Joe's Gameday Recap: Lions 24, Bears 13

I… uh… um…

I have NO idea what that was. To be honest, I’m surprised the NFL didn’t just black-out the game after the first quarter, but they let it continue, ending with the Lions ascension to 5-0 on the year. The Bears drop to 2-3 after a horrible showing at Ford Field. I’m hesitant to get started, but let’s get to the breakdown.

First and foremost, everyone can get the HELL OFF of Jay Cutler’s back. If any game during his tenure in Chicago illustrates what he can do for this team, it was this one. With only Matt Forte and a rookie wide-out, Jay managed to put points on the board when the rest of the offense took the night off or false-started in their pants. Cutler kept plays alive, made accurate throws and good decisions, and stood in the pocket and took solid shots to the chin all night. They were several drives that took up chunks of clock that only continued because Cutler willed it. If you’re still hating him, you’re part of the problem. ‘Cause Jay sure the hell isn’t. I’m done with all the unwarranted complaints about his body language and his demeanor. He gets his ass kicked every week and never moans or complains. He takes his beating like a man and tries to win every single time he steps on the field.

For the rest of Chicago’s offense, it was really just Matt Forte and Dane Sanzenbacher. Forte’s 116 yards rushing and 35 passing combined with Sanzenbacher’s 6 catches for 64 yards accounted for over half of Chicago’s total yardage. Rarely-used Sam Hurd contributed with four receptions for 50 yards, but he was the only receiver that showed up. Johnny Knox was a non-factor, Roy Williams was hardly on the field and Devin Hester let a gorgeous Cutler pass tip off his hands as he was racing clean to the endzone. It was all kinds of ridiculous.

You’re probably asking why I haven’t addressed the offensive line yet. Here it comes. This was the worst game from an offensive line I’ve ever seen, and I’ve witnessed nine sacks in one half. Chicago’s front five managed to rack up NINE false starts, an appalling and unheard of number for an NFL franchise. J’Marcus Webb took the blame for at least three of those and “starting” tight end Kellen Davis was at fault for three of his own, all coming in the first seven plays. Frank Omiyale contributed with a few of his own before he was benched for Lance Louis late. The Bears’ 14 flags combined with Detroit’s 12 totaled an NFL record 26 total penalties. Booyah. As far as protection goes, Chicago’s o-line missed plenty of blocks when the Lions merely rushed four, which is nearly unacceptable. When your left tackle doesn’t block the right defensive end on a four-man rush, you’ve got issues. Unfortunately, the Bears had problems on both sides of the ball.

Chicago’s defense, which is built to stop the big play, found themselves on the crap-end of two monster plays, a 73 yard bomb from Matthew Stafford to Calvin Johnson in the first quarter and an 88 yard run by Jahvid Best in the third. If we just knock those two plays off the record, then the Bears defense was pretty good. But I can’t do that. Chris Harris played like the other inexperienced safeties on the roster, missing a grand chance at a tackle-for-loss early in the game and then losing track of Best on his TD scamper. Runs like that can be stopped if you just play disciplined gap-control defense. Charles Tillman didn’t redirect Calvin Johnson to the inside toward the safety on his touchdown, which lead to a complete torching of Harris. Julius Peppers has just been injured on the play before, so the Lions took full advantage of his absence. Johnson ripped the Bears to shreds with 130 yards on only 5 catches. D.J. Moore made a great interception at the end of the first half to ensure the Bears took a surprising lead into the break, but it wasn’t enough. Not getting our pass rush going didn't help either. I’m just about finished with this cover-two defense hooey. (And by that I mean I was done two years ago.)

The coaching staff had its fair share of miscues as well. Whether it was using three timeouts in the first quarter or leaving field goals on the board, nothing worked. I wasn’t entirely opposed to the fourth down attempt in the first half, but Lovie went for it in the most ridiculous way. Most teams try to draw the defense off-sides, take the timeout and then kick the field goal when they can’t get the penalty. Lovie decided that not only would he try for the off-sides, he wanted to go for it on fourth down anyway. It was just greedy and reeks of Martz.

There’s SO much ranting and raving I could do from this game, but let’s be fair for a minute. As bad as the Bears looked, they’re only 2-3. They could spark a small turnaround and maybe climb back into the hunt for a wildcard spot. Now let’s be honest for a minute: that’s probably not going to happen. The Bears are going to struggle until all three phases of their game can click on the same night. (Or even two for that matter, I’m not greedy.) They’re simply not talented enough to overcome the shortcomings and mistakes they made tonight. For the record, I'm blaming Jerry Angelo. But that's coming in a future article.

That’s it. I’m out.

Bear Down and Happy Jay Cutler Day!