The Lions crushed the Bears today at Ford Field, but opened the day with some miscues and having trouble finishing drives on offense. Matthew Stafford seemed to have a bit of difficulty getting in sync with his receivers. He missed a few throws, including one that was too high and too hot for Eric Ebron in the end zone. The Lions only red zone trip ended in a field goal. Cornerback Darius Slay found himself being examined with a suspected concussion after a relatively minor hit to the head. Theo Riddick and Tion Green opened up hot, combining for 46 yards in the first quarter. Joe Dahl started at left guard, his first start of his career. The Lions ended the first quarter up 3-0.

The second quarter opened with another field goal by Prater. On the Lions following drive, Marvin Jones made a spectacular play on a 58-yard jump ball to set up T. J. Jones’ first touchdown of the season this was the beginning of the end for Chicago. Tarik Cohen returned the following kickoff deep into Lions territory, but the play was called back on a holding penalty. The Bears and Lions engaged in a back and forth duel of incompetence to close out the half. Mitchell Trubisky was driving down the field but fell victim to yet another Darius Slay pass break up on third down to kill the drive. That gave the Lions enough time to get something going, but Kenny Golladay pushed off on the already out of position Kyle Fuller. The offensive pass interference call negated a catch that would have put the Lions in field goal range. On the next play Theo Riddick fumbled, handing the ball back to the Bears in field goal range. The Lions went into the half up 13-3.

The Lions Crushed the Bears in the Second Half

Theo Riddick had 49 yards rushing in the first half, and Tion Green had 20. head coach Jim Caldwell told the sideline reporter that the team needed to stay unpredictable and keep the running game going. So, of course, the Lions ran the ball fewer times in the second quarter than I can count on one hand. Matthew Stafford finally connected with Ebron in the end zone for a score. The Lions defense stood up to the Bears offense very effectively through the third quarter. The Lions went into the fourth quarter up 20-3.

The fourth Quarter started with a Quandre Diggs interception in the end zone, but the offense could not put the game away. They didn’t score a point or even sustain a drive in the fourth quarter. They let the Bears get chance after chance to score points. The Bears scored an ultimately meaningless touchdown, stuffed the Lions next drive, and were moving the ball until Darius Slay iced the game with his second interception of the day. The Lions have guaranteed a .500 or better record on the season. They sit at 8-6 with two weeks left to play in 2017 still holding a chance to make the playoffs.

You can hear more about how the Lions crushed the Bears on today’s Lions post game podcast.