When football historians look back on the 2010 Bears season, the win over the Lions won't be seen as one of the team's best.
It didn't have the sheer domination of the win over the Dolphins, or the knocking-down-Goliath feel of the Eagles win. But in getting the team ready for a playoff run, this game was essential.
The Bears showed that they could come from behind, something that quite often needs to be done in the post-season. When they were down by six in the third quarter, I had a sinking feeling that the Bears were going to waste last week's win over the Eagles by giving up against the lowly Lions. But then Devin Hester picked up a 30-yard return, Robbie Gould kicked the football farther than he ever has, and Brandon Manumaleuna came from nowhere to get the ball in the end zone.
Chicago also showed that they can win when they didn't have their best stuff. SoIn a season with four exhibition and 16 regular season games, it's going to happen, and it happened to the Bears on Sunday. Both offense and defense struggled early.
The Lions, led by third-string QB Drew Stanton, marched down the field unfettered in their first position, while Jay Cutler was sacked on the Bears first possession, and in the next two plays, Matt Forte gained a total of three yards. It was ugly.
But after some rare halftime yelling from coach Lovie Smith, the Bears got their act together. The defense forced two three-and-outs right after halftime. The offense put together scoring drives to take the lead, and special teams pitched in, too, with Gould's record FG and Brad Maynard's 50-yard punt.
It wasn't pretty, and it won't get a starring role in any weepy montages looking at the Bears season. But it was the kind of win the Bears needed.
