It wasn't pretty, but the Chicago Bears snapped their five-game losing streak, with a Cairo Santos field goal beating the Detroit Lions 16-14 at the final horn.
Playing in relief of Justin Fields, Andy Dalton threw for 317 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Jared Goff had an efficient game for the Lions after missing last week’s contest, going 21-for-25 for 171 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Darnell Mooney caught five passes for 123 yards in the game. Jimmy Graham caught the lone touchdown of the game for Chicago.
After the Bears failed to score on their opening possession, which they got after awkwardly attempting to defer on the coin toss after the Lions had already done so, Detroit put together a 7-play, 69-yard scoring drive. Jared Goff capped it off with a touchdown pass to Josh Reynolds, giving Detroit a 7-0 lead.
After the two teams traded punts, the Bears were able to get a drive going with a 33-yard completion from Dalton to Mooney. A few rough throws from Dalton followed, and the Bears had to settle for a short Cairo Santos field goal to get on the board at 7-3.
Later in the half, the Bears scored a touchdown to grab the lead. Dalton found Jimmy Graham for a 17-yard touchdown pass, the tight end’s first scoring grab of the year, and in the blink of an eye the Bears took a 10-7 lead.
The Bears got a late field goal in the first half to take a 13-7 lead, but both offenses began to struggle. Just before the end of the third quarter, Detroit was able to put together another 7-play scoring drive, with tight end TJ Hockenson hauling in a touchdown catch to give the Lions a 14-13 lead in the frame’s closing seconds.
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That score held until late in the fourth quarter, when the Bears were able to close out the clock with a lengthy drive.
On the final possession of the game, the Bears drove down into the red zone, and after a series of timeouts by both teams, Chicago was able to finish off the rest of the game clock, setting up a chip-shot game-winning field goal by Santos to snap a five-game losing streak.
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The Bears will head home for a few extra days of rest before they start preparations for a Dec. 5 game against the Arizona Cardinals at Soldier Field.
