Lions vs. Bears: 10 Things We Learned from Chicago's 37-13 Win

Wow, what a dominating performance by the Chicago Bears in a game they absolutely needed.

With the victory, the Bears equal the Detroit Lions at 6-3 and look to be legitimate contenders once again.

If there was any doubt that the Bears are a good team and have figured out their early woes, this game should wipe away those reservations.

On an afternoon when the Bears struggled to run the football, turnovers were the key; after having only five all season coming into the game,.the Lions committed six turnovers versus Chicago.

Matthew Stafford set a Lions record with 63 pass attempts, but despite his 329 yards passing, he had a QB rating of 46.3.

Consider this: the Bears lost the time of possession, had fewer yards, less first downs, many fewer plays, and yet they won by 24.

Also, if you don't think this was a heated battle in what has become a terrific NFC North, just take a look at that fight in the fourth quarter following the interception by Tim Jennings.

DJ Moore got jumped, yet he got ejected for retaliating, and I really liked Lance Briggs' reaction to Cutler getting his shoulder jammed into the turf on a previous play.

The Bears showed guts, heart and that they are true contenders. Now, let's get to the lessons learned.

Early Turnovers Key to Quick Bears Start

The Lions were driving until Julius Peppers delivered a vicious hit on wide receiver Calvin "Megatron" Johnson, forcing a fumble Brian Urlacher would end up recovering for Chicago.

Then, Jay Cutler led the Bears the rest of the way as Matt Forte's great vision got him to the end zone for an early 7-0 Bears lead.

On the next Detroit series, Tim Jennings forced, and recovered, a fumble by the Lions wideout Nate Burleson on a punch from behind.  

So, the first two Lions offensive series both result in turnovers; this is no accident, folks, heach coach Lovie Smith teaches this stuff.

To show you how valuable the turnovers were for the Bears, they had just 39 yards of offense, but had a 10-0 lead.

Without even getting into the later turnovers, this early lead allowed the Bears to dictate the action—crucial in an afternoon where the Bears run game struggled.

Charles Tillman Owned Megatron!

Charles Tillman played Megatron so closely, he practically became a body part.

In fact, I love this tweet by Steve Rosenbloom during the game: "Charles Tillman has owned Calvin Johnson so badly that Peanut has made Megatron look like a Bears receiver."

Tillman was all over Johnson like a cheap suit. Though Johnson caught seven passes for 81 yards, it was on 19 targets.

Tillman also added an interception, five solo tackles and three passes defended in the very impressive performance by the Bears' top cornerback.

Why Do Teams Continue to Kick to Devin Hester???

A bad ankle and strep throat apparently can't stop Devin Hester!

While you can expect Devin Hester to get a little good-natured ribbing from teammates on that touchdown-saving tackle late in the first quarter by new Lions punter Robert Malone, the man once again was RIDICULOUS.

But why in the world are the Lions allowing a kicker who just walked in off the street to punt to Hester in the first place?

It makes me laugh and shake my head that teams just never seem to learn.

Then, in the second quarter they punt to Hester and he takes it 82 yards to the house for a 20-0 Bears lead.

At that point in the game, Hester had more yards than the entire Bears offense. Not bad for a guy who didn't practice all week.

It was Hester's 18th career return for a TD.

Both Kickers Unaffected by Wind

Apparently, those swirling, 30-plus mph wind gusts did not bother Bears kicker Robbie Gould.

Gould not only kicked off out of the end zone, but he was perfect on his first two field goal attempts to give the Bears a 13-0 second quarter lead.

That is, until he pulled one wide right near the end of the half; but that did not appear to be a wind-related miss.

Meanwhile, Detroit's kicker didn't have any issues either, as Jason Hanson hit on both of his attempts in the first half as well.

Gould hit one in the second half from 50 yards so he finished three-of-four on the afternoon.

In all, five field goals on six attempts on a day when the wind was howling in Soldier Field—not too shabby.

Bears Running Game Nonexistant...And It Didn't Matter!

Well into the second quarter the Bears were averaging just one yard per carry. Nine carries, nine yards,

Forte had 12 yards rushing to that point, but Marion Barber lost three yards on his lone attempt.

The sad fact is the Lions had given up 100 yards or more in rushing in seven straight games prior, but the Bears O-line continually lost the battle at the line.

Normally, you might think that is understandable with the front four the Lions have, but again, this is a defense that other teams have had success rushing against.

