DETROIT — While there is no easy explanation for Detroit Lions’ two-touchdown comeback for a 31-26 win over the Chicago Bears, coach Dan Campbell said when the pressure went up, their heart rate leveled out.
No one appeared frazzled, no one shrugged his shoulders. Instead the Lions, who are 8-2 for the first time since 1962, went calmly about their business. They weren’t playing well with four turnovers and the defense struggling to contain Bears quarterback Justin Fields. Didn’t matter.
With 4:15 left, they were down 26-14 and there was no doubt in their minds that they still had a chance.
“As long as we have the ability to get a stop and we’ve got three timeouts, we can do anything. We had three timeouts and we were close,’’ Campbell said. “They’re sitting there with the lead, they’re going to do what they need to do to hold that and not do something too aggressive, if we could just find a way to get a stop I felt pretty good about where we were going to be at.’’
Before the final defensive play when Aidan Hutchinson strip-sacked Fields for a safety, Campbell said he had a few words for the defense.
“I remember him saying something like you’ve got to love this -hit,’’ linebacker Alex Anzalone said. “When you see a head coach, and you know he’s an offensive-minded head coach, when you see him come out and see him do stuff, alright let’s go. It’s fun to play for him. It’s the most fun I’ve had playing football probably in my whole career.’’
Turns out winning is fun.
The Lions are still atop the NFC North and are 2-0 in division games. They face the Green Bay Packers (4-6) on Thanksgiving at Ford Field.
Five reasons the Lions won:
1. Jared Goff will be the first to tell you he didn’t play his best game with three interceptions. One ball was tipped, on another Sam LaPorta ran into a defender, but on the third he threw it right at the defender. That all won’t be remembered as much as this two-minute drives. One ended the first half, giving the Lions a 14-10 halftime lead. Then with 3:29 left he hit Jameson Wlliams on a 32-yard touchdown pass to get within 5 points. Then he drove the offense down the field ending with a David Montgomery TD run and a 2-point conversion to take a 29-26 lead with 29 seconds left. “Here’s what we know about Goff, at the very least he’s going to be mentally tough and physically tough,’’ Campbell said. “You can bank on that. Today he showed his resiliency.’’
2. For three and a half quarters, the defense struggled to stop Fields and the Bears offense. But with the game on the line, they came through big-time. With 2:59 left the Bears got the ball with a 26-21 lead. The Lions defense needed a stop for a chance to win and they got it, forcing a three-and-out. “We just embody our head coach, we feed off him, we feed off what he preaches to us, we’ve all bought in to how we operate and how we go about doing things,’’ Anzalone said. “At the end of the day we know we’re always in the fight with the talent we have on our team and the want-to we have on our team. It really starts top down.’’
3. Aidan Hutchinson’s strip sack for a safety with 29 seconds left, sealed the win. It was huge. “That to me, those are the moments we are built for. That’s how we have to think,’’ Campbell said.
4. Running back David Montgomery lined up against his former team for the first time since signing with Detroit. He tried to downplay the matchup earlier in the week. He was all in. On the final game-winning drive Montgomery had two catches for 22 yards and three runs for 23 yards, including the 1-yard TD run to win the game. “What you see is what you get with David. He’s steady, he’s reliable, he’s explosive,’’ Campbell said. “He can help you in pass game, run game protection. If there’s anything I say I wish we could’ve gotten him the ball more. He was huge for us on those last couple of drives.’’ Montgomery finished with a dozen carries for 76 yards and 2 catches for 22 yards.
5. Wide receiver Jameson Williams had two huge plays. He made a beauty of a catch for 12 yards on a third-and-1 just before the half. That allowed the drive, which resulted in a touchdown, to continue. Then in the fourth quarter, Williams’ 32-yard touchdown catch got the Lions within 5 points. Both were key plays in the win and showed the trust that the coaches have in Williams. “He’s part of the herd. He’s been accepted and the way he works and the way he goes and blocks, and he’s starting to run some pretty good routes and making some catches,’’ Campbell said. “A lot of guys are starting to trust him and that’s been earned.’’
Next up: Green Bay Packers (4-6) at Lions (8-2), 12:30 p.m. on Thursday. The Lions defeated the Packers, 34-20, at Green Bay in Week 4.
Lions Lowdown 
Good details! What a game!
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