For a quarter, it appeared that the Chicago Bears might give the Detroit Lions a competitive game. But they couldn't stop Calvin Johnson once he got going. On the back of a healthy Megatron the Lions secured a consecutive Thanksgiving Day win over a division rival, beating the Bears, 34-17.
Bears vs. Lions final score: 3 things we learned from Detroit’s 34-17 win on Thanksgiving
The Lions weathered a slow start to score a dominant win to put themselves back on track for a playoff bid.
Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
The Lions started slow in the second half, scoring just three points on their first two drives and losing a fumble on their third. The Lions had gone two straight games without a touchdown in losses to the Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots. Early, it appeared they hadn't made any progress towards fixing their offensive woes. Dropped passes and Matthew Stafford misfires highlighted their first possessions.
The Bears took a 14-3 lead when Jay Cutler hit Alshon Jeffery with a 2-yard touchdown pass late in the first quarter. The Lions responded with touchdowns on three consecutive possessions, ending a streak of 146 straight snaps without finding the end zone. The first score came on a vintage Calvin Johnson catch:
After a quiet game against the Patriots, Johnson busted out with 109 yards and two touchdown in the first half alone, and finished with 146 yards on 11 catches. He caught his seventh and eighth career Thanksgiving Day touchdowns to set an NFL record.
Johnson's outburst helped open up the field for Stafford. Nine different players caught passes for the Lions, and three had at least 54 yards. Golden Tate was a strong complementary weapon, creating yards after the catch on a long 24-yard reception as part of an eight-catch, 89-yard day.
Three things:
1) All hail Megatron
One week without Calvin Johnson is a damn shame, three games is a crime against football. When he sat with an injury, the Lions’ offense looked lost and we were all deprived of perhaps one of the best pure athletes the league has ever seen. On Sunday, he once against showed how special he is, racking up 109 yards at half and 146 for the game along with two scores, and the Lions thrived as a result.
The Lions hadn't scored more than 24 points since putting up 35 in a win over the New York Giants in Week 1. It's no surprise that the outburst came in a game when Johnson was perhaps as healthy as he has been at any point this season (and that the Lions were going up against the Bears' defense, but that's another story.)
The Lions appear to be back on track after suffering consecutive losses to the Cardinals and Patriots. They have Megatron to thank.
2) The Bears’ secondary is ugly
Johnson was the Lions' brightest star, but he wasn't the only player running free in the Bears' defensive backfield. Golden Tate added eight receptions for 89 yards. Theo Riddick had 54 out of the backfield. It's not like the Bears' front seven didn't do its job. The Lions had just 26 yards rushing at the end of the third (Joique Bell would bust out in the fourth) and Stafford was under pressure early. Jared Allen recovered a strip-sack fumble in the first quarter.
That points an ugly finger at the Bears’ secondary, which has been giving up 260.5 yards passing per game before giving up 390 to Stafford. Safety Christ Conte left the game in the first quarter with what was determined to be an eye injury. The absence was palpable. On the Lions’ next possession, they ended their touchdown drought by hitting Johnson down the seam.
3) Jay Cutler is what he is
And that's a competent quarterback who is probably overpaid, but whose role in the Bears' struggles this season has perhaps been overblown. On Thursday, he threw the ball well enough to win until he got picked trying to hit a covered Brandon Marshall down the sideline in the fourth quarter. He had nothing to do with a Bears defense that didn't do anything to slow down the Lions' receivers.
But the interception did happen, and when it occurred no one seemed surprised:
And thank you, Jay Cutler. I was waiting for that.
— Pride Of Detroit (@PrideOfDetroit) November 27, 2014
Cutler has become the curmudgeonly face of the Bears: Talented but mercurial, and looking more and more disinterested as we enter the season’s final stretch.
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