Lions vs. Bears: What Just Happened?

The Detroit Lions needed to respond after a bad game in Carolina if they hoped to stay in the playoff hunt. Boy, did they ever do that. The Lions played one of their best games of the season and cruised to a dominant 41-10 win over the Chicago Bears.

As always, I have thoughts on this game. These are those thoughts.

“You do some of your best work after you get your face kicked in”

Looks like Dan Campbell wasn’t kidding. A week after the Lions played one of their worst games of the season, they come back a week later a dominate the Bears at home. The Lions did exactly what you wanted them to do in this game. They played the way they know they can on offense, and they quickly cleaned up the Justin Fields problem and held the Bears offense at bay.

It looked sketchy there for a minute when Justin Fields went off on the Lions for over a 100 yards on the ground in the first quarter. The Lions defense said “no more” after that. They flat got after Fields, sacking him seven times and forcing him to fumble as well. The Lions defense was so good in the second half that the Bears didn’t register first down until the end of the fourth quarter. What a way to answer by the Lions after a really rough outing in Carolina.

Houston, you are a problem

This kid just keeps balling out of control. He really makes you wonder what could have been if James Houston showed this type of play during camp. It’s crazy that this is a guy that initially didn’t make the Lions 53-man roster. Now he’s being quite problematic for opposing offenses. On Sunday he grabbed his sixth sack of the year before hustling to get this forced fumble.

After that he grabbed his seventh and eighth sacks. More of this please.

What the Helmet?

I can’t recall a time where I watched a quarterback change his helmet mid game. I definitely can’t recall a time where a quarterback did it twice. Jared Goff had no communication in his first helmet and then traded it in for another one before going back to the sideline to trade that one back for what may have been his original one. Just some little things you don’t think about happening in the NFL. Eventually they got it figured out.

And now a word from Paul Heyman

“Ladies and Gentlemen, my name is Paul Heyman, and I am the advocate for the reigning, defending, undisputed Detroit Lions tight end who scored two touchdowns on Sunday, Brock Wright!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

It’s me, hi, I’m the best Swift, it’s me

Perhaps D’Andre Swift and the Bears have bad blood? Or Swift might not have been feeling 22, he’s definitely feeling 23 so far. He had some injures there for a minute, but he was able to shake it off and I have now ran out of Taylor Swift songs. The point I’m trying to make here is that D’Andre Swift looked really good on Sunday against the Bears. He was moving like we’d previously seen him move early in the season and just looked the best he’s looked in a while. The big play of the day was Swift turning a third-and-18 run into a 35-yard first down. Swift finished the day with 117 total yards and two touchdowns. The Bears knew he was trouble when he walked in. I got another one!

Big Play Hutch

Aidan Hutchinson is going to make things really hard on the people who have to choose the Defensive Rookie of the Year award. I know Sauce Gardener is a popular option, but Hutchinson has been a highlight reel all season. On Sunday he grabbed another sack and then this beautiful interception.

That makes three interceptions. Hutchinson is now the first rookie defensive lineman to have three interceptions since 1990. That’s kind of a big deal.

Jared Goff

Another great game from Jared Goff. The Lions quarterback got himself over the 4,000-yard hump for the first time since 2019 and got himself just one touchdown away from hitting the 30 mark for the second time in his career. The best of all is that Goff played another clean game without throwing a pick. He hasn’t thrown one since the Lions played the Packers back in Week 9. You have to be impressed with what Goff has done this year.

Jamo!

Someday we’ll see a lot of Jameson Williams. For now, the Lions are going to take their time with him and we’ll just have to enjoy one or two fun plays like this a game.