Lions' QB Matt Stafford will miss Sunday's game against the Bears with fractured bones in his back

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Matt Stafford won't play against the Bears. 

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, after looking at bones in his back, doctors directed that Stafford not play. There were rumors last night that he could be a gametime decision, but Schefter's already reported that the QB will be out for Sunday's game at Soldier Field:

It's obviously a tough loss for the Lions, who will be without Stafford for the first time in 136 games. The QB has made every start for Detroit since 2010, when he only played in three games after suffering a shoulder injury. Stafford was having an MVP-caliber season in 2019, ranking fifth in passer rating through the first half of the year. 

In his place will be Driskel, a sixth-round pick in 2014 who's making his first start since a brief stint with the Bengals in 2018. He started five games for Cincinnati last season, going 1-4 while throwing for 1,003 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions. 

On the surface it's good news for a Bears team looking to win for the first time since Sept. 29. According to Football Outsider's DVOA, Detroit came into Sunday with the fifth-best passing offense and the 28th-best run game. The (tired, so tired) Bears' pass-defense – that's still top-10 pretty much across the board – would rather play Driskell than Stafford. That said, this is basically the same defense that saw Miami's Brock Osweiler come off the bench and put 380 yards and three touchdowns on them in Week 6 last year, so anything's possible. 

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