DETROIT – The Detroit Lions dropped to 3-5-1 Sunday after a loss to the Chicago Bears. Jeff Driskel started at QB for the Lions as Matthew Stafford did not play after suffering a back injury vs Oakland last week. Ultimately, the Bears made a few more plays than the Lions and got the win.
Let’s look at three takeaways from the game.
Play of Jeff Driskel: Driskel had a decent game for the Lions with a stat line of 27-46 for 269 yds 1 TD and 1 INT. He did a fine job of running the offense and made a few nice plays, including a 48-yard TD throw to Kenny Golladay. Driskel ran when he didn’t have anyone to throw to (5 carries, 37 yards) and showed he can manage if Matthew Stafford misses more time.
The Lions kept plays conservative for him with a lot of short passes as only 7 of his 27 completions were thrown 10 yards or more down the field. If Driskel plays again next week, the Lions need to be more aggressive.
Four-possession swing: A four-possession swing really changed the game. The Bears scored on their last possession of the 1st half to take a 7-6 lead. They got the ball to start the 2nd half and scored again to make it 14-6. On the next Lions possession, Jeff Driskel threw a bad interception to give the Bears the ball on the 25-yard line. Chicago then scored again to make it 20-6.
The Lions have talked a lot about playing a full 60 minutes of football. They didn’t do that Sunday and that stretch of possessions effectively ended the game.
Missed opportunities and mistakes: The Lions had their opportunities to win throughout the game, but their tendency to struggle on offense popped up again. They certainly had their chances as the Lions’ defense played well.
On the Lions’ first drive, they drove the down to Chicago’s 4-yard line but settled for 3 points.
Halfway through the 2nd quarter, the Lions got the ball at midfield but could only get a field goal to take a 6-0 lead. The Bears scored to take the lead on the next possession.
Down 20-13 with 3:31 left in the 4th quarter and all 3 timeouts, the Lions got the ball at their 48-yard line but couldn’t get anything out of it.
The Lions also made too many mistakes. Another drive that started near midfield in the 2nd quarter was derailed by two penalties with the Lions pushed back to a 2nd and 30. Penalties were an issue for the Lions Sunday.
Kenny Golladay had a couple of drops that could’ve been big first downs for the Lions late in the 4th quarter.
And while the Lions defense played well overall, it looked way too easy for Chicago on their scoring drives.