On Sunday, Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields was tough to stop, but when it counted the Detroit Lions found a way.
When it was over Detroit squeaked out a 31-30 win at Soldier Field. It was Detroit’s first road win since Dec. 6, 2020, the first game after Matt Patricia was fired. That makes it the first road win for coach Dan Campbell and the second straight win for the 3-6 Lions.
The Lions were down 24-10 to start the fourth quarter and were able to claw back.
“We got ourselves back in the game. We’ve gotten back in a lot of games but haven’t been able to finish them out. And we got ourselves back in the game and won it,’’ Campbell said.
“That to me, more than anything else means everything to me, to this team. That’s above ‘on the road.’ The fact that we battled our way back and they stayed true to what they’ve been coached to do and we made the plays we had to to win the game.’’
Tied 10-10 at the half, the Bears scored a pair of touchdowns to take a 24-10 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Midway through the quarter, D’Andre Swift’s 9-yard touchdown scamper got the Lions back into the game, down 24-17.
Then one minute and 8 seconds later, cornerback Jeff Okudah intercepted Fields and brought the ball back 6 yards for a touchdown to tie the game at 24-24.
Of course there was no quit in Fields and he busted through the middle and ran 67 yards for a touchdown with Okudah on his heels as he headed into the endzone. After the extra point was missed, the Bears led 30-24 with 9:11 left. Each team went three-and-out and the Lions got the ball back with 5:23 remaining.
Running back Jamaal Williams completed the 91-yard scoring drive with a one-yard touchdown run. The extra point was good, giving the Lions a 31-30 lead.
Five of the many reasons the Lions won:
1. Even after the Lions’ final score, the Bears had enough time to get downfield and kick a field goal to win it. But Aidan Hutchinson, Julian Okwara and the entirety of the defense had another plan. In that possession, Fields was sacked twice. Once by Hutchinson on second-and-10, then by Okwara on fourth-and-8. “That’s two weeks in a row where our defense has come up huge. That is a tough offense to play, that quarterback it’s everything we talked about. You can play perfect and play the game you want to play and if you just let him out four plays it will kill you, it could be four touchdowns,’’ Campbell said. “At the end of the day we bottled him up enough and forced him to have to stay in there and make some plays that’s hard for him to do. … Even though we got hurt on a couple of plays they stayed true to it.’’ Fields finished with 13 carries for 147 yards and two rushing touchdowns. He was also 12 of 20 for 167 yards, two passing touchdowns and one interception.
2. Another huge play came with 3:14 left and the Lions needing a touchdown. On third-and-8 from Detroit’s 42, Jared Goff connected with wide receiver Tom Kennedy for a 44-yard gain getting them to Chicago’s 14-yard line. Two plays later Jamaal Williams ran in for the game-winning touchdown. “It doesn’t shock me or surprise me that TK came up with a big play. He’s there when needed and that was big for us,’’ Campbell said.
3. Jeff Okudah’s interception and return for the touchdown early in the fourth was also key. (Notably, Okudah and Fields are both Ohio State products.) “Our defense came up big. When we desperately needed a takeaway we get that and we get points, Jeff (Okudah) makes a heck of a play,’’ Campbell said.
4. The offense had struggled a bit in the win over the Packers a week ago, but came back to life in Chicago. Goff finished 19 of 26 for 236 yards and one touchdown. His only interception was negated by a Bears penalty. “I thought Goff threw the ball well today, it wasn’t perfect all the time but I thought he was feeling it,’’ Campbell said. “He made some pivotal throws when we absolutely needed them. I thought he played quarterback for us very well and, there again, when we needed a huge drive he made some monster plays.’’
5. Over so many losses during so many years, the Lions have shot themselves in the foot with penalties. Not on Sunday. “As a whole our team played very disciplined today overall. We ended up with two penalties, their penalties really helped us,’’ Campbell said. Indeed the Bears were called for nine penalties costing them 86 yards. Also, another tried-and-true method of shooting oneself in the foot is turnovers. The Lions never turned the ball over on Sunday.
BY THE NUMBERS: The Lions only went for it on fourth down once and converted it. That was a fourth-and-2 from the Bears’ 2 in the second quarter. Goff connected with tight end Brock Wright for the score. … Alex Anzalone led the defense with 10 tackles, one pass defense and on forced fumble. Hutchinson had eight tackles and one sack. Julian Okwara had a pair of sacks. … The Bears finished with 258 rushing yards compared to just 95 for the Lions. But Detroit had 228 passing yards compared to 150 for Chicago.
(Photo courtesy of Detroit Lions)
(Next up: Lions (3-6) at N.Y. Giants (7-2) at 1 p.m., on Sunday, Nov. 20. The Giants topped the Texans 24-16 on Sunday.)
Lions Lowdown 