Chicago Bears Versus the Detroit Lions In-Depth Game Review

The Chicago Bears entered the regular season with a lot of question marks.  Could they protect their quarterback?  Could they stop teams on third down?  Would the new offense that newly hired offensive coordinator Mike Martz brought to Chicago work?  Those fears were realized in part and forgotten in part as the Bears held off a late Lions rally (after Detroit had lead for most of the game) and beat them 19-14.

This game was filled with turnovers, critical penalties, a pretty poor coaching decision and a rule that not too many people may understand but in the end, the Bears did what they had to do to win.  It appears as if the new offense installed by offensive coordinator Mike Martz is still being learned by the Bears (we saw wide receivers run the wrong routes or cut them short at critical times) but it also appears that it can be effective.  

The defense was very good in this game and played much better than they did last year in almost any game.  Hopefully that can continue and the Bears will be able to play the same kind of defense against some of the heavyweight teams they have coming up on their schedule (Dallas, Green Bay etc.).

Scoring Summary

The Bears scored first (on their first drive of the game) after a very nice opening drive which featured some nice pass plays by Cutler.  After not being able to punch it into the end zone, the Bears opted for a 20 yard field goal by kicker Robbie Gould to make it 3-0.  Following an interception thrown by Bear’s quarterback Jay Cutler coupled with a 15 yard personal foul penalty by defensive end Julius Peppers, the Lions got a short field and pushed it into the end zone on a seven yard touchdown run by running back Jahvid Best.

The Lions would go up 14-3 (following a Bear’s turnover) as they marched down the field and ended the drive with another run by Best, this one a four yarder.

The Bears wouldn’t lie down however despite the mistakes (turnover and penalties) and on their next possession Cutler threw a quick pass to running back Matt Forte and he turned it into an 89 yard touchdown to make it 14-10.  Following a sack (of Lion’s quarterback Matthew Stafford) and subsequent fumble (recovered by defensive tackle Tommie Harris) the Bears got a field goal (31 yards) from Gould to make it 14-13 going into the half.

The third quarter remained scoreless as both teams couldn’t move the ball effectively on offense.  Things got a little more exciting in the fourth quarter however as well as a little bit unnerving for both teams.  The Bears would end up taking the lead after Cutler hit Forte for a 28 yard touchdown strike that put the Bears ahead.  Despite their attempt to drive down the field and score (and win the game) the Lions fell short and Chicago earned a 19-14 opening day victory.

Stud of the Game

The Bears defense as a whole deserves this honor thanks to their stellar play against a weakened Lions team.  There were several individual performers that played very well in this game including defensive end Julius Peppers (a sack and fumble caused) linebacker Lance Briggs (fumble caused and recovered), defensive tackle Tommie Harris (fumble recovered) and cornerback Charles Tillman (interception).  Sure, they gave up 14 points on two runs but those came on the heels of turnovers by the offense.  Had the Bears defense allowed the Lions to score after every Bear’s turnover, this game would have ended in a different result.

Perhaps most important was the fact that the defense didn’t allow the Lions to covert long third down opportunities.  Hopefully this is a sign of better things to come.

Dud of the Game

Anyone who fumbled a ball or drew a penalty at a critical time during the game should be given this honor.  Even though Forte had two touchdowns, he fumbled the ball at a critical time leaving the Bears empty on one scoring opportunity.  Cutler’s interception was a bit of a bonehead play and his fumble gave the Lions good field position.  Tight end Greg Olsen had his moment as well killing another Bear’s drive with a fumble.

A penalty against Peppers (for a hit to the head of Stafford) helped keep a Detroit drive alive while the offensive line and special teams had their fair share of holding and illegal block penalties.  Luckily the Bears were able to overcome these mistakes enough to win this game.  

Analysis

Early on in this game, the Bears had opportunities to score but turnovers killed their opportunities.  In the first half, an interception by Cutler, a fumble by tight end Greg Olsen and another fumble by Forte, kept the Bears out of the end zone and swung the early advantage towards the Lions.  The Bears were able to rally at the end of the first half to come within one point at halftime.  The Lions also lost their starting quarterback which figured to swing things heavily in the Bear’s favor in the second half.  It appeared as if Chicago would be able to gain control of the game and win it easily.

But after all of that (and halftime) the Bears offense fell flat in the third and early fourth quarters before waking up just enough to score the go ahead touchdown.  Everyone knows what happened in the final seconds of the game as the Lions marched down the field in the final minute of the game and Detroit wide receiver Calvin Johnson caught what many thought would end up being the go ahead (and game winning touchdown).  However, the officials ruled that Johnson didn’t fully possess the ball all the way through the catch and then down to the ground so the touchdown was nullified.

After another two failed pass attempts the Bears ended up winning the game and go 1-0 to start the season.

One important point to note was the decision made by head coach Lovie Smith to not go for a field goal after they failed to punch the ball into the end zone from the ½ yard line. On fourth down, he decided to try to go for the touchdown but the offense failed to punch the ball into the end zone.  Had the Bears not won that game, fans and media would have chastised Smith for making that call.  Luckily for Smith the Bears won and that call will be forgotten by the time the Bears hit the field next week.

You can’t discount the effort that the defense put forth in this game and everyone played an important part in making things happen on that side of the ball.  Middle linebacker Brian Urlacher played like a man possessed making several tackles including one sack and showed the Bears and their fans what they missed while he was out all last season.  Danieal Manning had good game as well making a critical play to end the game (by knocking the ball away from Johnson in the end zone).  

Overall, the Bears defense was solid making few mistakes and not allowing the Lions to stay on the field too often after third downs.  

Next Up

The Bears will travel to Dallas to take on the Cowboys.  As of this writing the Cowboys had not played their game against the Washington Redskins.  Stay tuned for a full preview of this game later on in the week.