Lions' Week 13 Defensive Grades: Adjustments Succeed After Poor First Half

The Detroit Lions' defense rebounded nicely in the second half of its Week 13 tilt with the Chicago Bears, after allowing the Bears to have their way for the entirety of the first half.

Despite possessing the 31st-best offense in the NFL, Mitchell Trubisky and Chicago's rushing attack outmatched Detroit's defensive efforts.

After halftime, Detroit clamped down defensively, and even forced a key turnover late in the game that aided Detroit's offense to score the go-ahead touchdown.

Here are the grades for the Lions' defense after the team's Week 13 contest with Chicago.

Defensive line: C+

Romeo Okwara has likely earned himself a hefty pay raise due to his play of late.

On Sunday against Chicago, Okwara forced a fourth-quarter fumble that put Detroit's offense in prime position to score a touchdown.

After a shaky 30 minutes, Detroit's defensive line clamped down, and at least slowed down Chicago's rushing attack in the second half.

David Montgomery ran for 72 yards and two touchdowns, while Cordarrelle Patterson secured 59 yards and one touchdown on the afternoon.

okwara5 — © Mike Dinovo-USA TODAY Sports

Linebackers: C

In the second half, the linebackers adjusted to their early struggles of defending the rush.

Jahlani Tavai performed steadily in his role, while Reggie Ragland contributed on the fourth-down run stop along with defensive tackle Kevin Strong.

Jamie Collins, who played in 97 percent of the snaps on defense, led Detroit with 10 tackles.

Secondary: D+

Amani Oruwariye performed admirably against the run.

Unfortunately, Detroit's secondary struggled early to solve the riddle that is quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. Chicago's quarterback threw for 267 yards with one touchdown.

Despite only playing nine snaps, Will Harris is likely regretting watching the film on Patterson’s touchdown run and Trubisky's touchdown pass to tight end Cole Kmet.

Some costly penalties from the back-end aided Chicago's offense, but Detroit's secondary was bailed out by the defensive line late in the game.

Special teams: C+

Matt Prater missed an extra point, but handled kickoff duties effectively.

The Lions did give up a healthy 45-yard kickoff return to begin the game, but the coverage team was solid the remainder of the contest.

Jack Fox finished with a net average of over 40 yards per punt, and had his usual solid performance.

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