Summary, Highlights: The Lions pick up their franchise record 13th win with their win over the Bears

After last week’s loss to the Buffalo Bills, the Detroit Lions were under pressure to bounce back with the Eagles and Vikings hot on their heels.

Detroit delivered, as it usually does after a loss. Against the Chicago Bears, the Lions’ offense was hot – they scored on their first five drives and didn’t manage a punt until midway through the fourth quarter.

There was a little more ups and downs in the Lions’ injury-plagued defense. While the run defense bounced back strongly, they allowed the Bears to hold on in the passing game. However, they closed the door well and gave the Lions a reasonably comfortable fourth quarter en route to the win.

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

First quarter

The Detroit Lions won the toss and elected to defer. That proved to be a good decision as the Bears went three-and-out on third down thanks to pressure from Ifeatu Melifonwu and Za’Darius Smith.

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

After two 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 the Bears fumbled an exchange between Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze and Lions defensive end Josh Paschal recovered.

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 finally pounced into the end zone for one 10:0 Lions lead.

Finally, it looked like the Bears were close to getting into scoring position when Odunze had his second fumble after gaining 19 yards on a screen pass. Amik Robertson got credit for the forced fumble, Jack Campbell recovered it.

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

As Detroit moved back into the red zone, they stumbled again, failing to convert on a third-and-6 and settling for another short field goal attempt. Jake Bates made it well from 34 yards 13-0 Lions at the end of the first quarter.

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

Second quarter

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

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

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

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

Three direct plays to Gibbs (two passes, one run) gave the Lions 26 yards and quickly moved them into Bears territory. Jermar Jefferson contributed with a 10-yard catch of his own. After a few more touches from Gibbs, the Lions faced a third-and-3, but Gibbs was stopped a yard short. The Lions probably wanted to wait out the two-minute warning, but they wanted the Bears to go offside first, and Chicago came along, handing the Lions another string of losses.

On the first play after the game was stopped, Goff hit Williams with a play-action pass to the 6-yard line. On third-and-goal, Amon-Ra St. Brown navigated through the Bears’ defenders and scored an impressive touchdown on a WR screen. 27-7 Lions.

With 58 seconds left, the Bears had two timeouts to take the lead. They only needed three plays when Keenan Allen sneaked behind the Lions defense for a 45-yard touchdown. 27-14 Lions.

Detroit had 33 seconds and three timeouts before halftime to extend its lead. A couple of passes to Sione Vaki brought the Lions into Bears territory. Eventually they got close enough for Jake Bates to attempt a 60-yard field goal, but a penalty on Hogan Hatten pushed it to 65 yards. Bates’ kick wasn’t good and at the end of the half the score was 27-14.

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 by Jaylon Johnson gave the Lions 15 free yards to the Chicago 21-yard line. The Lions then executed a fake stumble play for a 21-yard touchdown pass to Sam LaPorta. 34-14 Lions.

However, the bears would not disappear. On a fourth-and-1 from midfield, Caleb Williams threw a jump ball to Odunze that traveled 30 yards into the red zone.

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

The Lions’ offense finally seemed to be stopped again after Goff was sacked in the second, but St. Brown took a checkdown up the middle and somehow found his way to the marker. From there, Detroit charged into the red zone and set up a third-and-3 from Chicago’s 13 at the end of the third quarter.

Fourth quarter

Goff outscored St. Brown on the decisive third down play, but Detroit opted out and missed a 31-yard field goal. A Goff pass bounced off St. Brown’s hands and the Bears took the lead on downs.

Chicago quickly faced a fourth-and-7 from its own 31-yard line and had to go for it. They converted again when Williams Allen scored for the first time. Williams then went right back to Allen twice more for gains of 10 and 22 yards into Lions territory. But after a sack by Al-Quadin Muhammad, the Bears faced a fourth-and-25 and decided to punt.

With just over eight minutes left, the Lions tried to decide the game. St. Brown made a great sideline catch that converted an early third-and-7 and helped bleed another minute after halftime. That would be all, however, as Detroit would go back to the Bears with a 17-minute lead with 5:36 left.

Chicago eats up the clock and drives into the red zone. But once they got there, the Lions’ secondary made some great plays. First, Terrion Arnold had a picture-perfect pass breakup, then Brian Branch knocked down a fourth down attempt that would essentially end the game.