Grading the Bears vs. the Lions

Game Ball: Jay Cutler

Bears QB Jay Cutler continued to take whatever the defense gave him, whether it was a shovel pass downfield, a broken-field scramble or an immediate pass down the seam to the slot receiver. Cutler hit all 10 of his second-half passes for 104 yards and the game-winning TD pass to Brandon Manumaleuna.

Quarterback (4 balls)

For the first time since joining the Bears,Jay Cutler has gone back-to-back games without throwing an interception. None of his 5 incompletions came close to being picked. He spread his passes around to eight receivers, contributed two key scrambles and didn't get himself killed by the Lions' rush. His only miscue? Coughing up the third-quarter fumble when hit from the blind side.

Running backs (3.5 balls)

Matt Forte and Chester Taylor shared time much more equally than they have in a long time. Taylor stepped in for long drives in each half and contributed 33 yards on the ground and 31 on 5 short receptions. Forte came in and closed out a Taylor possession by dashing around left end for the 14-yard score in the second quarter. He averaged 4.9 yards per carry, his third-best showing this season.

Receivers (3.5 balls)

Third-year man Earl Bennett produced his first 100-yard game, all hard-earned. The Bears converted 5 third downs and Bennett catches accounted for 4 as he went to the right place and shed tacklers. Johnny Knox drew a pass-interference penalty in the end zone to set up Chester Taylor's 1-yard TD run.

Offensive Line (2.5 balls)

The Bears averaged 4.7 yards per rush (not including Cutler kneeldowns), more than acceptable. What wasn't acceptable was 4 more sacks of Cutler. DE Cliff Avril kept flying past LT Frank Omiyale to deliver 3 sacks and force Cutler's fumble. TE Brandon Manumaleuna also struggled to hold the edge. RG Roberto Garza had primary responsibility for super-rookie DT Ndamukong Suh, who settled for 4 tackles and 1 pass knockdown.

Defensive Line (3 balls)

Compared to previous weeks, this was a weak effort by the big boys upfront. Israel Idonije forced a fumble and hit the quarterback once as part of his 5-tackle day. Julius Peppers chased Drew Stanton out of bounds for a 1-yard sack in the red zone.

Linebackers (3.5 balls)

Brian Urlacher piled up an absurd 17 tackles, which tied the fourth-biggest output of his 155-game NFL career and marked his biggest total since his remarkable 25-tackle night in 2006 at Arizona. He shared a huge 9-yard sack with nickel back D.J. Moore when the Lions had first-and-10 at the Bears 34 midway through the fourth quarter. Starting SLB Nick Roach went out early with a hip injury, which meant third-string LB Rod Wilson had to step. There was speculation he lost contain on Jahvid Best's 45-yard run shortly before halftime.

Secondary (3.5 balls)

Take away Calvin Johnson's 46-yard TD catch just before halftime, when D.J. Moore lost him on the slant and Chris Harris couldn't help bring him down, and the Lions did little through the air. Charles Tillman defended Johnson all day and gave up 2 catches for 20 yards. Tillman, Moore and Danieal Manning each broke up a pass.

Special teams (4 balls)

Everything except Stefan Logan's return yardage was brilliant. Robbie Gould drilled a career-long 54-yard FG in the third quarter and sent all of his kickoffs at least 3 yards deep in the end zone. Brad Maynard delivered 2 delicious punts that landed inside the 5-yard line, yet bounced away from the end zone where they could be downed. Devin Hester almost took a punt return to the house, but he couldn't vault punter Nick Harris at the Detroit 31.

Coaching (4 balls)

Once again, Mike Martz mixed and matched the playbook with 32 pass calls versus 23 rush calls (not including 3 Cutler kneeldowns). The defense struggled early to contain Detroit's perimeter-based attack, but they dialed it in after halftime. No reviews necessary and no sideline drama overall, unless you include the traditional burning-of-the-first-half timeouts.