Lions @ Bears
Final Score: Lions 31, Bears 30
Writer: Mike Miklius ( @SIRL0INofBEEF on Twitter)
We were promised a shootout with two underperforming defenses taking the field today. Chicago received the opening kickoff and quickly marched down the field before a holding call forced them to settle for a field goal. Detroit answered with a long drive of their own, eventually stalling out at the Chicago seven and settling for a field goal. After a Bears punt, the Lions went on another long drive and this time found the endzone: a Jared Goff two-yard pass. The Bears answered with a seven-minute drive of their own capped off by a Justin Fields one-yard touchdown run. Thanks to three drives of over seven minutes, it was a low-scoring half and a 10-10 tie.
The second half began with a Lions punt as their offense began to completely stall. The Bears went on a five-minute drive and found the endzone. Another Lions punt was followed up by another Bears touchdown: a 50-yard pass to Cole Kmet. After another Lions punt, one thing was certain: this game was over. The Bears quickly punted, and Detroit woke up. They went four plays–surviving a Jared Goff pick wiped out by a Chicago penalty–to make it 24-17. The Bears came back out, and Justin Fields threw a pick-six from his own 17 to former Ohio State teammate Jeff Okudah, making it 24-24. Fields took that play a bit personally because he came back out and ran free for a 67-yard score–avoiding former Ohio State teammate Jeff Okudah’s tackle attempt near the endzone. A missed extra point left Chicago with a six-point lead at 30-24.
The Lions and Bears exchanged a pair of punts before Detroit went on a 91-yard, 3-minute touchdown drive to take the 31-30 lead with just over two minutes remaining. The Bears came back out for a last-gasp attempt, but two sacks ultimately sunk them. Detroit improves to 3-6 while the Bears fall to 3-6. Here’s everything I saw today.
Detroit Lions
Quarterback
Jared Goff: 19/26, 236 Yards, TD | 4 Carries, 14 Yards, Fumble
Jared Goff clearly hit the easy button today. It felt like the entire game was the same sequence: sit in the pocket, wait, hit a wide-open receiver for a big gain, and repeat. Goff had plenty of time, and we should praise the Lions’ O-line while also scolding the Bears’ pass rush. If Goff normally gets protection this good, it’s easy to see why he can put up points. Even as Lions receivers were going down left and right, Goff just kept hitting guys I didn’t know were in the league. Goff plays well when protected, and he looked like a guy who could run a good offense today. Give him time and he can hold his own. Goff also side-stepped a handful of would-be sacks. I saw three or four plays where a defender nearly had Goff but he escaped. His worst play on the day was his interception. I don’t know what Goff saw, but a linebacker was sitting back in coverage and easily made the pick. The play was called back for a penalty elsewhere on the field.
Running Back
Jamaal Williams: 16 Carries, 59 Yards, TD
Justin Jackson: 4 Carries, 14 Yards | 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 14 Yards
D’Andre Swift: 6 Carries, 6 Yards, TD | 3 Targets, 1 Reception, 6 Yards
If you counted on Swift, I feel bad for you son. He’s got 99 problems and Jamaal is one. D’Andre Swift was a complete non-factor in this one as the team seemed happy to run Williams and Justin Jackson instead. Swift was blown up early in the backfield and looked like he would finish with negative points for most of the day. A late touchdown saved his day. He is hard to rely on based on the low volume.
Jamaal Williams was the lead dog today and he looked good early. He isn’t the explosive weapon Swift is, but he was consistently gaining yards and doing what he needed to keep Lions’ drives moving. I view him as the better red zone threat and the guy to pick up the hard yards. Either way, it’s hard to trust this backfield.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Amon-Ra St. Brown: 1 Carry, 2 Yards | 11 Targets, 10 Receptions, 119 Yards
Kalif Raymond: 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 47 Yards, 1 Fumble (Recovered)
Tom Kennedy: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 44 Yards
James Mitchell: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 4 Yards
Brock Wright: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 2 Yards, TD
Shane Zylstra: 1 Target
One word: volume. Okay, a second word: open. This was my first extended look of the year at Amon-Ra St. Brown, and I was excited to see what all the hype is about. Well, it’s hard to grade him when no one is bothering to cover him. ARSB was wide open all day long, regardless of whether he ran a route or stood there looking for a screen pass. ARSB runs well with the ball and looks good when given a free release, as we saw most of today. The Lions clearly believe in him so this is a good sign moving forward and I think the volume should continue. I can’t say I saw a game-changer though.
