Tag: Detroit Lions

NFL Draft 2020: Here are the top 11 candidates for the No. 1 pick as Week 13 concludes

The Bengals won their first game of the 2019 season, and they still lead the way toward the top pick in the NFL Draft.

The Cincinnati Bengals are in an enviable position. They won a game in Week 13, downing the New York Jets, and still are in the driver’s seat for the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft. Andy Dalton & Co. had better watch their success rate over the last four games or they could fritter away a good thing.

11. Denver (4-8)

AP Photo/Jack Dempsey

The Broncos played a thriller with the Chargers and the victory drops them into the 11th slot despite being tied with the Jets and Chargers in record. Denver’s strength of schedule puts it behind New York and Los Angeles when it comes to draft slots.

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Lions sign former Vikings QB Kyle Sloter

Sloter could face off against his former team in Week 14.

With Matthew Stafford and Jeff Driskel both dealing with injury, the Lions have signed former Vikings quarterback Kyle Sloter to their roster.

Sloter was with the Vikings from 2017-18. He was released this offseason much to the dismay of fans. With that being said, Sloter didn’t find a home on an active roster. Instead, he signed with the Cardinals practice squad.

By signing with the Lions, Sloter is now on track to face off against the Vikings in Week 14 at U.S. Bank Stadium. Right now, David Blough is the team’s starter. We’re not sure what Driskel’s status is as he’s recovering from a hamstring injury.

Has Matt Nagy lost faith in Bears kicker Eddy Pineiro?

Actions speak louder than words, and lately Matt Nagy’s actions aren’t a good indicator for the future of kicker Eddy Pineiro.

Another season, another year where the Chicago Bears have a kicker issue.

After releasing beleaguered kicker Cody Parkey last offseason, the Bears put their faith in rookie Eddy Pineiro, who got off to a solid start in Chicago. Pineiro converted 8-of-9 field goals, including a 53-yard game-winning field goal against the Denver Broncos.

But then the Chargers game happened in Week 8, where Pineiro missed two field goals, including what would’ve been the game-winner. Since Week 8, Pineiro has gone 6-of-10 on field goals, including missing two field goals in a loss to the Los Angeles Rams in a game where points were at a premium.

Despite the fact that Pineiro was perfect against the Detroit Lions — connecting on his lone field goal and all three extra points — there was another example of Nagy’s distrust in his kicker last Thursday in a victory over the Lions, where he opted for his offense to go for it on fourth down rather than Pineiro attempt a long field goal.

In the second quarter of the Bears’ 24-20 victory over the Lions, Chicago found themselves facing a fourth-and-six at Detroit’s 32-yard line. Rather than entrusting Pineiro to convert a 50-yard field goal — indoors, mind you — Nagy had more trust in his struggling offense. Mitchell Trubisky threw an incomplete pass to Javon Wims, but the Bears were flagged for illegal formation.

“I just felt like, at that point, staying a little aggressive,” Nagy said. “If it had been a little further out — fourth-and-seven, -eight, -nine — we probably would’ve attempted a long field goal.

“We’re in that area of, do you settle for three or do you show that, ‘Hey, let’s go get this thing’? We felt good with the play-call, but it ended up not working.”

While Nagy has insisted that he’s going to continue to ride the season out with Pineiro, the future for the rookie kicker doesn’t look secure in Chicago. It’s fair to wonder, unless the Bears are able to lock up a slim wild card playoff berth, if Pineiro is playing his final four games as a Bear.

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Cardinals lose practice squad QB Kyle Sloter to Lions

He is added to the Lions after Jeff Driskel ends up no injured reserve.

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The Arizona Cardinals have kept a third quarterback stashed on the practice squad all season. If they wish to continue to do that, they will have to sign someone else.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, quarterback Kyler Sloter, who has been on the Cardinals’ practice squad all year, has been signed by the Detroit Lions to their active roster. He will back up David Blough, as Jeff Driskel was placed on injured reserve.

Sloter is known in the NFC North, as he spent two years with the Minnesota Vikings.

He was standout performer in the preseason the last three seasons, both with the Vikings and Denver Broncos. Even with his play, he has yet to appear in an NFL game.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

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Can Bears QB Mitchell Trubisky continue his success in final four games?

