Under Bevell, Lions Believe in Themselves Again
A new head coach and an improved outcome.
In Darrell Bevell's debut as Detroit interim head man, the Lions' defense found an extra gear in the final quarter that was far from existent during Matt Patricia's 43 games at the helm. And it catapulted Bevell & Co. to a 34-30 come-from-behind victory in their Week 13 tilt with the Chicago Bears.
Through one half of play, the Bears were doing everything they absolutely wanted to against Detroit's defense. In fact, they had accumulated 106 rushing yards, to go along with a total of 17 first downs and 253 net yards of offense.
At the half, the Bears held a 23-13 advantage, and it looked like they were well on their way to a big offensive day.
However, Cory Undlin, in his first time calling the shots on defense without any involvement from Patricia, got the Lions' defense to pick up its level of play in the second half.
Undlin & Co. allowed just 136 total yards, including only 34 additional yards on the ground, and a lone touchdown the rest of the way.
The defense also picked up Matthew Stafford in a major way in the fourth quarter.
It was already a 30-20 game in favor of Chicago, after Bears passer Mitchell Trubisky found tight end Cole Kmet for a 11-yard touchdown pass to open up the quarter, when Stafford made yet another late-game mistake -- a common theme of the 12th-year passer's 2020 campaign.
He proceeded to make an errant side-arm throw that landed in the hands of Chicago defensive lineman Bilal Nichols. It gave Trubisky & Co. the ball on Detroit's 46-yard line with 9:22 to play and a 10-point lead.
In previous weeks with Patricia roaming the sidelines, the game at this point, for all intents and purposes, would've been over.
The players would've completely given in, and the defense would've collapsed, giving up at least another score to the opposition before the conclusion of the contest.
But, this wasn't your Patricia-led Lions.
This group of players led by Bevell for the first time Sunday played some inspired football down the stretch, and showcased a level of fight and desire in them that was basically nonexistent with Patricia in charge.
After the Stafford turnover, Undlin's defense shut down Bears head man Matt Nagy's offense the rest of the game.
It was spearheaded by a Romeo Okwara strip-sack of Trubisky that was recovered by rookie defensive lineman John Penisini at Chicago's seven-yard line with 1:46 to go.
The Lions made the most of it, and cashed in two plays later on an Adrian Peterson five-yard rushing touchdown.
The Bears did have a chance to score and win the game on the following drive, but ultimately came up short when Detroit defensive tackle Kevin Strong stuffed Chicago running back David Montgomery on a fourth-and-1 play from the Lions' 20-yard line.
It capped off an improbable win for Bevell & Co.
The players never lost confidence in their ability to come from behind and pull off the victory, and Bevell was proud of them for that.
"I think those guys really, truly believed in themselves all the way," Bevell told reporters after the game. "Again, I know I'm going to keep saying the same thing. But, they didn't measure the game. You know, the whole game, it didn't matter what the scoreboard was. That's what I asked them to do. Just keep playing, keep playing, and you know, good things will happen at the end. And it did, and they made it happen."
The Lions did indeed secure the win, and the newfound confidence they played with, whether it lasts or not past this week, was a huge factor.
And at the end of the day, the man who deserves the most credit for that having been the case is the team's interim head man in Bevell.
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