3 AND OUT: Take-aways from the Bears' 34-30 loss to Detroit
Take-aways from the Bears' 34-30 loss Sunday to the Detroit Lions:
Moments that mattered
1. Allen Robinson stepped out a yard short of a first down with 16 seconds left in the red zone. David Montgomery was subsequently stopped on his fourth-down run well behind the marker, and the Lions pulled off the stunning, ugly win in Darrell Bevel's interim head coaching debut.
2. Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford tossed his third touchdown with 2:18 left in the fourth quarter to cut the Bears' lead to 30-27. Mitch Trubisky was then strip-sacked with 1:48 left on the Bears' own 7-yard-line. Adrian Peterson then quickly scored the go-ahead touchdown.
3. After David Montgomery's second rushing touchdown, the Fox telecast reported the last time the Bears scored 3 rushing touchdowns in the first half was in 1990. That's hard to fathom considering the Bears once had Thomas Jones, Matt Forte and others preceding Montgomery. Regardless, nothing cures a running game like playing the Lions.
What worked
Run like the wind: The Bears couldn't rely on Montgomery as often last week due to being down so big, but they were definitely able to establish an identity. By halftime, the Bears had 3 rushing scores and averaged 5.6 yards per carry. Their season average coming into the game was 3.9. Montgomery looks healthy and highly motivated after his 72-yard performance in Green Bay.
Trubisky: We know his fatal fumble ultimately gave the Lions the lead, but up until that point, Trubisky largely maintained a clean stat line of 26 for 34 for 267 yards and a touchdown. Entering the game, he had thrown 12 touchdowns to 1 interception against the Lions in his career. The Lions were missing third overall pick corner Jeff Okudah for both matchups. He had the offense clicking; it just collapsed at the worst time.
Offensive line: Trubisky and the running game's successes wouldn't have happened without a relatively clean performance by the offensive line. Sam Mustipher and Alex Bars are showing steady signs of anchoring center and right guard, respectively, for possibly next season. The collective line allowed just one sack to compliment their strong day with 389 total offensive yards
What didn't work
Closing time: The Bears had a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter and both the offense and defense equally did everything right to blow their first win since Oct. 18. Stafford calmly led the offense for scores and they were able to capitalize on Trubisky's late fumble. All-around, this is the type of failure that continues to chip away at Matt Nagy's job security.
Stafford went hunting: The Bears reverted to a soft zone and Stafford had no trouble carving it up: 402 passing yards and three touchdowns. Stafford can do wonders with just a little time and he was also able to carve up the defense on third down. The Lions were 5 of 7 at the half and 6 for 11 in the game.
Oh, Mack, where art thou: Stats certainly don't tell the full picture. Khalil Mack affects the game nearly every play he's in. But, after Aaron Rodgers wasn't sacked at all last week, Mack only had one quarterback pressure on Stafford in the first half. In the previous four games, Mack registered just 1 sack and no QB hits. A sack by Mack was wiped out after a Buster Skrine penalty, but he hasn't been quite the same player with a back injury.
What's next
The Bears host Deshaun Watson and the Houston Texans at Soldier Field next week. The obvious spotlight will be on the former No. 2 overall pick in Trubisky vs. the No. 10 overall pick in Watson, who has his $156 million extension, while Trubisky had his fifth-year option declined.