It wasn’t expected by many, not even entering the final drive. It certainly wasn’t easy, but the Detroit Lions pulled off a thrilling 31-30 win over the Chicago Bears in Soldier Field on Sunday.
It took a stunning comeback from the Lions, who trailed 24-10 entering the fourth quarter, to secure the first road victory of Dan Campbell’s coaching reign in Detroit. Several Lions players and units rose to the challenge on a chilly Sunday in Chicago.
Grading the Lions performances in Week 10 is a tricky task. More than a few Lions had games that ranged from terrible to awesome over the span of a few plays. Averaging them out into a final grade took a lot of fine-tuning and collective thought.
Here’s what the grade book looks like from the Lions’ Week 10 win over the Bears.
Offense
The Lions offense posted 323 total yards and an impressive 25 first downs on 59 plays. Quarterback Jared Goff was generally effective and efficient in completing 19 of his 26 pass attempts. His biggest mistake, a terrible interception on an underthrown seam route, got wiped out by a penalty. Goff was at his best on the Lions’ go-head drive.
The run game never really materialized for Detroit. Jamaal Williams netted 59 yards on 16 carries, including a touchdown. D’Andre Swift managed six yards on six carries, a weird stat line for someone with a nine-yard touchdown run on the ledger. The Bears successfully attacked the run with extra defenders.
Amon-Ra St. Brown thrived as a receiver. St. Brown caught 10 passes for 119 yards. Nobody else had more than three targets. Goff was sacked twice, both on blitzes by Bears LB Jack Sanborn. It was not the line’s best day but the unit generally held up well enough to win.
Grade: B-minus
Defense
The stated gameplan from the Lions all week was to not let Bears QB Justin Fields beat them with his legs. On that front, they failed. Fields ran for 147 yards on 13 carries, several of which were designed runs for the fleet-footed quarterback.
Khalil Herbert and David Montgomery each found success on the ground too. Overall the Bears ran 35 times for 258 yards and two TDs. The Lions defense didn’t miss tackles as much as they missed tackling lanes, with the notable exception of Fields’ truly spectacular 1-yard TD scamper where he broke at least three tackles.
The pass defense was probably better than fans might remember. Two very notable blown coverages, both on touchdown passes to TE Cole Kmet, skew the results. Around those two terrible reps, the pass coverage was strong. Jeff Okudah earned my game ball for his pick-six as well as his consistently tight coverage.
Ends Aidan Hutchinson and Julian Okwara–in his most extensive action of the season–did well in creating pressure on Fields and forcing tough throws. The linebacking corps missed injured rookie Malcolm Rodriguez but got a spirited effort from Alex Anzalone and nice early reps from Jarrad Davis, called up from the practice squad. The entire unit came up with a huge stop when the Lions needed it most, an important step for the maligned defense.
Grade: C
Special teams
This unit was all over the place. Kicker Michael Badgley exacted sweet revenge on the Bears team that dumped him after Week 4, a game where he made all four field goal attempts. Badgley was perfect on one field goal and four extra points, the last one the most important and coming after the man who replaced him in Chicago, Cairo Santos, wildly missed on a conversion.
Long snapper Scott Daly had an awkward snap for the third time in four weeks. Fortunately, punter Jack Fox was great as a holder. Fox had two great punts but also two rough efforts in the fourth quarter that thankfully didn’t cost the team.
Justin Jackson had one kick return for 39 yards. The coverage unit blew assignments on an early kick return by Khalil Herbert and missed a tackle on a later attempt too.
Overall: C-minus
Coaching
The win had to feel sweet for Lions head coach Dan Campbell. He has preached to his team the idea of perseverance and executing. For the second week in a row, that strategy paid off after weeks of various states of failure.
Coordinators Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn cooked up tactically smart game plans to specifically combat the Bears. The players didn’t always execute, but the concepts were savvy. Johnson got a little too cute with some second-down runs and poorly-timed calls in the second and third quarters but made up for it (with Goff) with a fantastic fourth quarter offensive design and execution.
The Lions stayed disciplined, guilty of just two called penalties for 15 yards. Chicago got flagged nine times for 86 yards, several of which drew the ire of Bears fans. Detroit rose above it and that reflects well upon Campbell.
Grade: B-plus
