Hub Arkush: Bears beat themselves vs. Lions
The Chicago Bears had two missions Sunday as they faced off with the Detroit Lions: stop the bleeding and win one game, nothing else.
For over 51 minutes at Soldier Field it appeared both missions would be accomplished.
When Bilal Nichols intercepted Matthew Stafford at the Lions' 46 with a 30-20 lead and just 9:22 to play it felt to the entire world like the Bears were about to cakewalk to an easy win.
But after David Montgomery converted a first down on a 4-yard run to the Lions' 33, the play was called back for a blatant hold on left tackle Charles Leno. Instead of putting the game away, the Bears were forced to punt.
Patrick O'Donnell pinned the Lions at their own 8-yard line and the defense rose up for one of the only times all afternoon forcing a three-and-out, but stunningly two plays later on a third-and-4 at Detroit's 49, Leno failed to even breathe hard on Everson Griffen as he spun the Bears tackle around and sacked Mitch Trubisky for an 8-yard loss, forcing O'Donnell to pin the Lions deep again, this time at their own 4-yard line.
With just 4:33 to play and with the defense we had seen every week until last Sunday at Lambeau Field, it still felt like the Bears' game, but here they inexplicably folded their tents as the Lions breezed through them for 96 yards on seven plays in just 2:15, finishing with a 25-yard Stafford to Marvin Jones TD pass.
Still, with 2:18 to play, a three-point lead and a run game that had been dominant all day long, the Bears needed just one first down to salt the game away.
On third-and-4 from the Bears' 17 just 30 seconds later, Romeo Okwara raced around Germain Ifedi as if he wasn't even there and strip-sacked Trubisky on a play he never had a chance on, making the winning score for the Lions, who recovered at the Bears' 7, basically a 12-inch putt.
The Bears still did more to lock up their loss, but it was that sequence that took the Bears from right back in the playoff chase to absolute rock bottom of a lost season.
After firing at his guys with both barrels following the Green Bay game Nagy seemed at a near loss for words in the locker room.
"This one, just the way it ended, we've been on the other end of so many of these and now to have a lead like this and lose this way, it stings," Nagy said. "It's certainly one that hurts, and that's stating the obvious."
Nichols was in the same spot speaking for himself and his teammates.
"You know, after a loss like that, it's hard to say anything," Nichols said. "We just gotta find a way."
Trubisky played his best game of the year - error free until the late fumble, which really wasn't on him. He finished 26-of-34 passing for 267 yards and a 108.3 passer rating. You'd think the 30 points were more than enough to comfortably dispose of the Lions with the Bears defense.
But after four consecutive games against the Rams, Saints, Titans and Vikings in which the defense played well enough to win them all but the offense was M.I.A., the 'D' was actually much worse than it was in Green Bay when you consider this opponent, leaving the Bears with 1,000-yard stares, no answers and no one anywhere silly enough to even mention the playoffs again this year.
It is now not only fair but also necessary to ponder whether Ryan Pace and Nagy can survive a loss like this one.
While it is near impossible for one man to lose an NFL game and the Bears still had plenty of chances, it would be reasonable to see Leno waived before the Bears return to Halas Hall on Wednesday.
That's how devastating his performance was to the Bears' chances Sunday. It could very well be the kind of shock to the system Bears players and coaches now need.
With just four games now left to play, the Bears obviously don't have the talent to contend, but they have too much talent to be as bad as they've been the last two weeks. That's the kind of thing that has to get people fired.
The only questions now are whose heads will roll and how soon?
• Twitter: @Hub_Arkush