Well that was easy. The Chicago Bears wasted no time it laying the wood to the Detroit Lions, paying them back for the Monday night loss earlier in the season and notching their fourth win in a row. The Lions were sloppy with the ball on offense and committed costly penalties of which the Bears were more than happy to take advantage. It was a defensive demolishing from Lovie Smith’s crew, who went to man coverage and shut the Lions down.
(6-3) Chicago Bears 37
(6-3) Detroit Lions 13
On Detroit’s opening drive, it looked as if Calvin Johnson was on his way to a monster game, catching three passes on that series. However, on his third catch, Julius Peppers absolutely mauled Johnson, forcing a fumble that Brian Urlacher brought back to the Lion 30. A multitude of Matt Forte runs and a Kyle Vanden Bosch late hit penalty set up the Bears at the six, where Forte took it in to give his team a lead they would never relinquish. A Tim Jennings forced fumble gave the Bears their second possession, on which Cutler found Earl Bennett on their way to Robbie Gould’s first field goal. After Lance Briggs wrapped up Matthew Stafford during an incompletion, Devin Hester brought back the punt 30 yards to the Chicago 48, foreshadowing his next punt return. After an 82 yard run up the sidelines off what seemed like the Lions’ ninth punt of the game, Devin Hester made it 20-0 with fourteen minutes left in the second quarter and sucked the life out of the Lions. From there the defense pinned their ears back and the line went after Stafford as the corners sat on his throws.
I’ll give the Bears defense all the credit, but I’m stunned with how poorly Matthew Stafford played. Gloves or no gloves, his four interceptions (Wright, Tillman both boomerangs, Jennings and the last to Corey Graham late) are utterly unacceptable when your team is on the road in a hostile environment. His 63 throws looked like fluttering butterflies on the wind. Lovie Smith’s defense challenged dared Stafford and his receivers by using more man coverage and single safety and the Lions failed to meet that challenge at any point during the game. Without a running game, the Lions has no chance.
While I’m not sure how much press he’s going to get, I want to sing the praises of Charles Tillman, who had one of the best games of his career. He completely blanketed Calvin Johnson in man coverage all day, letting only one pass beat him deep, a 40-yarder late as the game was completely out of reach. He took points off the board as he delivered the old “ball-punch” to Johnson and separated him from the ball before crossing the goal line in the second quarter. A Peppers sack later and the Lions had to settle for a field goal to make it 20-6. Tillman added to the defensive fun with a pick-six of his own (on the drive directly following a Wright’s pick-six), lighting 34-6 on the board and sealing the win for certain. It was a Pro Bowl-caliber game from Chicago’s best corner.
Shockingly there were a few miscues from the Bears in this rout, but nothing that came back to bite them. A failed hand-off from Cutler to Forte in the second led to the Lions first field goal. A few play-calls from mike Martz were puzzling: the Matt Forte pass on their second drive and the outside pitch on third and one which was blown up by the veteran Vanden Bosch. A missed field goal by Robbie Gould late in the second could have meant something had the Lions ever decided to score, but luckily that didn’t happen.
As for the fight in the fourth quarter, you had to see this coming. Too many violent and “illegal” hits instigated the situation, starting with Nick Fairley driving Cutler into the ground, next with Ndamukong Suh literally tearing off Cutler’s helmet and answered by Lance Briggs’ absolute leveling of Calvin Johnson (which looked high but pretty legal). In the final frame, a Tim Jennings interception turned ugly when Matthew Stafford drags corner D.J. down by the head (a dick move) during the return which leads to a major group fight near the Lion sidelines. D.J. Moore was flagged and ejected, but I have no qualms about his retaliation whatsoever. Stafford went after the helmet, so Moore went after him. You can’t let a quarterback get away with that kind of crap.
Other Notes of Note:
- Statistically Cutler wasn’t amazing, but he failed to throw an interception and kept the defense on their heels even as Matt Forte struggled to move the ball on the ground aside from a 40-yarder late.
- Earl Bennett stood out for the second straight week, this time catching six passes for 81 yards. Every other Bear only had 1 reception. Yeah, I’d say he’s our number one receiver.
-I was surprised to see that FOX actually stayed on the fight instead of panning away like most broadcasts. Then I remembered they aired UFC last night.
-Stand-out games from Peppers, Briggs and Urlacher on defense today. Peppers’ knee didn’t look to be bothering him much and I chalk up his leaving in the fourth to the overwhelming lead the Bears had. He should be okay going forward.
-I’m not sure how any punter ever kicks to Devin Hester. Even if coaches only had TEN MINUTES of prep time before the game, their first words should be “Don’t kick to twenty-three.”
It was a fantastic game Bears fans! Your team is 6-3! Live it up! Bear Down and Happy Jay Cutler day!
Keywords: Calvin Johnson, Charles Tillman, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Devin Hester, Jay Cutler, Julius Peppers, Lovie Smith, Matt Forte, Matthw Stafford, NFL
