Not this time.
Three weeks after the Bears defense collapsed in the fourth quarter against the Lions at Ford Field — losing a 12-point lead in the final five minutes — the Bears found themselves in a similar situation Sunday at Soldier Field.
They again led by 12 points in the fourth quarter — this time with 14:12 to play — with Jared Goff and the Lions’ potent offense ready to turn it up a notch and will their way to another victory.
But the Bears’ defense lived up to its resolve to not let it happen again, stopping Goff and the Lions stone cold. On fourth-and-one at the Lions’ 34-yard line with 12:18 to play, Bears linebacker Jack Sanford tackled Gibbs for a four-yard loss. The Bears took over, tacked on a field goal and the defense poured it on to seal a 28-13 victory.
“This one was oddly similar to the last time,” Sanborn said. “We learned from our mistakes. It speaks to the guys in this room that we all understood the situation. After that game in Detroit, we took a deep dive into how we have to play better in those situations. To come out here and be in an oddly similar situation and close the game out and leaving no life for them just felt great. A great team win all around.”
After Sanborn’s big stop, the Bears efficiently stifled the Lions down the stretch. They sacked Goff three more times (Gevon Dexter/Montez Sweat, Justin Jones/Sweat and Jones solo) and linebacker Tremaine Edmunds intercepted Goff with 2:31 to go to clinch the Bears’ second consecutive victory.
It was the finishing touch on a dominant second half. The Bears’ defense held the Lions to 76 yards and no points on 31 plays after allowing 191 yards and two touchdowns on 32 plays in the first half. That’s a far cry from the game at Ford Field, when the Bears allowed 148 yards on 17 plays in back-to-back touchdown drives in the final 4:15 of a 31-26 loss at Ford Field.
“You definitely get that feeling where you’re up two scores and we were like, we kind of get in a little habit,” said Sweat, who had two half-sacks, four quarterback hits and five tackles. “And we’re like, ‘Hold on. Back up,’ because we just got humbled three weeks ago. We wanted to finish on a good note this time.”
The performance was the best evidence yet that Matt Eberflus’ defense is taking hold. The Lions came in second in the NFL in total offense (400.6 yards per game) and sixth in scoring (27.3). The Bears held them to 267 yards — their lowest total of the season by 70 yards; and to 13 points, their second lowest total of the season.
The Bears had three more takeaways to give then 11 in the last three games. Jaylon Johnson had an interception in the second quarter. Linebacker T.J. Edwards recovered Goff’s fumbled snap.
And while players are making plays, Eberflus deserves credit for pushing many of the right buttons. Not only on Sanborn’s tackle of Gibbs (“it was a great call by Flus,” he said.), but with second-half adjustments that flummoxed the Lions.
“We found our swagger,” Jones said. “[The Lions] came out with looks that were different from what we practiced all week, so we had to come in at halftime and adjust to it.”
In the first half, the Lions gained 47 yards on three plays with tackle Dan Skipper as an eligible linemen. In the second half they had minus-4 yards on three plays with Skipper, with an incompletion and fumbled snap.
“They came out with it again, first play of the second half, so we had to adjust to that,” Jones said. “They were making good plays on it in the first half. But we adjusted to it pretty good. [We were] just playing our game. Not blinking. Playing lights out.”