Bears QB Mitchell Trubisky is coming off his best performance this season. Can he continue the success he’s had in the last 4 games?

The Chicago Bears are hoping that quarterback Mitchell Trubisky’s success against the Detroit Lions over the last month will translate into the final quarter of the season.

Trubisky had arguably the best performance of his career against the Lions on Thanksgiving, where he orchestrated two second-half scoring drives to lead the Bears back from a 10-point deficit.

There’s no denying the success that Trubisky has had against the Lions — especially this season. Trubisky has thrown six touchdowns against Detroit alone this season, in comparison to seven against every other team. He also has posted a 124.4 passer rating against Detroit compared to 72.15 against the rest of the NFL.

But the question becomes: Can Trubisky carry over that success against more difficult opponents, including the Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs and Minnesota Vikings?

“Regardless of who our opponent is — and sometimes players play better vs. some opponents — I said it [Thursday] night — it’s been three games, really four games now that Mitch has really stacked some strong games together with decision-making,” Bears coach Matt Nagy said, via the Sun-Times. “And again, others have stepped up. And we got a nice balance going. And can it improve? Yes, absolutely. But we like what we did [Thursday].”

Nagy believes that Trubisky’s success over the past four games can certainly carry over into the final quarter of the season.

“The biggest thing is just the confidence that you felt from him making conviction throws,” Nagy said. “And then just the one interception that occurred, you never felt like something bad was going to happen on the next play. You didn’t feel that on the sideline.

“He came back and just started firing away. Guys were making plays and the run game was going.”

Nagy has been impressed with Trubisky’s decision-making in these last four games, particularly his ability to go through his progressions against the Lions last Thursday.

“That’s the timing of this offense,” Nagy said. “When you throw the ball, a three-hitch throw and they popped a zone on us and he threw it to the right guy in zone, it’s hard to stop. …

“The decisions that he made were on time. And I think this offense is built on timing and when you make the right decision on time, usually good things happen.”

Whether Trubisky can carry over that success to these final four games remains to be seen. But there’s no denying that Trubisky has looked like a different, better, quarterback over the past month.

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Bears’ Jesper Horsted displays promise as tight end prospect

The Bears have’t had production out of their tight ends this season, but it’s Jesper Horsted who’s turning out to be an intriguing prospect.

Tight end production has been virtually nonexistent for the Chicago Bears this season. But it’s receiver-turned-tight end Jesper Horsted who’s turning out to be an intriguing tight end prospect for the Bears.

With Trey Burton on injured reserve and Adam Shaheen sidelined with a foot injury, Horsted was elevated to the active roster last week for the New York Giants game, where he saw four snaps on offense, including one reception for 4 yards, as well as eight special teams snaps. It was that experience that proved valuable for the former Princeton receiver that’s still learning the tight end position.

“Everything was at 100 mph last week, and it was just really nice to get that out of the way because this game I was really able to focus on my assignment more,” Horsted said, via the Chicago Tribune. “Last game, it was loud, it was fast, everything was big. This game, things kind of slowed down for me, and I was able to just focus on my assignment and do what I have been doing.”

Horsted, a preseason darling that impressed with his ability to make contested catches, came up big for the Bears in the third quarter in Thursday’s 24-20 victory over the Detroit Lions. Horsted’s lone reception of the game was a significant one — an 18-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Mitchell Trubisky that tied the game at 17-17.

“It wasn’t necessarily schemed for me,” Horsted said. “Thankfully, I had a good outside leverage on the man and it was a beautiful ball from Mitch. I wasn’t going to let that one drop. I knew I caught the ball but I want to go back and watch it. I knew it was a contested catch and I knew there was no way that ball was dropping. It was in slow motion and yet I really don’t remember what happened. I just remember looking the ball into my hands and rolling over so (Harris) couldn’t rip it out.

“I was very excited, but I had to go down for kickoff next, so you got to move on to the next play.”

With Burton sidelined for the remainder of the season, Shaheen’s status up in the air and Ben Braunecker recovering from a concussion, Horsted figures to get more opportunities next Thursday against the Dallas Cowboys.

Given that Horsted has only been playing tight end for six months, the more he continues to learn the position and get valuable reps, the more intriguing a prospect he figures to be heading into 2020.

