Dhruv Koul shares his in-game reactions, thoughts and observations from the Lions-Bears game at Soldier Field. Follow him on Twitter @DhruvKoul to continue the conversation.
After a pair of strong wins against the Jets and Bills to elevate the Bears to 5-3 and first place in the NFC North, Chicago entered a stretch of three divisional games in 12 days starting today:
Today, Lions-Bears, Soldier Field
Sunday 11/18, Vikings-Bears, Soldier Field, Sunday Night Football on NBC
Thursday 11/22, Bears-Lions, Ford Field, Thanksgiving Day
It's a brutal stretch, and one that will certainly help define how the Bears' season will end. Winning today against a banged up and demoralized Lions' team was to be a crucial first step. I predicted that they would win, but struggle to do so even at home because of the X-Factor on the other sideline: Lions' QB Matthew Stafford:
In the end, the Bears absolutely dominated the Lions in the first half, running away from the Lions early. The Lions kept hanging around in the second half, but never got close enough to threaten as the defense largely clamped down on Matthew Stafford and Mitch Trubisky and the offense made enough plays to salt the game away.
I shared my in-game reactions, thoughts and observations from today's game at Soldier Field below:
1. PRE-GAME THOUGHT: The Bears have a big advantage in this game that stretches beyond home field advantage. The Lions' best cornerback (and one of the league's best), Darius Slay, is out today. So is T.J. Lang from the Lions' OL and Eli Harold from their front-seven. On offense, the Bears are catching a break by missing Slay and Harold. The Bears should run the football well on what is a poor run defense (even with the addition of Damon Harrison). And Trubisky MUST take care of the football. And on defense, considering the Vikings sacked Stafford 10 times last week, the Bears' front-seven has to be able to knock Stafford down today. If they let him settle in with the quick game, it could be a long day. Stafford is too good otherwise.
2. Great scripted start for the Bears. Mitch Trubisky was sharp, hitting crisp throws and changing the play at the line of scrimmage a couple times as well. It was a largely scripted drive, but great to see the Bears come out first and put the Lions in an early hole. Cody Parkey missed the extra point, but still a good opening statement to put the Bears up 6-0 early.
3. The Lions moved the ball well with tempo on their opening possession, but a couple of good blitzes and sacks from the Bears, one each from Bryce Callahan and Roquan Smith, pushed the Lions out of field goal range. Good stop to complement the offense's first drive. Smith is going to be a star, but Callahan keeps proving his worth for an extension every week.
4. Trubisky was sensational on the second drive. He made four exceptional throws on that drive, one was incomplete in the end zone which was honestly a better defensive play than anything. But the touchdown to Robinson was a thing of beauty. What a start. Bears up 13-0.
5. Another touchdown. Trubisky with a nice throw to find a wide open Anthony Miller, he slipped a tackle and ran over for another touchdown. I love it. Keep stepping on this team's throat. Put more and more distance, because Stafford is too good to be held down all game, especially when he goes hurry-up.
6. What is wrong with Cody Parkey today? Two missed XPs already.
7. Bryce Callahan again, sets up a short field with a nice interception of Stafford. And a few plays later, Trubisky ran it in on a QB-draw play to increase the lead to 26-0. Callahan keeps popping up and making plays every week.
8. Officials missed a clear fumble on the Lions' next series that should've given the Bears the ball back. Instead, they didn't call it and didn't let Matt Nagy challenge the play. Stafford then drove the Lions all the way for a score, courtesy of Kerryon Johnson's 1 yard TD run. That's the first rushing TD the Bears have given up all season to a non-QB (Nathan Peterman one week prior). To do so in their ninth game? Astounding.
This score came with 1:05 left in the first half, making the score 26-7. And the Lions get the ball back after halftime too. So the Bears MUST keep their foot on the pedal in the second half, especially because Stafford will not let the Lions lay down and roll over.
9. After the Lions came out and kicked a field goal on their first possession of the second half, the Bears marched right down the field again to get those points right back. But Cody Parkey missed his third kick of the day, with his 41 yarder bouncing off the upright yet again. Luckily, for the Bears, Prince Amukamara forced a fumble to get the ball right back for the Bears, because that drive should've resulted in points. Parkey has had an awful day. On his supposed home field.
10. How? I mean ... just ... how?
11. Bears letting the Lions hang around. Before each of Parkey's missed FGs, I felt that they should've gone for it to try to put the decisive blow on the Lions, but they didn't. And then Anthony Miller drops a reception over the middle that would've given the Bears a first down well in Lions' territory. Instead, they punted. It's only a two score game after such a dominating first half. Not a great feeling at the moment.
12. Shut up, Dhruv. After the Bears forced a punt, Trubisky hit Trey Burton for a big gain and Allen Robinson for a touchdown on the next play to bring that breathing room back. Also, they went for two, a clear shot that they aren't pleased with Parkey, and converted. Big time score to put the Bears up 34-10.
13. Welcome to 2018, Leonard Floyd!
14. After playing two games with a bum ankle and then sitting out two games with the same bum ankle, it was good to see Khalil Mack back in action. My God is he good.
15. Special teams needs to get cleaned up fast. Apart from the kicking disaster, the Bears allowed the Lions to recover an onside kick on a retry after offsetting penalties allowed a re-kick. Put the game away. Instead, the Lions went down and scored a touchdown again. The two-point try failed, but the Bears are now only up 34-22.
16. Phew!!!!
17. You wanted a divisional win? Here you go. It was a blowout that wasn't as close as the score.
18. Next week, the Bears host the Vikings at Soldier Field on NBC's Sunday Night Football. This game got flexed into prime time as the winner will have control of the NFC North going forward. The Bears have done an excellent job putting themselves in the driver's seat this year. A win in this game would be incredible for their confidence and for setting them up for the rest of the year. Not to mention, it's a home game. I'm a bit weary because the Vikings are getting into form and are on their bye week to prepare for this game. I feel like that might give them the edge.
Early prediction: Vikings 24, Bears 20.
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