The Chicago Bears had an opportunity to get to the .500 mark on Sunday against the Detroit Lions, but they missed out on the chance as they fell by a score of 37-34.
On the Lions' first drive of the game, they moved the ball quickly thanks to big runs from Ameer Abdullah and a long reception from Golden Tate, and they ultimately took advantage of a Bears coverage breakdown to score. Lance Moore got inside position on Sherrick McManis and snared a 20-yard touchdown reception to give Detroit a 7-0 lead.
The Bears responded quickly to the Lions' scoring drive with one of their own. Eddie Royal made a big play on a screen pass as he made his way through traffic to get the Bears into the red zone. That is where they would stay, however, as Jay Cutler's read option run and an incomplete pass forced the team to settle for a 27-yard field goal by Robbie Gould to make it a 7-3 game.
The Lions' next drive ended quickly as Jarvis Jenkins and Eddie Goldman teamed up to sack Matthew Stafford, and the Bears' offense made some big plays on their way to a touchdown. Alshon Jeffery made a couple of big plays to help move the ball down the field, and Matt Forte's running also contributed. Neither player figured in the touchdown, however, as Jeremy Langford got the carry and dove across the goal line for a one-yard touchdown and a 10-7 Bears lead.
After the touchdown, the Lions got the ball back and moved it quickly down the field, scoring to steal the lead back. Stafford made a tremendous throw into the back corner of the end zone on the play, where Tim Wright came down with the catch to give the Lions a 14-10 lead.
The Bears appeared to be stalling out near midfield on their next drive, but after eluding two potential tacklers, Cutler heaved the ball down the field and found Jeffery open to give the Bears a first-and-goal opportunity. Unfortunately for Chicago, they were unable to punch the ball in, and after a pass intented for Bennett fell incomplete, Gould kicked through a short field goal to make it a 14-13 game.
The Lions responded with a scoring drive of their own to extend their lead before the half, but not without a fair amount of controversy. After Golden Tate caught the ball near the goal line, it was knocked out of his hands by Kyle Fuller. The ball ended up in the arms of Jonathan Anderson, but after a video review, it was ruled that Tate scored, giving the Lions a 21-13 lead at halftime.
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On their first possession of the second half, the Bears got a couple of great plays out of Cutler as he scrambled to find Marquess Wilson and Bennett for long first down completions, but the quarterback made a mistake in the red zone that cost the team dearly. On a fade route to Jeffery, Cutler badly underthrew the receiver and had the pass intercepted to keep the Bears down by eight points.
Later in the quarter, the Bears got the ball back after T.J. Jones fumbled away a punt, but they were unable to score a touchdown. Cutler threw a couple of bad passes on the drive, and after Bennett fell down on third down, Gould booted through a field goal to cut into the Detroit lead and make it a 21-16 game.
After the Lions got a field goal of their own to make it a 24-16 game, the Bears got another huge break. On a Pat O'Donnell punt, the ball grazed the foot of Corey Fuller, and Chris Prosinski recovered it for Chicago. On the ensuing drive, Cutler found Jeffery for a leaping touchdown catch in the end zone to trim the Lions' lead to just 24-23.
Stafford helped the Bears out on the Lions' next drive as he threw an interception to Anderson, and the Bears scored the go-ahead touchdown. Forte ran the ball in to make it 29-24, and he also caught the pass on the two-point conversion attempt to give the Bears a 31-24 lead.
The Lions' next drive got off to a rollicking start thanks to a Golden Tate catch and a fake punt that gave them new life, but they ultimately were forced to settle for a field goal that made it a 31-27 game with a little under three minutes to go.
It appeared that the Bears had finished off the game after a Stafford pass fell incomplete late in the game, but a flag for roughing the passer extended the drive and allowed the Lions to score. Stafford lofted up a pass that Calvin Johnson came down with in the back of the end zone, and the Lions seized a 34-31 lead with just 21 seconds to go in the game.
Fortunately for the Bears, they were able to get down the field quickly and kick a game-tying field goal. Cutler found Jeffery for two long completions, and Gould booted through the field goal to knot things up at 34-34 and force an overtime period.
After several unsuccessful possessions on both sides of the field, the Lions used a big play to help them seal the victory. Johnson went up for a jump ball pass from Stafford, and when he came down with the ball, the Lions were in easy field goal territory, and Matt Prater booted through a short field goal to give them the victory.