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Bears defense stumbles, then shuts down Lions third-string QB David Blough

The Bears’ defense struggled to stop third-string QB David Blough in the first quarter before coming up clutch in the fourth quarter.

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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‘Today was Mitch’s day’: Bears QB Mitchell Trubisky comes up clutch vs. Lions

Bears QB Mitchell Trubisky had his most impressive performance of the season on the national stage against the Lions.

The Chicago Bears had plenty to celebrate following Thursday’s 24-20 victory over the Detroit Lions. But perhaps none more so than the clutch performance of quarterback Mitchell Trubisky.

Trubisky had his best performance of the season — and one of the best of his career — against the Lions, where he orchestrated clutch scoring drives en route to a comeback victory.

In a game that was ugly at times, Trubisky shined completing 29-of-38 passes for 338 yards for three touchdowns and one interception for a 118.1 passer rating.

“A lot of players made a lot of plays, but today was Mitch’s day,” Nagy said., via The Athletic. “It was his day. He did a lot of things today in regards to making special throws at special times.”

Trubisky led the Bears back from a 10-point deficit, including two second-half scoring drives. But there was no drive as impressive as the nine-play, 90-yard scoring drive that was perhaps Trubisky’s best drive of his young career.

Trubisky connected with receiver Anthony Miller on two deep completions on third down, including a 32-yard completion on third-and-five that set up the game-winning touchdown pass to running back David Montgomery.

“He needed a game like that,” Miller said of Trubisky’s impressive performance. “That 90-yard drive, that’s not easy. It doesn’t matter who you’re playing in the NFL. It’s not easy at all. He just handled it with complete poise. I’m just so proud of him for doing it.”

Following his lone interception, Trubisky  completed 10-of-11 passes for two touchdowns, with his only incompletion being a drop.

“We had a quarterback that stepped up and made throws and gave our guys chances,” Nagy said. “And then when the chance was there to make a play, they made plays. I think that’s where we finally feel like, you get that, ‘OK, we know we can do this.’ It’s something that has to synchronize everybody together, whether it’s me calling the right play and then when the play is called, them executing it. We finally had one of those games where everything felt good for a majority of it.”

This performance against the Lions was the fourth straight in a string of positive performances for Trubisky, who struggled mightily most of this season. If Trubisky can keep playing well throughout these final four games in 2019, there might be hope yet as the Bears look to retool their offense in the offseason.

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Lions officially eliminated from playoff contention on Thanksgiving

It marks the third-straight season the Lions will be at home during the postseason.

After their 24-20 loss to the Bears on Thanksgiving, the Lions fell to 3-8-1 on the season and have officially been eliminated from playoff contention.

It was Detroit’s fifth-straight loss and eighth loss in nine games.

It has to be incredibly disappointing for Lions fans. This is a team that started off 2-0-1 and lost its next two games by a combined five points to the Chiefs and Packers, respectively.

This marks the third-straight season the Lions will have missed the postseason and second-straight under coach Matt Patricia.

There will be plenty of questions surrounding Patricia’s future this offseason.

Detroit has some pieces, especially offensively with Matt Stafford, Kenny Golladay, Marvin Jones Jr. and Kerryon Johnson, but both Stafford and Johnson missed games down the stretch.

With another top-10 draft pick, we’ll see if Detroit can add a piece that puts this team in position for the playoffs in 2020.

The Lions close out the season against the Vikings, Buccanneers, Broncos and Packers.

Bears keep playoff hopes alive with win over Lions on Thanksgiving

With their 24-20 win over the Lions in Detroit on Thanksgiving, the Chicago Bears have improved to 6-6 on the season.

With their 24-20 win over the Lions in Detroit on Thanksgiving, the Chicago Bears have improved to 6-6 on the season.

And more importantly, they are keeping their playoff hopes alive.

The Bears are currently in eighth place in the NFC playoff picture and FiveThirtyEight gives them a four-percent chance to make the postseason.

Not great odds, but two weeks ago the Bears were 4-6 and we thought they were out of it. If Minnesota, Seattle or Green Bay starts to falter, Chicago is still there with four games left.

The problem for the Bears, though, is their remaining schedule.

Chicago closes the season out against a desperate Dallas team in Chicago, at Green Bay, home against the Chiefs and in Minnesota against the Vikings to close out the season.

A Bears loss to the Cowboys next week would put their odds back to less than one percent.