Team Grades: Lions' Offense Wakes Up Against Bears
By Chris Morgan
The Detroit Lions took the field on Thanksgiving on a two game losing streak wherein their offense had completely stalled. Early on it seemed like their game against the Chicago Bears was going to go the same way. The Bears led 14-3 after the first quarter, but after that, it was all Lions, as their offense finally broke out with a good game both running and passing the ball. Detroit won the game 34-17, earning their eighth win of the season. It's an encouraging sign going forward as the Lions begin a stretch of winnable games that will make or break their playoff hopes. Here are the grades for this big Thanksgiving day win.
Offense: The Detroit Lions were without Reggie Bush and two of their starting offensive linemen, and early on, it led to some issues. In particularly, on one play Matthew Stafford was sacked and lost a fumble that gave the Bears the ball at Detroit's 5-yard line for an easy touchdown. However, they got things together, and Joique Bell ended up having a nice game. He got every carry for the team, gaining 91 yards on 23 carries with two touchdowns. He also had two catches for 16 yards.
Calvin Johnson had a huge game, catching 11 passes for 146 yards and two touchdowns, finally reemerging as the Megatron we expected to see. Golden Tate had eight catches for 89 yards too. The Lions were facing a bad defense at home, but seeing them score 34 points was still a very nice thing to see for their fans after a couple games without a touchdown. Grade: B+
Quarterback: Matthew Stafford had become a problem for this team. His numbers had taken a dive, and it was starting to look like he may hold this team back. That was not the case this week. Stafford was excellent, going 34-for-45 for 390 yards and two touchdowns. He did have that fumble, but it wasn't really his fault. Again, this was an easy opponent, but Stafford did what he should have done against them. It proves the talent is still there, and he still doesn't have a full strength offense to work with. Grade: A-
Special Teams: Matt Prater made both of his field goals and all four of his extra points, so that's good. Sam Martin punted fine. Jeremy Ross had a couple good returns, although Chicago's returner also had a couple nice returns. The special teams didn't do anything special, but they were perfectly serviceable. Grade: B
Defense: While the Bears don't have a good defense, their offense is talented, so holding them to 17 yards is not bad, especially since one of these touchdowns was basically ceded by the offense. Chicago didn't even bother trying to run the ball in this game, as they rushed eight times for a whopping 13 yards, thanks in part to six tackles for loss.
That left Jay Cutler to throw the ball 49 times, most of them screens, that went for 280 yards. A fair amount of the yards came in garbage time, but so did one of Detroit's two interceptions, so that balances out. The Lions also had three sacks a week after not having any against Tom Brady and the Patriots. It was a return to form after a questionable week against New England. Grade: A-
For more Lions news and updates, visit Lions Central.
Chris Morgan has been a diehard Detroit Lions fan through the good (Barry Sanders) and the bad (Matt Millen) and that love has led him to take jobs writing about sports, including as a fantasy sports "expert." His work can be found on Examiner.com. .
