game.”

Pollard explained.

“If we lose again, we go down two games to them because we’d lose the tiebreaker if we finish the season tied,” he said. “We have a lot riding on this one, because we don’t want to have to rely on other teams to help us out by beating Chicago.”

The Packers have won the NFC North the past three years, but they were expected to take a step back this season even before injuries devastated their team. Minnesota was a consensus pick to win the division this year, but its season has imploded on and off the field.

Chicago and Detroit were regarded perhaps as up-and-coming teams coming off some rough years.

The Bears haven’t had a winning record since 2001 and the Lions lost an NFL-high 48 games the past four years.

“It’s the most meaningful game we’ve had since I’ve been here,” said offensive tackle Jeff Backus, who has started all 70 games since Detroit drafted him in 2001. “It’s taken us 41/2 years to play a significant game in October, so it’s about time.”

Fans in Detroit thought it was about time coach Steve Mariucci benched Harrington before last weekend’s game in Cleveland, though the move had to be delayed because Jeff Garcia was recovering from injuries.

The 35-year-old quarterback ran for a touchdown and threw for 210 yards without an interception in a 13-10 win over the Browns. It might be difficult for Garcia to match his modest success against the Bears, who have allowed just 68 points in six games and no TDs rushing.

The Lions had hoped to have receiver Roy Williams healthy enough to play for the first time in two-plus games, especially because Kevin Johnson sustained a season-ending injury at Cleveland and Charles Rogers is suspended for one more game. But the Lions said Friday that Williams was not likely to play.

“Their defense is as good as any in the league,” Woody said. “Their front four is solid, Brian Urlacher is having a great year and their secondary is fast.

“We’re kind of going against a mirror image of ourselves. We both have really good defenses and offenses that are trying to find themselves.”

The Bears have relied on handing the ball to Thomas Jones, who ran for 139 yards against Detroit and is sixth in the NFL with 641 yards rushing. The conservative strategy has worked well since rookie quarterback Kyle Orton threw five interceptions in Week 3. In the past three games, Orton has thrown four TDs and only one interception.

Detroit will be without at least one of its top players on defense. Cornerback Dre’ Bly, whose four interceptions trail only one player in the NFL, is out for about a month after having wrist surgery this week. Defensive tackle Shaun Rogers also was likely to miss the game after injuring his knee last weekend, Mariucci said.

The Bears feel fortunate to be relatively healthy – and to be in the NFC North.

“In the whole scope of things, it’s mediocre,” Chicago receiver Muhsin Muhammad said. “It’s not the best and toughest division, which plays well for our team because we’re not playing our best football right now.”