All Lions

Lions Faced Improbable Odds to Defeat Bears

Lions needed fourth-quarter heroics to beat the Bears Sunday.

Vito Chirco

In this story:

The Detroit Lions' impressive start to the 2023 campaign continued Sunday, with a hard-fought, 31-26 win over the Chicago Bears. With the win, the Lions, dating back to last season, have now won seven games in a row against NFC North divisional foes. 

Additionally, Dan Campbell's team is now 8-2 on the season, marking the first time since 1962 that the franchise has won eight of its first 10 games. 

Yet, Detroit nearly failed to capture the Week 11 victory against Justin Fields and the Bears. 

For the third straight time against the Lions, Fields thrashed Aaron Glenn's unit for north of 100 rushing yards (104). Meanwhile, on defense, the Bears forced Detroit veteran signal-caller Jared Goff to toss three interceptions through the first three quarters of play. 

The above factors allowed Chicago to carry a 26-14 lead over the Lions late into the fourth quarter. The odds, at the time, were significantly in favor of the Bears to hold on for the upset win at Ford Field.

In fact, with 3:59 to play, the Bears, according to ESPN Analytics, had a 98.8 percent chance to come out on top in the divisional tilt.   

Even the most optimistic Lions fans had a hard time believing, at the time, that Detroit was going to pull off the come-from-behind win. Goff and Co., however, did, and the comeback started with Goff connecting with Jameson Williams on a 32-yard touchdown. It came with 2:59 remaining in the contest. 

The Lions proceeded to force Fields & Co. to go three-and-out on the ensuing possession, and followed that up with an 11-play, 73-yard touchdown drive to finish off the comeback. 

Next up for Detroit is its annual Thanksgiving Day game Thursday, which will see the Lions square off with Jordan Love and the Packers. Kickoff is set for 12:30 p.m. at Ford Field. 

Published
Vito Chirco
VITO CHIRCO

Vito has covered the NFL and the Detroit Lions for the past five years.  Has extensive reporting history of college athletics, the Detroit Tigers and Detroit Mercy Athletics.  Chirco's work include NFL columns, analyzing potential Detroit Lions prospects coming out of college, NFL draft coverage and analysis of events occurring in the NFL.  Extensive broadcasting experience including hosting a Detroit Tigers podcast and co-hosting a Detroit Lions NFL podcast since 2019. 

Home/News