The Chicago Bears defeated the Detroit Lions, 26-24, on Sunday afternoon to keep their postseason aspirations alive for the time being. Finishing with a 10-6 overall record this year, Chicago can lock up the final wild card spot in the NFC with a Minnesota Vikings loss on Sunday evening.
Bears vs. Lions results: Chicago keeps playoff hopes alive, 26-24
The possibility of a postseason appearance still looms over the Bears after a 26-24 victory over the Lions on Sunday.
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Despite solid yardage totals from the offense and another turnover-filled effort by the defense, the Bears struggled to capitalize on key opportunities and put away the game. Constantly getting strong field position as a result of Detroit turnovers, Jay Cutler and company just couldn't get into the end zone, frequently settling for short field goals.
With the Bears’ offense struggling to get into the end zone, the Lions were able to make the game quite competitive despite having less total yards and four more turnovers. Those Detroit mistakes should’ve been more costly, but the Bears managed just 16 points off those takeaways despite short fields.
Fantasy Studs/Duds
Matthew Stafford had a strong game for the Lions, throwing for 272 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. Calvin Johnson was targeted by Stafford 14 times, but Megatron only caught five passes for 72 yards despite the constant attention.
Matt Forte came through with a strong game to lead Chicago, putting up 103 rushing yards, 21 receiving yards and a touchdown. Cutler also finished with decent numbers despite his inability to lead the offense to touchdowns, finishing with 257 passing yards, 29 rushing yards and a touchdown.
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Odds
The Bears were favored by three points, so they narrowly failed to cover the spread.
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Injury Info
In a relatively injury-free game, the only notable player to leave the game was Lions tight end Shaun Chapas, who suffered a knee injury.
Next Up
The Lions head home to watch the playoffs from their respective comfy couches, while the Bears potentially join them depending on whether the Minnesota Vikings beat the Green Bay Packers on Sunday evening. If Green Bay wins, the Bears head to the postseason as the NFC's final wild card team.
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