Key jump ball doesn't go Chicago Bears' way
DETROIT - The Lions went 92 yards on 10 plays to boost their lead to 13-0 with 6:10 left in the first half Saturday.
The big play was a 58-yard Matthew Stafford pass of Marvin Jones that carried to the Chicago Bears' 12-yard line.
Under heavy pressure, Stafford scrambled toward the sideline and heaved a long ball that Bears safety Eddie Jackson appeared to be position to defend, but Jones had inside position made a better adjustment to the ball, setting up Stafford's 3-yard touchdown flip to T.J. Jones.
It was an especially bitter pill because several times the Bears appeared to have Stafford, who isn't known for elite agility, trapped behind the line of scrimmage.
"He has the ability to escape, so you have to keep that in mind," said outside linebacker Lamarr Houston, who had 2 of the Bears' sacks and now has 4 in three games since returning to his former team.
"You try to avoid that, but he's a great football player. He's mobile; he doesn't use it as much. But he uses it when he needs to. He has that capability."
Asked about Jackson's reaction on that, coach John Fox said: "It's just a jump ball. I think Matt (Stafford) did a good job. We lost contain; he busted out to their bench. There's really not a whole lot you can say to Eddie other than, 'Come down with the ball flopping on the ground.' They made a nice play."
No Neon Deion:
Lions cornerback Darius Slay had 2 interceptions, but Bears wide receiver Kendall Wright isn't nominating him for any awards.
"Some of the (interceptions) might have just hit him in the hands," said Wright, who had team bests of 7 catches, 81 yards and 13 targets. "I don't think he was just out there being Deion Sanders. I haven't seen one of those in a long time.
"He's a good corner, and he made some good plays. I guess he was all over the field, but it wasn't that spectacular. I mean, he made his plays. He gets paid too; he made the plays he was supposed to make."
Playing it safe:
Bears coach John Fox was asked if he considered going for it on fourth-and-1, trailing 6-0 early in the second quarter.
"Not really," he said. "I don't think that was a huge factor, but we can talk about that."
Fox was asked: "Why not go for it with nothing to lose?"
"Yeah, you do have something to lose," Fox said. "That's called field position. We failed to have that much of the day, largely to some of our inability to move the ball, in particular the first half. I think, sure, you can go for that, but it can bite you, too."
Sitting it out:
It wouldn't be a typical Bears game without numerous injuries.
They lost four starters during the course of Saturday's game: linebacker Pernell McPhee (shoulder) went out in the second quarter. Right guard Tom Compton (concussion) went out in the third, and left guard Josh Sitton fourth.
Safety Chris Prosinski (concussion) left early in the first quarter and did not return after a helmet-to-helmet collision with Lions tight end Eric Ebron.
Saturday's inactives were tight end Adam Shaheen (chest), quarterback Mark Sanchez, defensive back Deiondre Hall, running back Taquan Mizzell, safety Adrian Amos (hamstring), defensive lineman Rashaad Coward and offensive lineman Cameron Lee.
Among the Lions inactives were two offensive line starters, center Travis Swanson and right tackle Rick Wagner.
Bears extra points:
Rookie safety Eddie Jackson's second-quarter fumble recovery was the Bears' NFL-best 13th of the season. … Akiem Hicks had his team-best eighth sack of the season but his first in six weeks. … In his last two games, wide receiver Kendall Wright has 17 receptions for 188 yards.
• Follow Bob's Bears reports on Twitter @BobLeGere.