What we learned from the Chicago Bears loss to the Lions

Let’s see what we learned from the Chicago Bears 27-24 loss to the Detroit Lions. It was a thrilling game that came down to one team having a good kicker, while the other does not.

The Chicago Bears lost another divisional game. Something that has been a staple of the John Fox era. This one was a 27-24 loss to the Detroit Lions, which came down to the very end.

The game started off on a high note for the Chicago Bears. They received the opening kickoff and had a 13 play, 70-yard drive, which ended in a 23-yard field goal by Connor Barth. Then, they went up 10-0 on a one-yard Mitch Trubisky touchdown pass to tight end Adam Shaheen.

In the second quarter, Trubisky mishandled a snap from center Cody Whitehair, and Lions’ cornerback DJ Hayden was able to pick it up and run it 27 yards for a touchdown. Chicago Bears’ running back Jordan Howard ran in a touchdown from 12 yards out, which made it 17-7.

However, Lions’ quarterback was able to throw a 28-yard touchdown to wide receiver Marvin Jones. Then, Stafford threw a two-yard touchdown to running back Ameer Abdullah, which gave the Lions a 21-17 lead at halftime.

No scoring happened in the third quarter, but Lions’ kicker Matt Prater made a 27-yard field goal to extend their lead to 24-17. The Chicago Bears responded with a 15-yard touchdown run by running back Tarik Cohen. With 1:35 left, Prater kicked a 52-yard field goal to put the Lions up 27-24.

Barth missed the potential game-tying 46-yard field goal. And it wasn’t even close to the uprights. There is absolutely no reason why he should be on the team next Sunday. It’s time to either sign Cairo Santos or another available kicker.

John Fox and Dowell Loggains finally open up the offense

We have been watching a passing game sputter for the past several weeks. Most of that is because of the lack of weapons. The acquisition of Dontrelle Inman helps with that. However, some of it is the way the coaches call the offense. I understood the lack of passes in the Ravens and Panthers games. However, these coaches were far too conservative against the Saints and Packers.

Finally, they called passing plays on early downs. In fact, they opened the game with three straight runs. I was beside myself. There were fake jet-sweeps with Cohen, bootlegs and read-options. We even saw shotgun runs from Jordan Howard!

On the day, Trubisky completed 18 of 30 passes for 179 yards and one touchdown pass. He also had six rushing attempts for 53 yards. Speaking of rushing yards, Howard led the day with 15 rushes for 125 yards and one touchdown. That’s an astounding 8.3 yards per carry.

Loggains was heavily criticized for his lack of usage with Cohen and rightfully so. However, it was a different story today. He had nine rushing attempts for 44 yards. He also added four receptions for 15 yards.

Shaheen had a nice game, too. He caught four passes for 41 yards and a touchdown. He also looked good as a blocker in the running game. It was a really promising game for the second round pick.

All that said, I thought that Trubisky’s play in the two-minute offense in the fourth quarter was some of his best. The game was on the line. It was 4th & 13 at the Chicago 38-yard line. Trubisky bought time in the pocket, looking for someone to get open. Nobody did. He kept his composure and made the play with his legs.

That’s our quarterback. He is for real. General manager Ryan Pace just needs to get him a good coach and some weapons, and we have ourselves a star signal-caller. The future is bright.

The defense had another sub-par performance

The defense wasn’t awful today. Maybe I just have high expectations for them. Stafford completed 21 of 31 passes for 299 yards and two touchdowns against them. On the first touchdown, Chicago Bears’ cornerback Marcus Cooper bit on the double move by Jones, which resulted in a touchdown. On the second one, it appeared that linebacker Christian Jones never picked up Abdullah out of the backfield.

I also thought there was far too much zone coverage. Against the Panthers, the defense struggled with zone coverage, but started to shut down the Panthers when they went to man coverage. I kept looking for a similar switch.

The loss of Leonard Floyd to a potentially serious knee injury is not good, obviously. The defense has already been struggling to get pressure with four guys, so now they are going to have to blitz a lot more. Get healthy, and see you in 2018, Floyd.

It wasn’t all doom and gloom. I did think the defense stepped up and held the Lions to two field goals in the second half. They could have easily crumbled, but they held their own and forced third down stops when they had to, as the Lions were 3-10 on third downs.

This defense is at their best when they are creating turnovers. They had a nice one, when linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski strip-sacked Stafford, but Kyle Fuller dropped two interceptions and Cre’Von LeBlanc dropped one.

We should rest easy, guys. There are young playmakers on both sides of the ball. We are a good draft, free-agency class and coaching staff away from being a playoff team. I think David Kaplan says it best.

Next week, the Chicago Bears take on the red-hot Philadelphia Eagles in Philly. Unfortunately I think we know how that game is going to go.

Next: Barth’s Big Blunder sums up Bears’ heartbreaking loss

Don’t forget though, wins at this point do not matter. It’s all about watching the growth of our young quarterback.