The Chicago Bears snapped their five-game losing streak with a 16-14 victory over the winless Detroit Lions thanks to a 28-yard field goal by Cairo Santos as time expired to send the Bears to 4-7 on the season.
While Chicago won comfortably in their last meeting in Week 4, they needed some late-game heroics by their offense to secure a win over a Detroit team that held a 14-13 lead in the final three minutes of the game.
Rookie quarterback Justin Fields was sidelined with cracked ribs, which gave way for Andy Dalton to make his first start since Week 2. Dalton was solid in relief of Fields, completing 24-of-39 passes for 317 yards with one touchdown and one interception for a 85.1 passer rating.
Lions quarterback Jared Goff completed 21-of-25 passes for 171 yards and two touchdowns, but the Bears were able to keep Detroit’s offense in check. Chicago held the Lions run game to just 76 yards, and the defense was able to do just enough to allow the Bears offense to secure the win.
While the Bears were able to get the win, it didn’t come without struggle or cost. Chicago lost linebacker Roquan Smith to a hamstring injury and receiver Marquise Goodwin to a foot injury.
Considering the Bears were facing a winless team, they weren’t able to put the Lions away quite like they’d hoped. But, when all was said and done, they were able to get the win.
While the Bears were able to snap their five-game losing streak against a bad Lions team, it doesn’t silence the questions surrounding the future of head coach Matt Nagy, who’s been a hot topic of conversation this week.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Nagy isn’t likely to get the axe midseason, but that doesn’t mean his job is safe by any means. Especially considering Chicago has the Cardinals, Packers and Vikings on deck.
This win might’ve temporarily calmed the speculation surrounding Nagy’s immediate future, but in the grand scheme of things, a close victory over a winless Lions team does nothing to save Nagy’s job.