Lions Finally Take Advantage of Breaks, Undisciplined Bears Team

Two straight wins, and two straight games in which the Lions didn't play anywhere close to a complete game.

Yet, a win's a win, and that's what Dan Campbell's crew can say after its 31-30 comeback win over the Chicago Bears Sunday.

Detroit needed a win in the worst way, to hang on to its bleak hopes of punching a ticket to the postseason in 2022. And, Campbell & Co. came through with a gritty performance, securing the first road win of the Campbell era in Motown.

Jared Goff didn't play his prettiest game, throwing for just 236 yards and a touchdown while being sacked twice.

Meanwhile, the Lions, for most of the day, failed to get their ground game going and were unable to stop Justin Fields and the Bears' rushing attack.

Detroit ran for just 95 total yards on 31 carries, equating to a dismal yards-per-carry average of 3.1 yards. Most notably, Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson failed to get D'Andre Swift loose, resulting in the third-year back accumulating a lowly six yards on six carries.

Then, on the other side of the ball, Fields had a field day -- no pun intended -- against Detroit defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn's unit. The Lions consistently struggled with containing the Bears' second-year passer, leading the Ohio State product to rush for 147 yards and two touchdowns. He thrashed Detroit's run defense all day long, highlighted by a 67-yard scamper to the end zone in the fourth quarter.

Collectively, Chicago accumulated 258 rushing yards in the Week 10 contest. It came on 35 carries, equating to 7.4 yards per rushing attempt.

Yet, none of the above mattered, as Campbell's squad prevailed victorious in the NFC North divisional matchup and because of the grit and tenacity it played with until the final whistle. In that sense, it was an effort that was very much symbolic of the second-year Detroit head man's persona.

Specifically, the Lions' defense came up big late.

Third-year cornerback Jeff Okudah delivered his second career interception with 10:29 remaining in the fourth quarter, and returned it 20 yards for the score. His first ever pick-six -- and Detroit's first pick-six since 2018 -- tied up the game at 24.

It was arguably the biggest play of Okudah's young career.

"It was honestly a crazy moment," Okudah said of the interception after the game. "Obviously, we were down, and it was a play that, on the sideline, we were saying, you know, 'we've got to get a turnover. One of you guys got to be the guy that changes the course of this game.' So, I took a lot of pride in creating that play for our defense."

When Okudah came down with the interception, it gave Goff a sense of belief that the Lions once again had a chance to capture the Week 10 win.

“I think, you know, when Okudah made that play, it was kind of like, oh, we’re back,” Goff said in the postgame. “We’re here now, and momentum was going their way before that.

“I also think that teams that continually win, continually get breaks or things go their way a little bit. That happened today for us, on both sides of the ball. You know, that’s not usually on accident. Sometimes, it happens when you’re in the right place or doing the right thing, you get those breaks, and you get those afforded to you.”

Goff, himself, came up big late in the game. The veteran signal-caller led Detroit on an eight-play, 91-yard scoring drive that put the Lions ahead for good, 31-30. The drive was capped off by a 1-yard rushing touchdown from Jamaal Williams.

Then, on the Bears' final drive, EDGE rushers Aidan Hutchinson and Julian Okwara each came up with timely sacks. The first came from Hutchinson, on a second-and-10 at Chicago's 30-yard line. Okwara then sealed the come-from-behind victory, sacking Fields, for the second time of the afternoon, on Chicago's final play of the game.

It was a gutsy effort from Glenn's defense.

"I'm just, listen, I'm very proud," Campbell told reporters after the game. "Because that's two weeks in a row now where our defense has come up huge. And, look, man, that is a tough offense to play, and that quarterback now (Fields) is everything we talked about. Man, you can play perfect and the game you want to play. And, if you just let him out four plays, it'll kill you. It could be four touchdowns."

The Lions are 10 weeks into the 2022 season now, and although the results haven’t always been pretty, Campbell’s squad has continued to fight.

That can’t be said for all the two-and-three-win teams across the league.

However, in Detroit, despite all the losing that has occurred, there is a different vibe, and it was as evident as ever Sunday afternoon. The Lions brought their "lunch-pails" and "hard-hats" to Soldier Field, and delivered as gritty of a performance as one could have asked for.

It was the embodiment of their head coach’s never-say-never attitude. And, without it (and a lucky "break" or two) Sunday, there was no way the Lions were coming back to beat Fields and the Bears.

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