clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Quick thoughts on the Detroit Lions' win over the Chicago Bears

The Lions finally won their first game. A lot happened, but here's some stuff that I saw.

Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

The Detroit Lions got their first win of the season in a mess of a game. Here are my quick thoughts on the game:

  • The offensive line actually had a respectable game today. They kept a pretty clean pocket for Matthew Stafford, and the Lions actually had some running lanes. The Lions totalled 155 rushing yards at 4.8 yards per carry. Sure, some of the reasoning for their success is the Bears' poor defense, but that is still a very high total for a team with no semblance of a running game through five weeks.
  • It'll be interesting to see if Ameer Abdullah was benched or if injury forced him out. Abdullah returned to the game, but not until very late. UPDATE: Caldwell says he wasn't benched.
  • Of course, whoever played right tackle is exempt from any offensive line compliments. LaAdrian Waddle and Cornelius Lucas both had meltdowns late that nearly cost the Lions the game.
  • Stafford had quite the retaliation game after being benched last week. He had some issues with his pocket presence and the interception was bad, but he put the ball in places where he receivers could make plays and they did.
  • The Lions defense took a pretty big step back this game. The run defense rebounded as the game went on, but the pass defense was really bad. You absolutely can't allow a team to drive 60+ yards in less than 21 seconds.
  • I don't care if it worked out, you do not kick a field goal there, Jim Caldwell.
  • Kudos to Lance Moore on an impressive game today, he had some impressive catches and moved the chains in big moments.
  • For those of you screaming for Stafford to just throw it up to Calvin Johnson, congratulations.
  • There were a lot of weird rulings from the referees in this game. I'm going to take a closer look at some of those calls tonight.
  • No more 0-16 talk! Go Lions!