With the Detroit Lions down to their third-string quarterback David Blough, everyone expected the Chicago Bears defense to take care of business.
Instead, the defense struggled on the Lions’ first two possessions where they allowed a pair of Blough touchdowns and the Bears found themselves down 17-7 in the first 11 minutes of Thursday’s 24-20 comeback win over the Lions.
“We would never put that past anybody, thinking they wouldn’t come to play,” Bears safety Eddie Jackson said, via the Chicago Tribune. “This is the NFL. You have to come to play. We just came to the sidelines and had to regroup. It was really nothing he did. It was on us. We came out sluggish the first two drives. We came back to the sideline and had to regroup.”
After Blough’s first-quarter touchdowns, the Bears defense regrouped and allowed just two Matt Prater field goals in the final three quarters.
But it was early in the fourth quarter with the Lions facing a third-and-one at the Bears’ 5-yard line where cornerback Kyle Fuller came up with a game-changing stop of Lions running back J.D. McKissic for no gain. That forced the Lions to settle for a Prater field goal to jump ahead 20-17 rather than by a touchdown.
“That was huge, probably the biggest play of the game as far as the situation goes,” Bears coach Matt Nagy said. “To make a shoestring tackle like that on third-and-1, that is an absolute game changer.”
After the Bears’ offense orchestrated a nine-play, 90-yard drive that culminated in a Mitchell Trubisky to David Montgomery go-ahead touchdown, it was up to Chicago’s defense to come up with a stop.
With the Lions driving at Chicago’s 27, the defense came up with two back-to-back stops on third and fourth down. On third-and-nine, linebacker Roquan Smith sacked Blough for a loss of 13 yards. Faced with a fourth-and-22 with :29 left, Blough heaved a desperation pass for receiver Kenny Golladay, where Jackson came down with his first interception of the season that sealed the victory for the Bears.
It was Jackson’s second interception in as many Thanksgiving games, although it wasn’t a pick-six like last year, it was a crucial play when the Bears needed it.
“Yeah, it was a free one,” Jackson said. “I really wanted to score, but I did the right thing.”
The Bears’ defense struggled against the rookie Blough, who was making his first career start, in the first quarter — particularly cornerback Prince Amukamara, who allowed that 75-yard touchdown reception for Golladay on the first Lions’ drive.
But ultimately, the Bears’ defense settled in and were able to shut down Blough and the Lions’ offense when they needed to in order to secure Chicago’s second straight win — and fourth consecutive victory against the Lions.
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