Takeaways from Lions' 28-13 Loss to Bears
The Detroit Lions were seeking to inch closer to their goal of winning the NFC North.
In its first matchup against the Chicago Bears, Detroit turned the football over, and narrowly escaped with a home victory against a longtime division rival.
Heading on the road for a Week 14 matchup at Soldier Field, Detroit made several changes to its defense, with many of the defensive tackles on its roster being active and defensive back Ifeatu Melifonwu replacing Tracy Walker and starting next to Kerby Joseph.
With weather conditions being better than originally forecasted, Detroit played a sloppy and mistake-filled game, and lost its fourth game of the season.
Here are several takeaways from the Lions' 28-13 loss to the Bears.
Bears win opening coin toss, exploit Lions' defense
The Bears decided to start the game on offense after winning the opening coin toss. Typically teams opt to defer in order to start the second half with the football.
Detroit's defense has not played exceptionally well the last month of the season, and the Bears were able to exploit clear deficiencies to start the game.
Against Detroit's struggling defense, Chicago proceeded to march down the field, with little resistance from Aaron Glenn's defense.
Led by quarterback Justin Fields, the Bears rushed for 57 yards on their game-opening touchdown drive. Chicago's speedy signal-caller was able to contribute 28 yards on the drive.
Wideout DJ Moore capped off an eight-play, 69-yard drive, with a 16-yard touchdown scamper following a direct snap.
Tackling woes derailed defensive efforts early
Detroit's play in the first quarter had the team trailing, 10-0, heading into the second quarter.
Four penalties and five explosive runs put Detroit into an early hole.
In the first half, Detroit's efforts, on both sides of the football, had a negative impact on the scoreboard.
Rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs dropped a third-down pass that could have easily been taken to the end zone.
Going for it on fourth down instead of kicking a 53-yard field goal, Jared Goff tossed an interception, his fourth of the season against Chicago.
Lions gain momentum after fourth-down defensive stop
Midway through the second quarter, the Bears lined up on fourth-and-1.
Detroit, which had struggled early defensively, came up with a key stop. Ifeatu Melifonwu and Josh Paschal gained penetration, and forced the turnover on downs.
Detroit was able to use the momentum from the stop to score its first offensive touchdown of the game.
Goff found Donovan Peoples-Jones for his first reception in a Lions uniform, to extend the drive.
Gibbs capped off a nine-play, 61-yard drive, with a 12-yard touchdown scamper. Unfortunately, Riley Patterson missed the extra point, making it a 10-6 Chicago lead.
On Chicago's next offensive possession, Aidan Hutchinson recorded his first sack since Week 11 (when Detroit last played the Bears). Detroit's defensive effort drastically improved the series after Gibbs' touchdown.
Detroit scored again on its next offensive possession, to take a 13-10 halftime lead. Josh Reynolds was the recipient of an 8-yard touchdown throw, capping off an 11-play drive.
Detroit wound up outperforming the Bears in every way in the second quarter. In total, the Lions out-gained the Bears, 124-35, in the stanza, and scored 13 unanswered points.
Lions play in third quarter continues to disappoint
Detroit's third-quarter woes continued against Chicago.
All throughout the 2023 season, Detroit has struggled to execute consistently coming out of halftime.
Despite efforts of the coaching staff to identify areas of concern coming out of the break, Detroit could not move the football at all against Chicago.
Multiple three-and-outs gave the Bears' defense plenty of momentum, and Matt Eberflus' offense moved the football, led by Fields, Cole Kmet and Moore.
Detroit was outscored, 9-0, and a critical error by Hutchinson contributed to a Moore touchdown.
After intentional grounding was not called against Justin Fields, the elusive quarterback was able to force Hutchinson, the 2022 No. 2 overall pick, into jumping early. It resulted in a free play on fourth-and-13. Chicago subsequently entered the fourth quarter with a 19-13 lead.
Detroit did not earn its first first-down of the second half until nearly midway though the fourth quarter.
In the second half, Detroit's offensive production resulted in three straight punts, a fumble recovered by Chicago, two consecutive turnover on downs and a Goff interception.
Linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin takes advantage of opportunity
The Lions counted on a variety of different players against the Bears.
Among them was veteran Jalen Reeves-Maybin. Primarily used on special teams, the 28-year-old defender was a key contributor when given his opportunity.
With the team struggling to generate any sort of pass-rush to start the game, Glenn dialed up pressure, and Reeves-Maybin was able to get home.
He also had a key pass that he tipped in the third quarter, in a 13-13 game.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell and the coaching staff have repeatedly expressed that when the opportunity presented itself to bring the veteran back to Motown, they wanted to do whatever it took to ensure he was on the roster.
