Lions Plow Bears Under 41-10

WATCH BEARS AND LIONS VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: Detroit scored 34 straight points to dominate the second half for an easy win.

USA Today

All week the Bears said they wanted to see how they measured up in a playoff atmosphere.

They didn't. 

The Detroit Lions on Sunday played like it was a playoff atmosphere and the Bears played like a team that just set a franchise record for consecutive defeats, at nine straight.

Once again the Bears came out fast and took a 10-7 lead, then got flattened as the Lions scored 34 straight points in a 41-10 victory.

"Of course we want to put our best product out there and as team we know we didn't do that today," quarterback Justin Fields said. "All we can do is go back and work and keep getting better."

It wouldn't be hard for any of them to be better than Sunday but Fields especially struggled in the second half. 

In the first half, he started it with a 60-yard run to set up a field goal and the 10-7 lead, and had 105 yards rushing in one quarter. However, the passing game never got going and Detroit's offense did whatever it wanted in piling up 504 yards, most allowed by the Bears since Oct. 14, 2018 against Miami.

The Lions turned a 24-10 halftime lead to 38-10 in no time and cruised home.

"The second half it wasn't good enough," coach Matt Eberflus said. "We didn't come out in the second half and play good enough football.

"We didn't get the takeaways like we had the past couple weeks. We've got to do a better job there and we turned the ball over."

Fields threw an interception and lost his team-record 16th fumble while trying to scramble.

Jared Goff completed 21 of 29 for 255 yards with touchdowns of 2 and 9 yards to Brock Wright and 21 yards to D'Andre Swift.

Running back Jamaal Williams ran for 146 yards and a TD and Swift for 78 yards and a TD. The Lions ran 39 times for 265 yards, more than they ever had as a team when Barry Sanders played and their most since Billy Sims was their top runner in 1980.

"We've got to fit the run better," linebacker Nick Morrow told reporters after the game. "It's everybody. Stay in our gaps."

Fields finished 7 of 21 for 75 yards and only three times got the ball to wide receivers for 36 yards. The seven sacks he took brought team passing yardage down to 30 yards. 

He ran for 132 yards on 10 attempts, leaving him 64 yards from breaking the all-time rushing record of 1,206 yards by Lamar Jackson.

"Just me," Fields said. 'I think sometimes first down I'm getting pressure, I'm trying to make a play out of nothing and sometimes I take a sack for 6, 7 yards and were're now second-and-15. I can't do that.

"(Detroit) got back there pretty fast today on some plays so we've just got to be better up front. They (linemen) know that."

The Bears got beat up physically as guards Teven Jenkins (neck) and Michael Schofield (knee) left in the first half. They also lost cornerback Jaylon Jones and wide receiver Dante Pettis to the concussion protocol. Pettis had to be taken to the hospital with blurry vision even though he passed the first concussion exam.

They also seemed to get beat up emotionally. Wide receiver Chase Claypool threw a fit and his helmet on the sideline after he was used sparingly, and not targeted until two minutes remained.

With one game left, the Bears have to play a Vikings team Sunday at Soldier Field that has playoff positioning to play for despite having a playoff spot locked up.

"Every man has got to look at themselves in the eye and figure out how they're going to finish the season," Morrow said.

It's safe to say they won't like what they see after Sunday.

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