Chicago Bears
Quarterback
Justin Fields: 12/20, 167 Yards, 2 TD, INT | 13 Carries, 147 Yards, 2 TD, Fumble
Justin Fields: you are ridiculous! If you haven’t watched the Bears in the last three weeks, it’s time to catch a game and see what this quarterback can do with his legs. Fields once again broke a 60+ yard touchdown and is the only quarterback to have multiple 60+ yard scores in a single season. He did it in back-to-back weeks. Fields is elite with his legs and can be considered the best running QB in the league right now. On his run, Fields broke an initial tackle and then took off. Like I said last week, it’s amazing how Fields doesn’t even look that fast. He looks effortless as he blows past a field full of elite athletes. I will double down on last week, again giving Fields an A+ for his work on the ground.
The passing, on the other hand, is still more of a work in progress. Fields played mostly well, but still had a few head-scratching throws including his interception. Fields’ best throw of the day was his strike to Cole Kmet for a 50-yard touchdown. On a play-action call, Fields ran a bootleg to his left. I saw three defenders with their eyes on him, and the confusion caused Cole Kmet’s defender to lose him. It was a simple play, but the Bears used Fields’ legs to open up an easy deep shot that made it a two-score game. This is what I want to see more of. Fields’ worst play of the day was definitely his interception. On a broken play, I hoped Fields would throw the ball away or just take the sack. He threw it to a tight end on a screen that the defense read well, and it was an easy pick-six. This is the type of mistake Fields is still prone to and something he’ll learn from. Justin Fields looks like a superstar in the making, but he needs to dial in the passing game a bit more to take that next step. He is clearly headed in the right direction and looks like the best QB from the heralded 2021 class.
Running Back
David Montgomery: 9 Carries, 37 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 7 Yards
Khalil Herbert: 10 Carries, 57 Yards
The Bears are averaging nearly 250 rushing yards per game over their last five contests. Unfortunately for the running backs, most of those yards are coming from the quarterback. David Montgomery started well today, working hard for three nice gains on the team’s first drive. Unfortunately, he was mostly bottled up after that, and game flow limited opportunities with only five combined drives in the first half. Montgomery is taking a back seat in the red zone to Justin Fields and Cole Kmet, and it’s hard to count on him for touchdowns. He hasn’t scored in the last three weeks. Montgomery is also firmly entrenched in a timeshare and seems like the less-impressive runner in the duo.
Khalil Herbert ran well today, and this will be yet another contest with everyone calling for Luke Getsy to let Herbert loose. Herbert is the shiftier runner, and he took over on the team’s third drive–the Bears’ first touchdown of the day. He took another drive in the second half, breaking two big runs before the long Kmet touchdown pass. From what I’ve heard, Herbert’s pass blocking is the biggest factor preventing him from seeing more playtime. I expect this timeshare to continue as long as both backs are healthy.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Cole Kmet: 7 Targets, 4 Receptions, 74 Yards, 2 TD
Darnell Mooney: 4 Targets, 4 Receptions, 57 Yards
Byron Pringle: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 12 Yards
Chase Claypool: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 8 Yards
Trevon Wesco: 1 Target
Equanimeous St. Brown: 2 Carries, 9 Yards
December 6th, 2020. Prior to week eight, that was the last time Cole Kmet scored a touchdown. He now has five scores on the season, all of which came in the last three games. Kmet is finding his place in this offense and looks like a viable weapon on a team in need of them. Kmet’s first score came in the third quarter. Six yards out, Justin Fields bootlegged to his right and caused two defenders to jump forward. Cole Kmet was left wide open and hauled in the score. On the team’s next drive, he was again lost in the defense thanks to the threat of the Bears’ rushing attack. Yes, both were easy plays thanks to broken coverage. This is how Kmet will succeed though. He, and the rest of the pass-catchers in Chicago, should use Fields’ running to help them break free. Kmet looks like an excellent option at tight end but is still touchdown dependent.
Darnell Mooney pulled in all four of his targets and looked excellent at the catch point today. The biggest limiting factor for Mooney at this point is going to be volume. Chicago doesn’t have a good enough line to let long plays develop, and this is still a low-volume air attack. He is hard to rely on for big performances until the protection improves.
Chase Claypool was basically a nonfactor today, only seeing two targets. Claypool is third in the pecking order and–like Mooney–will most likely be deep-ball reliant to have his good weeks.