Given a chance to run away and hide with the franchise’s first NFC North title, the Detroit Lions instead played dead in the midway. The Lions were outplayed, outcoached and too easily outscored, 28-13, by the host Chicago Bears.
Other than a good second quarter from both the offense and the defense, Detroit was thoroughly dominated by the Bears, who improved to 5-8 with their convincing win. The Lions fall to 9-4 as they conclude the outdoor portion of their 2023 schedule.
Justin Fields was the better quarterback over Jared Goff. Montez Sweat was the better EDGE over Aidan Hutchinson. D.J. Moore was the better wide receiver over Amon-Ra St. Brown, though some of that goes on Goff. Both coordinators, Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn, were outmaneuvered by their Chicago counterparts. So too was head coach Dan Campbell by Matt Eberflus, who spent Chicago’s bye week with the local media already auditioning his replacement.
The third quarter was perhaps the worst the Lions can play for an extended period. Johnson’s offense went three-and-out three straight times, with Goff fumbling away a snap on the fourth series. Detroit’s defense did force a three-and-out of its own, but that was between a field goal and a touchdown. The Lions’ 13-10 halftime lead was blown away and never close to being recaptured.
Goff finished 20-for-35 with just 161 passing yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He was 8-for-19 in the second half, a stanza where the Bears defense seemed to correctly anticipate everything coming at them. The Lions offensive line also had a rough game, notably left tackle Taylor Decker getting beaten for at least two sacks.
There were a plethora of missed tackles by the Lions defense, who also gave up containment on Fields as a runner too often, too. Just for good measure, kicker Riley Patterson missed an extra point. Total team loss.
The Lions have a short week to get things back in order. Detroit hosts Denver on Saturday night in Week 15.
