The Detroit Lions have been strong throughout the season, leading the league in point differential after consistently defeating their opponents.
Against the Chicago Bears, the Lions were good enough to extend their winning streak to 10 games—but just barely.
Jared Goff threw two touchdown passes to Sam LaPorta, Jake Bates kicked three field goals in the first half, and the Lions held off the Bears 23-20 on Thursday.
“It was a crazy ending, right?” Goff asked.
Indeed, it was.
Late in the game, the Bears had the ball in Lions territory with a chance to either tie the game with a field goal or take the lead with a touchdown, but they missed the opportunity.
Caleb Williams threw an incomplete pass as time expired from the Detroit 41-yard line after being sacked with about 30 seconds left. The sack allowed time to run off the clock even though the Bears still had one timeout left.
“I’m focused on getting everyone back and getting everyone lined up,” Williams said. “I don’t have a microphone, so there is no communication with coach there. We could have taken a timeout, but if we hit that play, no one would be worried about it.”
The NFC-leading Lions (11-1) have their best record after 12 games in team history, and their 10-game winning streak matches a franchise record set by the 1934 team.
The Bears (4-8) have now lost six straight games, including four by a total of just 10 points.
Chicago coach Matt Eberflus has a 5-17 record in games decided by seven points or fewer, winning only 22.7% of those games. This ranks him last among coaches with at least 20 close games.
“We’re right there,” he said.
Detroit led 16-0 at halftime and 23-7 after three quarters. Williams led another comeback attempt that fell short, just like the previous week. Williams helped the Bears rally from an 11-point deficit in the last 22 seconds against Minnesota, only to lose in overtime.
Detroit opened the game with four straight scoring drives, going up 16-0 with Goff’s 3-yard touchdown pass to LaPorta in the second quarter, along with Bates’ field goals.
Meanwhile, Chicago couldn’t pick up a first down on its first four drives and only gained 32 yards during those possessions.
“We started off pretty hot offensively and defensively,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said.
Goff’s second touchdown pass to LaPorta, a 1-yard throw, gave Detroit a 23-7 lead late in the third quarter. The score was set up by Jameson Williams’ 15-yard reverse, which included him hurdling Kevin Byard for extra yards.
Caleb Williams, the No. 1 pick overall in the draft, completed 20 of 39 passes for 256 yards, with two touchdown passes to Keenan Allen and one to DJ Moore.
Williams appeared to make his first rookie mistake of the game in the third quarter on a run. He pulled up instead of running out of bounds and took a low hit from linebacker Jack Campbell.
“My knee is fine, but that play was kind of funky,” Williams said. “I didn’t appreciate him diving right at my knee, but it is good.”
The former USC star quickly recovered, and on the next play, threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Allen. Williams later connected with Allen again, throwing a 9-yard touchdown with 5:36 remaining.
Detroit had an opportunity to add to its lead, but Bates missed a 45-yard field goal after starting his NFL career with 19 straight successful kicks. The drive stalled due to a 15-yard penalty on Jameson Williams for throwing the football at a Bears player on the sideline.
Jameson Williams apologized to the team after the game, without being asked.
“I’m proud of him, the way he handled it,” Goff said.