The amazing thing is that none of this actually mattered, as the Bears rolled to victory.

Forte did get rolling in the third quarter, with a big 40-yard scamper, and on the day, he finished with 64 yards on 18 carries, a 3.6 yard average.

Finger Injury May Have Impacted Stafford's Accuracy

Matthew Stafford was wearing a glove in the first half, yet he said it was because of the wind.

I think it may have had more to do with the finger injury he suffered, however, against the Broncos two weeks ago.

Regardless, something was affecting Stafford's accuracy in the first half; he just wasn't sharp.

In the second half, those picks by Tillman and Wright looked to be awful throws by Stafford. Credit the Bears defense for sure, but this didn't look like the Stafford we've seen all season thus far.

But look, the Lions won't get any sympathy from Chicago even if Stafford is hurting—Hester was injured and all he did was run a punt back for a TD.

On the day, Stafford was 33-of-63 for 329 yards, one TD and four INTs.

Bears Win When the Defense Scores

Since Lovie Smith became coach, the Bears are now 17-4 in games in which they had a defensive touchdown.

We told you earlier that the turnovers in the early going were huge factors in getting the momentum in the Bears' favor.

Those consecutive pick-sixes in the third quarter dealt an even bigger blow to the Lions however, as it allayed any concerns about a possible Lions comeback

Heading into this game, the Lions had outscored its opponents by 96 points in the second half (only the 49ers had outscored the Lions in the second half of games).

When Major Wright and Charles Tillman, who played a heck of a game against Megatron, picked off Stafford after halftime, it was all but over.

Since '04, the Bears lead the entire NFL in takeaways. Again, that isn't an accident, it is taught and stressed by Lovie Smith and staff

Again, the crazy thing is that prior to this game, the Lions had only five turnovers—combined—yet they committed six in this game alone.

Tim Jennings added a nice interception in the fourth quarter on a play that led to a melee (in which Bears cornerback DJ Moore got ejected). Then, fellow corner Corey Graham got into the act with an INT in the end zone.

Earl Bennett Proved That Last Week's Performance Not a Fluke

Last week, the return of Earl Bennett was huge for Jay Cutler and the Bears, as he led the team with 95 yards receiving.

Sunday, he once again led the team in receptions and yards, proving he has become a trusted weapon for Cutler and Co.

Bennett ended up with 81 yards on six catches, and caught every pass sent his way versus the Lions.

Cutler trusts him and he is the safety valve that Roy Williams was supposed to be; Williams did not catch a pass in the game in what has been (yet another) very disappointing season for the former first-rounder.

With Hester hurting, you would have figured Johnny Knox would up his production, but Knox caught just one pass.

In fact, no WR caught more than one pass other than Bennett on the day.

Let's face it, a contending team shouldn't have a guy like Bennett be their No. 1; he would be a solid No. 2 or 3 on most teams.  

Why Didn't They Take Cutler and Forte out Sooner?

After the Lions committed a dirty play to drive Cutler's shoulder into the turf, followed by the decent-sized scrum, I would have pulled Forte and Cutler immediately.

Still, there was Cutler still out there, risking injury in a game the Bears had virtually locked up.

It is a stupid move by a coaching staff that has otherwise been very solid this season.

I just don't understand why you would keep Cutler out there. Perhaps it has something to do with that whole debacle that occurred in the NFC title game last year, but if so, that doesn't make sense.

If there are still idiots out there who question Cutler's toughness, well, they are idiots—plain and simple.

Meanwhile, they finally brought in Caleb Hanie to relieve Cutler with five minutes in the game.

Lions Are a Dirty Team

This game almost reminded me of a game back in 1986 when Charles Martin picked up then-Bears punky QB Jim McMahon and slammed his shoulder into the turf.

McMahon was never the same and those Packers and their head coach were a dirty bunch of SOBs.

Well, along come the Lions, who are establishing a reputation of their own, especially with Ndamukong Suh, who tends to want to smack QBs in the head on occasion.

Suh unnecessarily ripped Cutler's helmet off his head in this game.

In the third quarter the Lions defense slammed Cutler's should to the turf, for which Lance Briggs responded accordingly.

Then, on the Jennings interception, DJ Moore was jumped, but of course he's the one who got ejected for retaliating.

The Lions knew they had lost the game, so they were very chippy throughout.

This is a team that is quickly developing a reputation for playing dirty, and that's a shame, because it takes away from what has been an incredible turnaround thus far.