Third quarter
Bad start for the Lions with a quick, poorly-blocked 3-and-out and an undisciplined penalty on Virgin on the punt return, negating a fantastic punt from Martin and exceptional coverage from Miles Killebrew. Trubisky comes out throwing and finds Robinson on a crosser in between safeties Wilson and Will Harris. Both overcommitted to their outside help roles in zone coverage and Trubisky drilled it into the hole. What’s frustrating here is that Trubisky glared at Robinson from before he even got the shotgun snap but neither Wilson nor Harris paid attention to Robinson, the best player on the Bears’ offense.
Slay bails out an unimpressive defensive set with a great INT, undercutting Robinson on the left numbers and making the acrobatic adjustment. The Lions had switched from zone to man one play earlier but Trubisky apparently missed that. He didn’t miss Slay, fortunately.
Another 3-and-out, another bad series from the OL, notably Ragnow at center. The Bears keep moving the defensive front around and it’s giving the Lions line some terrible fits. On a positive note, Blough is very sharp and convincing with his play-fakes and also at avoiding pressure.
The third-down play here is an example of Bevell being too cute. McKissic lines up tight to Decker at left tackle, while Hockenson and Jesse James are tight on the right. Bears defenders pick up on it quickly, diagnosing “screen” to McKissic before Blough even turns back to look at him from rolling out the opposite way. If that’s Hockenson over there, the Bears might buy the run or action to the right but two stay completely unfazed and smother McKissic right away.
General note on Jahlani Tavai that stems from one play in particular but has been prevalent all game: he’s waiting for the block to get to him instead of attacking against the run.
The Lions go zone coverage again and once again Trubisky heats up. That is not a coincidence. Other than Flowers coming close on one play, there is absolutely no pass rush up front.
A really nice open-field stick on Miller by Oruwairye saves Coleman from getting beaten for a TD, but it’s only for a play. Jesper Horstead blows past Harris in man coverage and makes a very nice over-the-shoulder catch in the end zone for a TD. Pretty nice throw from Trubisky and late help from Walker, but expecting Harris to need help on Jesper Horstead is not something Walker should have to entertain when Robinson is also in the area. Tie game at 17.
Fourth quarter
The Lions pull off a 15-play drive that spans almost nine minutes between the third and fourth quarters. It’s effectively a showcase drive for what Blough can do under heavy pressure, because the pass protection is largely dreadful. Another terrible series from Wagner at RT is exacerbated by having Kenny Wiggins in at RG. Wiggins does fine in pass protection but in the run game he’s a clear downgrade (outside of one nice downfield block) from Glasgow.
Blough largely passes the test. Throwing at receivers who are well-covered and often evading the rush to get the throw off, the rookie’s ability to stay on task as a passer is a stark contrast to Driskel’s tuck-and-run at the first sign of potential trouble. Some nice, small-window lasers to Jones, Amendola and Hockenson keep the chains moving. McKissic barely gets tripped up (fantastic tackle by Fuller, tip of the hat) on 3rd-and-1 from the Chicago 5 and Prater bangs home the go-ahead field goal.
Trey Flowers forces a 3-and-out all by himself. After burying Montgomery at the line on first down, he forces Trubisky into a wild scramble on 2nd down that Davis nicely ends after a short gain. Third down is the exact type of play Lions fans want from Flowers, a clean and quick win against the Charles Leno block and then a devastating sack on Trubisky where the poor QB had no chance.
Detroit comes out running with Nauta in as the fullback. He nails his lead block and Scarbrough chugs nicely behind it for four yards. If Ragnow had sustained his initial block it would have gone for much more. A good call on Golladay for an illegal block wipes out a great Scarbrough run off right tackle and results in the Lions punting. It’s a great punt by Martin and more great coverage from Virgin to force the fair catch at the 10.
John Atkins begins the next drive with another great individual play that doesn’t make the box score. He reads screen right away and prevents the back from getting open initially. When Trubisky finally throws the ball there are three Bears linemen down the field illegally and they get flagged for it. That’s an effective 5-yard loss for Atkins that doesn’t show up. Davis also played it very well.
Alas, the Lions allow Trubisky to get something going once again by dropping into zone coverage and rushing three, with Davis also sugaring as a Trubisky spy. Against a mixed coverage, Trubisky finds Miller over the top of Coleman for a huge conversion that takes the ball to midfield. It’s not bad coverage but Miller still got a step and the throw up the left seam was impressive.
I’ve talked up Davis quite a bit here, so it’s only fair to point out when he badly misses a tackle. That happens on 1st-and-10, though Da’Shawn Hand whiffed even worse on the play before Montgomery shrugged off Davis to the turf. Two plays later Davis absorbs the lead block nicely so Walker can knife in for the TFL, restoring balance to what has been a really nice overall game from Davis.
On the very next play, Trubisky once again zeroes in on Coleman in coverage. The deep strike up the right sideline in 1-on-1 man coverage to Miller ends with the Bears 1st-and-goal from the 3. A better throw and it was six points.
No matter. Two plays later the Bears slip Montgomery out on a delay route from the backfield and there isn’t a Lion within five yards of him as he secures the go-ahead TD. Harris overcommitted to Miller and I honestly don’t know what Kennard and Davis are doing on this play other than not paying any attention to the RB. Piniero nails the conversion, and gets roughed by Killebrew while doing so, and the Bears lead 24-20 with just over two minutes to play.
Blough and the Lions come out in the 2:00 drill content to dink and dunk quickly. The QB is consistently taking his first open read, often Hockenson and Amendola. A well-blocked set allows Blough to find Golladay between zones on a deep in and the Lions are in business near midfield.
A couple of stupid Bears penalties (Aaron Lynch jumping offside, Roquan Smith tackling Ty Johnson some three steps after he ran out of bounds) helps even more. Then tragedy strikes. Hockenson catches a quick out and gets his leg rolled up under himself and Smith. It’s a nasty fracture that will end the rookie TE’s season.
Blough just misses Amendola open inside the 5. Catchable pass but it needed to be sharper; Amendola expected it on his other shoulder and couldn’t adjust. He had the coverage beat. Smith sacks Blough on an untouched A-gap blitz, setting up one last shot. On 4th-and-22, the deep prayer to a well-covered Golladay gets picked off by Eddie Jackson. I love that the Bears rushed six on this play from a football standpoint, but the result ends in a tough Lions loss.
Good games: Joe Dahl, Bo Scarbrough, Kenny Golladay, Jarrad Davis, Graham Glasgow, Darius Slay (outside of one play), Trey Flowers, Tracy Walker (mostly), Sam Martin, punt coverage team
Bad games: Tavon Wilson, Justin Coleman, Will Harris, Jahlani Tavai, Danny Amendola, Marvin Jones, Romeo Okwara, Frank Ragnow (more of a bad 2nd half), Rick Wagner, kick coverage team, referee Jerome Boger
The Lions next limp into a road rematch with the Vikings. This loss officially eliminated Detroit from the postseason at 3-8-1.