Recap: Lions get franchise record 13th win with victory over Bears

The Detroit Lions got back on the winning track with a win against the Chicago Bears thanks to a strong offensive game and some opportunistic defensive plays.

Pressure was on the Detroit Lions to rebound after last week’s loss to the Buffalo Bills—with the Eagles and Vikings in hot pursuit of their top spot among the NFC.

Detroit, as they typically do after a loss, delivered. Against the Chicago Bears, the Lions offense was hot—scoring on their first five drives, and failing to punt until midway through the fourth quarter.

The Lions’ injury-plagued defense was a little more up-and-down. While the run defense bounced back in a big way, they allowed the Bears to hang around via the passing game. However, they shut the door nicely, giving the Lions a somewhat comfortable fourth quarter on their way to victory.

The Lions are now 13-2, setting a franchise record for wins during the regular season.

First quarter

The Detroit Lions won the toss and opted to defer. That turned out to be a decent decision, as the Bears went three-and-out thanks to pressure from Ifeatu Melifonwu and Za’Darius smith on third down.

The Lions offense had to do some bonus work after a Jameson Williams scuffle with Tyrique Stevenson cost Detroit 15 yards when the Lions receiver spun the ball in front of the Bears defensive back. But they were up to it with a 17-yard pass to Sam LaPorta and a 28-yard pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown.

After a pair of Jahmyr Gibbs runs, the Lions faced a third-and-3 inside the Bears 15-yard line, but Jared Goff couldn’t find anyone open and Detroit settled for a field goal. 3-0 Lions.

The Bears second offensive possession was even worse, as Caleb Williams fumbled an exchange between himself and Rome Odunze—with Lions defensive end Josh Paschal recovering the loose ball.

The Lions immediately got into the red zone with a 26-yard screen pass to Gibbs.

This time, the Lions would cash in on the goal line. It took Gibbs three times from the 1-yard line, but he eventually plunged into the end zone for a 10-0 Lions lead.

The Bears finally looked like they were about to get into scoring position when Odunze fumbles the ball after gaining 19 yards on a screen pass. Amik Robertson got credit for the forced fumble as Jack Campbell recovered it.

Detroit moved into Bears territory with a 17-yard pass to Williams and Gibbs followed it up with back-to-back rushes of 12 and 11 yards.

As Detroit worked their way into the red zone again, they stumbled yet again, failing to convert a third-and-6 and settling for another short field goal attempt. Jake Bates was good from 34 yards to make it 13-0 Lions at the end of the first quarter.

Caleb Williams did connect with Keenan Allen for a 21-yard gain on the final play of the first quarter, giving the Bears the ball in Lions territory for the first time all game.

Second quarter

Chicago’s time on the Lions’ side of the field wouldn’t last long. A holding penalty forced them into a third-and-20, and a screen pass to D’Andre Swift came up 10-yards short of the line to gain, leading to a punt.

Detroit would take over on their own 7-yard line, but the Lions would immediately strike. After a 10-yard run to Gibbs, Goff found Jameson Williams for an 82-yard touchdown and a 20-0 Lions lead.

The Bears nearly had another three-and-out, but Williams found Odunze for 15 yards on a third-and-8 to move to midfield. Then, in field goal range, the Bears opted to go for it on fourth-and-3, and Williams went right back to Odunze for another 13 yards down to the Lions’ 18-yard line. On the play, Bears left tackle Braxton Jones appeared to suffer a serious leg injury and was carted off.

Eventually, the Bears would find the end zone with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Cole Kmet. 20-7 Lions.

Three straight plays to Gibbs (two passes, one run) gained 26 yards for the Lions, moving them quickly into Bears territory. Jermar Jefferson got involved with a 10-yard catch of his own. After another couple Gibbs touches, the Lions faced a third-and-3, but Gibbs was stopped a yard short. The Lions were likely going to run the clock down to the two-minute warning, but they wanted to get the Bears to jump offsides first, and Chicago obliged, giving the Lions a fresh set of downs.

On the first play out of the stoppage in play, Goff hit Williams on a play-action pass all the way down to the 6-yard line. On third-and-goal, Amon-Ra St. Brown navigated through Bears defenders for an impressive touchdown on a WR screen. 27-7 Lions.

With 58 seconds left, the Bears had two timeouts to help cut into the lead. It only took them three plays, as Keenan Allen snuck behind the Lions defense for a 45-yard touchdown. 27-14 Lions.

Detroit had 33 seconds and three timeouts to add to their lead before halftime. A couple of passes to Sione Vaki got the Lions into Bears territory. They eventually got close enough for Jake Bates to try a 60-yard field goal, but a penalty on Hogan Hatten moved it to 65 yards. Bates’ kick was no good, and it was 27-14 at the end of the half.

Third quarter

On the first play of the half, Goff found Williams, who found the edge for a big 25-yard gain.

A pair of Gibbs runs moved the chains into Bears territory. A personal foul from Jaylon Johnson gave the Lions 15 free yards down to Chicago’s 21-yard line. Then, the Lions pulled a “fake stumble” trick play for a 21-yard touchdown pass to Sam LaPorta. 34-14 Lions.

The Bears wouldn’t go away, though. On fourth-and-1 from midfield, Caleb Williams threw a jump ball to Odunze, who picked up 30 yards and put Chicago into the red zone.

The Bears then found themselves in a fourth-and-7, but opted to kick a field goal to make it 34-17 Lions.

The Lions offense looked they were finally going to get stopped again after Goff was sacked on second down, but St. Brown took a checkdown up the middle and somehow found his way to the marker to convert on third-and-17. From there, Detroit rushed their way into the red zone, setting up a third-and-3 from Chicago’s 13 at the end of the third quarter.

Fourth quarter

Goff overshot St. Brown on the pivotal third down play, but Detroit opted to go for it—passing up a 31-yard field goal. A Goff pass bounced off of St. Brown’s hands, and the Bears took over on downs.

Chicago quickly faced a fourth-and-7 from their own 31-yard line and had to go for it. They converted again with Williams connecting with Allen for a first down. Then, Williams went right back to Allen two more times for gains of 10 and 22 yards into Lions territory. But after an Al-Quadin Muhammad sack, the Bears faced a fourth-and-25, and opted to punt.

With just over eight minutes left, the Lions looked to put the game away. St. Brown made a great sideline catch to convert an early third-and-7 and help bleed another minute off the clock. That would be it, though, as Detroit would punt—for the first time in the game—back to the Bears with 5:36 minutes left, still up by 17.

Chicago ate up clock and drove all the way into the red zone. However, once there, the Lions secondary made a couple of great plays. First, Terrion Arnold had a picture perfect pass breakup, then Brian Branch knocked away a fourth down attempt that would essentially end the game, 34-17 Lions.