Chicago — Don’t let the final score fool you. For the third consecutive game, the Detroit Lions were thoroughly outplayed and embarrassed by the competition in…
Chicago — Don’t let the final score fool you. For the third consecutive game, the Detroit Lions were thoroughly outplayed and embarrassed by the competition in a 34-22 loss to the Bears on Sunday.
Chicago scored touchdowns with their first four possessions, jumping out to a 26-0 lead in the middle of the second quarter, abusing a secondary missing All-Pro cornerback Darius Slay.
After receiving the opening kickoffs, the Bears needed eight plays to cross the goal line for the first of five times. Quarterback Mitch Trubisky completed all five of his throws on the drive, including a 35-yard slant to Allen Robinson, which set up Tarik Cohen’s 3-yard touchdown plunge.
Cody Parkey missed the PAT, part of a comically bad day for the Chicago kicker, which saw him miss two extra points and two field goals, all off the upright.
BOX SCORE: Bears 34, Lions 22
The Lions responded by driving into Chicago territory, converting a fourth-and-1 en route, but were knocked out of field-goal range after quarterback Matthew Stafford was sacked on third down.
Stafford had another rough day, getting sacked six times by the Bears, one week after being dropped 10 times by the Vikings.
Two long passes, a 20-yard completion to Robinson and a 27-yarder to tight end Ben Braunecker quickly put the Bears back in Lions’ territory. Robinson capped the drive catching a 36-yard deep pass down the right sideline, working against Slay’s replacement DeShawn Shead.
After fullback Nick Bellore was stuffed on third-and-1, leading to another punt, the Bears connected on another big pass play. A blown coverage assignment allowed Anthony Miller to get open and safety Glover Quin missed an open-field tackle, clearing the way for the rookie receiver to race 45 yards for the score.
Parkey missed his second PAT, making it 19-0.
The Bears added one more touchdown in the second quarter after cornerback Bryce Callahan stepped in front of a Stafford pass intended for Marvin Jones and returned it to Lions 18. After a series of penalties, including a pair against the Lions, Trubisky went up the gut on a designed run from 4 yards out.
The Lions finally snapped the shutout late in the first half, driving 75 yards on 14 plays. Wide receiver Kenny Golladay got away with a fumble early in the possession thanks to a quick snap by Stafford negating a possible review.
A pass interference committed against Golladay in the end zone put the ball at the 1 yard line, and after LeGarrette Blount was stuffed twice, rookie runner Kerryon Johnson went up and over the pile to make it 26-7 at the half.
Detroit got it within two scores with a 52-yard Matt Prater field goal on the opening possession of the second half.
Parkey didn’t have the same success, missing a pair of field goals off the uprights in the third quarter from 41 and 34 yards out, but the Lions couldn’t capitalize on the opportunities. That opened the door for the Bears to extend their advantage.
Taking over at midfield after the Lions went three-and-out, Trubisky need two throws, a 24-yarder to tight end Trey Burton and a 26-yard slant to Robinson for the receiver’s second touchdown of the day. That made it 34-10 with 2:57 to go in the third quarter.
Trubisky finished 23 for 30 for a career-high 355 yards and the three touchdown throws.
The Lions managed to narrow the margin of defeat in the fourth quarter with a pair of meaningless touchdowns. Golladay caught the first, from 5 yards out. And after Bellore recovered an onside kick, Johnson weaved through traffic on a short throw from Stafford for the back’s second touchdown on the day.
Stafford went 25 for 42 for 274 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, the second coming on a desperation heave to TJ Jones into triple coverage on a fourth-down play early in the fourth quarter.
Detroit failed to convert either 2-point conversion, leaving them down 34-22 with 7:28 remaining. That was the end of the scoring.
The Lions, losers of three straight, will return home to face the Panthers next Sunday.
