Bears fall to Lions in Detroit | Game Recap October 6, 2024

Bears fall to Lions in Detroit | Game Recap

BY Usman January 5, 2023

Bears fall to Lions in Detroit: In a 41-10 loss to the Lions on Sunday in Detroit, the Bears had issues on both sides of the ball. The Bears scored twice to start the game and totaled 140 yards of offense in the first quarter before being shut out for the rest of the contest. The Bear’s offense managed just 90 yards and five first downs in the remaining three quarters.

The Bears’ defense allowed 504 yards of total offense, including 265 yards on the ground, led by running backs Jamaal Williams and D’Andre Swift, and five touchdown drives of at least 60 yards. Swift had 11 carries for 78 yards and a score, while Williams had 144 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries.

Regarding the massive run plays permitted, coach Matt Eberflus noted, “It doesn’t sit right.” “You need to be quite forceful in the middle when the ball comes through there. According to the photographs and other evidence, we are being forced out of our interior openings when the ball eventually reaches them. As I’ve previously stated, when the ball does reach them, the safety must take the player down. There were a few instances where the safety was positioned perfectly but failed to make the tackle. To reduce such gains, we must thus improve on that.”

Quarterback Justin Fields led the Bears | Bears fall to Lions in Detroit

With 132 rushing yards on just 10 carries, quarterback Justin Fields led the Bears and continued to dominate the run game. Fields’ 31-yard run on the first play allowed him to surpass Michael Vick’s 2006 season total of 1,039 rushing yards, moving him up to second place all-time among quarterbacks in the NFL’s single-season rushing list.

Fields threw a touchdown and an interception while completing seven of his 21 passes for 75 yards. Seven sacks were also dealt to the second-year pro.

Eberflus stated, “We had seven sacks against us. “That is the quarterback being protected, that is the offensive line handling the football, that is the quarterback being handled by all 11 of us. He also throws the ball away when it malfunctions. In essence, that is a function of that. It obviously needs to be improved, though. The passing game must improve, we must do a better job of getting chunk plays and providing him enough time to get them, and the protection must be strong as well.”

For 255 yards and three touchdowns on 21 of his 29 passes, Lions quarterback Jared Goff was successful.

The Lions improved to 8-8 with the victory, while the Bears dropped to 3-13 with their ninth consecutive defeat.

The Bears scored early in the game

The Bears scored early in the game to take a 7-0 lead for the 12th time this season as Fields connected with tight end Cole Kmet for a 13-yard touchdown. The possession began with two unsuccessful plays before a defensive holding penalty led to a first down. Kmet took a direct snap on third down and tossed the ball to Fields, who ran 31 yards to the Detroit 21. With the touchdown, Fields surpassed Michael Vick’s 2006 season total of 1,039 rushing yards, moving him into second place all-time for most rushing yards by a quarterback in a single season. The tight end sprinted into the end zone for the score on third-and-2 from the 13 after Fields dropped back and found Kmet wide open on the right side.

With 6:45 remaining in the first quarter

With 6:45 remaining in the first quarter, the Lions immediately responded with a touchdown drive on their first possession, tying the game at 7-7. In order to get into Chicago territory, Goff connected with receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown for a gain of 28 yards. However, a few plays later, an offensive holding penalty sent the Lions back to the 50. The Lions went for it on fourth-and-4 as the Bear’s defense stopped them on a third down. Despite the fact that cornerback Kyler Gordon was called for a 34-yard pass interference penalty, the Lions were given first-and-goal at the 1 after quarterback Jared Goff’s deep pass to receiver D.J. Chark in the end zone went incomplete. Goff next had a two-yard touchdown connection with tight end Brock Wright.

Following a successful field goal from kicker Cairo Santos of 23 yards, the Bears took the lead 10-7. Fields once more demonstrated his athleticism on third-and-4 when he sprinted up the middle and sped by Lions defenders for a 60-yard gain to get to the Detroit 9-point. On third-and-2 from the 2, Fields was sacked for a loss of three yards, and the drive came to an abrupt halt.

At the start of the second quarter

At the start of the second quarter, the Lions had a 14-10 advantage thanks to their second straight touchdown drive. Chark was wide free over the middle when Goff successfully hit another deep pass, gaining 28 yards to the Chicago 29. After three plays, Goff threw the ball to Williams, who raced untouched up the middle for a 17-yard touchdown.

With 4:16 left in the first half, Goff and Wright connected for another score, giving the Lions a 21-10 lead. On the drive, Williams ran the ball three times for 21 yards and grabbed a Goff throw for 13 yards. Wright sprinted into the end zone after Goff faked a handoff, dropped back, and delivered a short throw to him on first-and-goal.

Defensive end Aidan Hutchinson recovered the fumble near midfield after linebacker James Houston stripped the ball from Fields during the next play. This was the game’s first takeaway for the Lions. The Bear’s defense stopped the Lions on third down as Goff completed three consecutive passes of at least 10 yards to go to the Chicago 13-yard line.

Just before halftime, kicker Michael Badgley gave the Lions a 24-10 lead with a field goal from 23 yards out on fourth-and-1.

Fields remarked | Bears fall to Lions in Detroit

Fields remarked, “That play right there was a call-and-run-it play.” “To be quite honest with you, I should have just tossed the ball away since we weren’t prepared for that look. I’m not sure why I did that, but you live and learn and keep improving.”

The Lions scored a fourth touchdown after taking the kickoff out of halftime to increase their lead to 31-10. Swift ran up the middle, twisted out of a tackle, and gained 35 yards to go to the Chicago 48 while defensive end Trevis Gipson sacked Goff to create third-and-18. Jameson Williams took the handoff on the following play and ran 40 yards to the 8. Swift gained six yards on the ground before Jamaal Williams scored from two yards out.

With 6:36 remaining in the third quarter, a 21-yard touchdown pass from Goff to Swift gave the Lions a 38-10 lead. Goff’s 28-yard completion to receiver James Chark and his 16-yard completion to receiver Kalif Raymond propelled Detroit’s 7-play, 92-yard scoring drive. Swift spun upfield and sliced through the defense to reach the end zone after Goff delivered a short throw to him on second-and-9.

With less than three minutes left in the game, the Lions added a 41-yard field goal to make it 41-10.