Getty Adrian Peterson celebrates his touchdown against Chicago.
The Detroit Lions pulled a stunner by coming back on the Chicago Bears for a 34-30 win and there was nobody more genuinely excited than Darrell Bevell.
In the aftermath of Detroit’s shocking comeback against Chicago, the players were celebrating with Bevell and looking fired up on the field. It was a level of energy that hasn’t been seen on the Detroit sideline in a long time, arguably for the last three years.
Following the firings of Matt Patricia and Bob Quinn, there was said to be a new energy in the Detroit building. That was needed in a big way considering how poorly the team played with Patricia at the helm. Multiple times during the game, the word was excitement. After a big play on offense or defense, the Lions were way more engaged and looked to be fighting for their fellow teammate. There’s simply no way such a comeback would have been achieved with Patricia as head coach and the lackadaisical attitude that seemed to permeate the room.
As a result, it’s not hard to see how sheer passion may have fueled the team stepping up and finding a way to win. A come from behind win against all odds in very excited fashion only helps serve prove how much spite there was for Detroit’s old coach. It’s good for Bevell and the team to discover these feelings and try to finish strong.
What else was learned as the Lions snapped their streak of poor hunts? Here’s a look.
Win Over Bears Didn’t Exactly Help the Lions
Yes, it was nice to see Detroit put up 34 points and down the Bears in a rivalry game for their first head to head victory in a few years. Still, the win did nothing for the bigger picture. Detroit hangs around the playoff race, but reality says the defeat only serves to hurt their draft positioning moving forward. It’s unlikely the Lions are going to be making the playoffs, but it will help some of the feelings temporarily in Detroit and feelings for players on the roster if they can give it a good late season run. Still, it’s important to keep this win in proper perspective.
Detroit’s Defense Remains Terrible
As good as the offense looked at times, the defense looked just as bad. Allowing the Bears to explode for 30 points even in a win isn’t a great feeling for this group, and the Lions have to get some improvements in order to have a chance in games the rest of the way. It was nice to see the team make big plays in crunch time to win, but the stats say allowing a woeful Chicago team to put up 389 yards of offense wasn’t a good look. The Lions have to keep finding a way, but with the inconsistency of this defense, reality says it’s going to be hard.
Lions’ MVP vs. Bears: Romeo Okwara, DE
Okwara has been Detroit’s best pass rusher this season, and he made the money play at the end, stripping Mitch Trubisky of the ball and leading to a fumble which helped Detroit take the go ahead touchdown late in the game. Okwara has been fantastic this season and has made a huge move to be thought of as one of the better pass rushers in the league. It was nice to see Okwara keep delivering for the Lions in crunch time, which was huge for the team.
Lions’ Stat of the Game: 402
That’s the number of yards Matthew Stafford threw for on the day on 42 passing attempts. During the Matt Patricia era, the Lions didn’t often get Stafford much action in terms of the vertical game and these numbers would not have been achieved, but it’s clear that was a huge emphasis in this game. Credit Darrell Bevell for making that adjustment. The Lions had to throw to win the game, and Bevell coached like he knows that in a major way.
Lions’ Quote to Note
“We had a windshield and no rear-view mirror.” – Darrell Bevell. Detroit’s coach had a great take on the team’s mindset saying they weren’t going to look back at all. That helped serve them well in Week 13, and we’ll have to see if that is the case moving forward.
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