Dave Birkett

Detroit Free Press

They are football savants in a league full of bright minds, and in the span of five days, they both tried to attack the Detroit Lions' No. 2-ranked defense the same way.

Bill Belichick had no interest in running the ball when his New England Patriots hosted the Lions last week, at least not until Tom Brady had built him a comfortable 18-point halftime lead.

Marc Trestman used the same pass-first (and -second and -third) approach Thursday. But with a trigger man and a defense that aren't nearly as good, his Chicago Bears failed miserably after a hot start.

The Lions held the Bears to 13 yards rushing on just eight carries in their 34-17 Thanksgiving win, and while the embattled Trestman -- whose schematic genius isn't reflected in his team's 5-7 record -- is catching heat for a game plan that ignored the run, he was only acknowledging what everyone in the NFL sees:

The Lions are nearly impossible to run against.

"I think (other teams) look at the numbers and make an assessment of what they think they can do from an offensive standpoint, in relationship to our defense," Lions coach Jim Caldwell said Thursday. "Not everybody will look at it the same way. You'll see, week to week, it's a little different approach. But the last couple weeks, it's kind of been that way (that teams haven't tried to run the ball). But I'm certain that there'll be a time, and it could come up this particular week, where we'll get challenged in that area again."

With three-quarters of the season in the books, the Lions (8-4) are putting together a historic year against the run, and that's the biggest reason to believe they could make noise in the playoffs.

Consider:

• The Lions lead the NFL in rushing defense, at just 65.9 yards per game allowed, the fewest since the 2010 Pittsburgh Steelers gave up 62.8 yards per game en route to Super Bowl XLV.

• Ndamukong Suh is the most dominant run defender in the game, a defensive tackle who commands regular double teams and who's so disruptive, his own teammates complain about him blowing up gap assignments. Suh's 18.5 Pro Football Focus rating against the run is tied for third among all defensive players, behind only Oakland Raiders rookie Khalil Mack (25.5) and Lions teammate DeAndre Levy (19.8).

(Incidentally, Suh's dominance against the run is one reason the Lions would foolish to let him leave in free agency. The most important piece of the NFL's best defensive unit must be re-signed.)

• Players always talk about the quest to make other teams one-dimensional, but in the Lions' case, their opponents have done it for them. The Bears, despite having one of the league's best running backs in Matt Forte, joined select company with their unwillingness to run Thursday. According to Pro Football Reference, they're just the 12th team to attempt eight runs or fewer in a regular-season game in the last 20 years. All 12 of those teams lost, including the Lions twice in a miserable second half of 2007.

The Lions' run defense won't be tested much in the next month, unless Trestman takes a different approach in the Dec. 21 rematch at Soldier Field, but they'll certainly be challenged on the ground if they make the postseason.

Outside of the NFC North-leading Green Bay Packers, who, like the Patriots, have a dominant quarterback in Aaron Rodgers who can control the game, most of the other top teams in the conference rely heavily on a top-10 rushing attack.

The Seattle Seahawks (first), Dallas Cowboys (second) and Philadelphia Eagles (seventh) all average more than 130 yards rushing per game, and the New Orleans Saints (ninth) are a smidgen behind, though they took the pass-is-best approach in their October loss to the Lions.

The Arizona Cardinals, current owners of the best record in the NFC, don't have a dynamic offense in any aspect now that quarterback Carson Palmer has been lost for the year to a torn ACL, but their defense is good enough to keep them in most ballgames.

Trestman said he hoped to replace the running game Thursday with an array of quick passes, but as soon as the Lions realized that, they shut that down, too.

"They did a good job defensively," Trestman said. "Credit to them."

Credit that's long since overdue.

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.