Between Jared Goff And Tremaine Edmunds who Gave Up The Game As Coach Dan Campbell Says…
Dominant second-half performances on both sides of the ball powered the Bears to an impressive 28-13 win over the Lions Sunday at Soldier Field.
The Lions overcame a double-digit deficit against the Bears for the second time in three weeks, as the NFC North leaders rallied from a 10-0 deficit to take a 13-10 lead. But this time, Chicago responded to the adversity by outscoring the Detroit 18-0 in the second half.
After allowing the Lions to score touchdowns on their final two possessions of the first half, the Bears defense buckled down, holding Detroit without a first down on its first five possessions of the second half.
The unit opened the half with three straight three-and-outs and then recovered a Detroit fumble and forced the Lions to turn the ball over on downs at their own 34.
The offense took advantage of excellent field position to score two touchdowns and two field goals on its first five drives of the second half. With the game tied 13-13, Justin Fields threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to DJ Moore on 4th-and-13 and scrambled for an 11-yard TD.
Fields completed 19 of 33 passes for 223 yards with one TD and a 88.3 passer rating and rushed for 58 yards on 12 carries. Moore caught six passes for 68 yards and one TD.
The Bears defense registered three takeaways and 4.0 sacks.
After winning the coin toss and choosing to receive the opening kickoff, the Bears marched 69 yards on eight plays to take a 7-0 lead on Moore’s 16-yard touchdown run.
The TD came on a well-designed play. Moore took the direct shotgun snap, ran to his left, faked a hand-off to Fields and sprinted around the corner.
Offensive linemen Lucas Patrick and Braxton Jones, receiver Trent Taylor and running back Roschon Johnson all threw blocks on the score.
After Yannick Ngakoue forced a Lions punt with a third-down sack of Jared Goff, the Bears extended their lead to 10-0 on Cairo Santos’ 46-yard field goal late in the first quarter.
The kick came one play after Fields was sacked for a 13-yard loss.
Fields set up the field goal with a nifty 19-yard scramble on third-and-8 and a 28-yard completion to Darnell Mooney to the Detroit 16.
The Bears had a chance to extend their lead after Jaylon Johnson picked off a Goff pass on fourth-and-10 from the Chicago 35.
Fields connected with Cole Kmet for a 41-yard completion early in the drive, but on fourth-and-1 from the Detroit 38, the Bears faked a “tush push” and Fields pitched the ball to Moore, who was stopped for no gain.
The Lions then scored touchdowns on their next two possessions to take a 13-10 halftime lead. They cut the deficit to 10-6 on Jahmyr Gibbs’ 12-yard TD run with 6:59 left in the second quarter. Riley Patterson missed the extra point wide left.
After the Bears went three-and-out, Goff capped an 11-play, 53-yard drive with an 8-yard TD pass to receiver Josh Reynolds with :26 left in the half.
After the Bears defense opened the second half with a three-and-out, Santos’ 25-yard field goal tied the score 13-13 midway through the third quarter.
The drive was sustained by Fields’ 13-yard pass to Moore, who made a leaping catch along the sideline.
The Bears settled for the kick after having first-and-goal at the 7.
After the defense registered its third straight three-and-out to open the second half, the Bears took over at the 50-yard line.
On fourth-and-13 from the Detroit 38, Fields induced the Lions to jump offsides—resulting in a free play—and he rifled a 38-yard touchdown pass to Moore, giving the Bears a 19-13 lead with 1:36 left in the third quarter. Santos’ extra point attempt was blocked.
After T.J. Edwards recovered a Lions fumble at the Detroit 29 after a botched center/quarterback exchange, Fields’ 11-yard TD scramble on third-and-goal gave the Bears a 25-13 lead early in the third quarter.
The defense then produced another huge play. On fourth-and-1 from the Lions’ 34, Gibbs was dropped for a four-yard loss by Jack Sanborn and Jaquan Brisker.
The Bears took advantage of the excellent field position, increasing their lead to 28-13 on Santos’ 28-yard field goal with 9:20 to play.
With their second straight win, the Bears improved to 5-8, including 5-4 in their last nine games following an 0-4 start.