4 winners, 2 losers from the Lions’ win against Bears

Coming off a loss, the Lions needed to win and these 4 players stepped up to the plate. Who are the winners and losers in the victory?

After not just losing to the Buffalo Bills last week, but losing three more starters due to injuries, the Detroit Lions aren’t the same team they were in Week 1. With over 20 players on IR this season, the roster has changed dramatically, but even with that, the Lions were still 12-2 and in control of their destiny entering Week 16. They were still in first place in the NFC, but with no wiggle room, meaning they have to win out or get help to lock up the top seed for the playoffs.

The Lions took care of the Chicago Bears with relative ease compared to the Thanksgiving game a few weeks back. The Lions had another big lead on the Bears and while Chicago answered to make it a close game, the Lions didn’t let them come back too much. Detroit held the Bears to just three points in the second half after allowing 14 in the first, finishing with a 34-17 win. The win would be the Lions 13th, a franchise record for most wins in a season.

Check out my winners and losers in the win against the Bears

Winners

Jameson Williams

With three games left in the regular season, wide receiver Jameson Williams was just over 250 yards away from hitting his 1,000-yard season goal entering Week 16. Williams needed to average just over 84 yards in the final three games. Against the Bears on Sunday, Williams almost hit his weekly goal in just one catch as he caught an 82-yard touchdown pass to give the Lions a 20-0 lead.

Williams did more in the game later, catching and even running on a reverse jet sweep play. Williams finished the game with five catches for 143 yards with the lone touchdown, and his only carry for 7 yards. Williams didn’t do much against the Bears on Thanksgiving, only getting 28 yards on five catches. This time, Chicago didn’t have an answer for him.

Jahmyr Gibbs

Without “starting“ running back David Montgomery, the workload would be pushed mostly on Jahmyr Gibbs. He had a few games last season where he was the main running back, and excelled at the chance he was given. Against the Bears on Sunday, Gibbs was a big focal point of the offense. He wasn’t just used on the ground, he was a frequent option for quarterback Jared Goff to throw to when nobody else was open.

Gibbs showed his elusiveness whenever he had the ball. Whether he spun around defenders, juking them, or simply using his speed to outrun them, he used all of his tricks. Gibbs had 23 carries for 109 yards with a touchdown and four catches for 45 yards.

With Montgomery not returning until possibly the divisional round of the playoffs , Gibbs will continue to be the workhorse in the backfield. He got some relief from a few other running back options, Jermar Jefferson, Craig Reynolds, and Sione Vaki. The Lions coaching staff knows they can’t just have him do all the heavy lifting though, as with any good running back, it’s good to give them a break so they can continue being great.

Jared Goff

The old talk that Goff can’t play in the cold weather has been dead since last season, and Goff keeps proving the non-believers wrong. Without Montgomery, Goff would get more throws to help Gibbs get a little rest. Goff didn’t need to air it out against the Bears, but he was asked to do more. Goff stepped up to the challenge and passed with flying colors.

Goff had a few rough throws, but that was his only major issue. Finishing the game by going 23-for-32 for 336 yards and three touchdowns, Goff continues to play at a high level this season. He had a variety of throws, from dinking and dunking to the safety valves of the running backs to bombing it deep to Williams, Goff did it all.

He even did a good acting job in pretending to fumble the football, which set up the pass to tight end Sam LaPorta. The play fooled the commentators and even myself as I laughed at the fact that Goff can fail at handing the football off or doing a play-action and still find a way to succeed. Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson gets all the credit for that play, but Goff (and Gibbs) executed it well.

Christian Mahogany

Detroit was without starting left guard Graham Glasgow on Sunday, and with that it was rookie guard Christian Mahogany replacing him. He held his own for the most part. He was able to help move bodies for the running game and give Goff protection for the most part. He wasn’t flawless, as one of his pressure allowed forced Goff to hurry and throw an incompletion, but that was the only issue I saw.

When the Lions drafted Mahogany, I hoped that he was a future starter at the position and a replacement for right guard Kevin Zeitler. With Zeitler on a one-year deal and at 34 years old, his future in the NFL is unknown. He could certainly return next season to Detroit, or he could go elsewhere or maybe retire. It’s unknown, but the Lions have a backup plan in Mahogany and it’s a good one.

Losers

Secondary

Without starting cornerback Carlton Davis III, the Lions cornerbacks were tested against the Bears trio of wide receivers. The team did get safety Ifeatu Melifonwu back from IR, and he made his presence known early on a blitz. Despite forcing a fumble, that was one of the few highlights they had as a unit. The defensive line for Detroit was getting pressure on Bears quarterback Caleb Williams but had trouble finishing (more on that in a minute), which forced the secondary to try and cover their assignment for longer.

Even when the secondary wasn’t asked to cover their assignment for a long time, multiple players struggled in coverage. Safety Brian Branch and cornerbacks Terrion Arnold and Amik Robertson had a rough time covering Bears wide receiver Keenan Allen, allowing nine catches for 141 yards and a touchdown. Altogether, the Lions allowed 334 yards and two touchdowns on 26 completions from Williams, with no interceptions. The road gets tougher from here so they will need to figure things out before it’s too late.

Defensive line finishing

Throughout all four quarters, the Lions defensive line did a good job pressuring Williams when he dropped back to pass. Despite losing multiple starters on the defensive line, the pressure was there, but finishing with a sack was a tall ask. Williams was great at escaping any pressure he had and keeping plays alive.

The Lions finally got to him in the fourth quarter as defensive lineman Al-Quadin Muhammad was the only defensive lineman to record a sack. The Bears have one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL, allowing 58 sacks entering Sunday. In this game, they lost two starters on the line, and Detroit only got two sacks.