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Big plays from Calvin Johnson, Jahvid Best push Detroit Lions past Chicago Bears, to 5-0
Phillip Zaroo Mlive
DETROIT -- The roar of the Detroit Lions -- and especially their fans -- was heard loud and clear by the Chicago Bears on Monday night.
The Lions overcame another halftime deficit, albeit a smaller one than the past two weeks, and beat the Bears 24-13 to start the season 5-0 for the first time since 1956 and remain in a tie with the Green Bay Packers for first place in the NFC North.
It was the team's first appearance on Monday Night Football in 10 years, and the Lions and their fans made the most of it.
Jahvid Best's 88-yard touchdown run with 5:32 left in the third quarter was the most damaging blow to the Bears who had, until that point, managed to stay in the game -- and even led at halftime -- despite a hostile Ford Field crowd of 67,861, the stadium's second-largest crowd, behind only to the 68,206 of Super Bowl XL.
The raucous Ford Field crowd had a devastating impact on Chicago's offense, helping cause nine false starts, including six in the first half alone. At one point, the big screen showed a graphic reading "Lions fans 4, Bears 0" to reflect the influence they had.
Detroit coach Jim Schwartz couldn't remember hearing a crowd louder than the one he witnessed Monday night.
"Nine false starts (by Chicago), I don't know if I've ever been a part of that," he said. "Our hats are off to the fans here, to the city of Detroit. It was a great night for the city, and we need to get used to playing in big games like this and having atmospheres like this.
"The fans did their part tonight and we took the cue from them. Nine false starts is an awful lot an all the credit goes to our crowd."
Enlarge The Associated Press
Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson (81) turns to the crowd during pregame warmups. (AP Photo)
Week 5: Detroit Lions 24, Chicago Bears 13 gallery (25 photos)
Best's run was the second-longest in team history after Bob Hoernschmeyer's 96-yarder in 1950, and led to the second-year running back's career game with 163 yards rushing and a touchdown on 12 carries.
"It was just an inside zone play," Best said. "The O-line just made a little crease and I just hit it and ran as fast as I could. ...
"The O-line for a while was just making creases, so all those plays, I was just picking the holes they gave me and just hitting it and trusting it."
The Lions struck first with 14:22 left in the second quarter on a 73-yard third-down touchdown strike from quarterback Matthew Stafford to Calvin Johnson. It was Johnson's ninth touchdown of the season.
Stafford said the offensive line was responsible for that big play as well.
"I had a real good inkling they were going to play some Cover-2 and try to get Calvin matched up on the safety," Stafford said. "The guys up front did a heck of a job of giving me time. When they do that and Calvin gets down field, you know he's dangerous, and he made a great play."
But Chicago caused some damage in the first half as well, behind Jay Cutler's 11-of-14 passing for 103 yards and a touchdown.
Detroit's defense was consistently a split-second from sacking Cutler, and the veteran quarterback made the Lions pay.
Cutler hit tight end Kellen Davis with a 9-yard pass that gave the Bears a 10-7 lead.
The Lions took the ensuing kickoff and picked up a couple of first downs, but the drive stalled when Stafford's pass to Johnson was picked off by D.J. Moore. With just 31 seconds left in the half, the Bears took a knee, and awaited the second-half kickoff.
The crowd wasn't silenced, but was certainly subdued after Chicago led after the second quarter. The Lions looked to regain momentum, though the Bears would receive to start the second half.
After Detroit's defense held Chicago to three-and-out to open the third quarter, Stafford marched the Lions down the field on a drive that culminated in an 18-yard touchdown pass to tight end Brandon Pettigrew.
"We got on a little run there in the third quarter," Schwartz said. "We had a couple three-and-outs, got the ball for the offense, scored and it really flipped the script of the game. Obviously, that was big. We started fast in that second half.
"I thought we did some good things in the first half, but we didn't play our best. We still haven't played our best game yet."
Defensive end Willie Young's sack on third-and-18 with Chicago pinned deep in its own territory kick-started the Lions pass rush, which ended up with three sacks on the day.
The Lions racked up 389 yards of total offense compared to the Bears' 368. Stafford finished the day with 19-for-26 passing for 219 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He tied a franchise record with seven consecutive games of at least two touchdown passes.
Johnson, meanwhile, hauled in five receptions for 130 yards and a touchdown. His own streak of games with at least two touchdown catches ended at four.
Twenty-year veteran kicker Jason Hanson -- who kicked a 31-yard field goal to close out the scoring, and also made a fourth-quarter tackle on Chicago kick returner Devin Hester -- became the first player in NFL history to play 300 games, all for the same team.
Big plays from Calvin Johnson, Jahvid Best push Detroit Lions past Chicago Bears, to 5-0
Phillip Zaroo Mlive
DETROIT -- The roar of the Detroit Lions -- and especially their fans -- was heard loud and clear by the Chicago Bears on Monday night.
The Lions overcame another halftime deficit, albeit a smaller one than the past two weeks, and beat the Bears 24-13 to start the season 5-0 for the first time since 1956 and remain in a tie with the Green Bay Packers for first place in the NFC North.
It was the team's first appearance on Monday Night Football in 10 years, and the Lions and their fans made the most of it.
Jahvid Best's 88-yard touchdown run with 5:32 left in the third quarter was the most damaging blow to the Bears who had, until that point, managed to stay in the game -- and even led at halftime -- despite a hostile Ford Field crowd of 67,861, the stadium's second-largest crowd, behind only to the 68,206 of Super Bowl XL.
The raucous Ford Field crowd had a devastating impact on Chicago's offense, helping cause nine false starts, including six in the first half alone. At one point, the big screen showed a graphic reading "Lions fans 4, Bears 0" to reflect the influence they had.
Detroit coach Jim Schwartz couldn't remember hearing a crowd louder than the one he witnessed Monday night.
"Nine false starts (by Chicago), I don't know if I've ever been a part of that," he said. "Our hats are off to the fans here, to the city of Detroit. It was a great night for the city, and we need to get used to playing in big games like this and having atmospheres like this.
"The fans did their part tonight and we took the cue from them. Nine false starts is an awful lot an all the credit goes to our crowd."
Enlarge The Associated Press
Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson (81) turns to the crowd during pregame warmups. (AP Photo)
Week 5: Detroit Lions 24, Chicago Bears 13 gallery (25 photos)
Best's run was the second-longest in team history after Bob Hoernschmeyer's 96-yarder in 1950, and led to the second-year running back's career game with 163 yards rushing and a touchdown on 12 carries.
"It was just an inside zone play," Best said. "The O-line just made a little crease and I just hit it and ran as fast as I could. ...
"The O-line for a while was just making creases, so all those plays, I was just picking the holes they gave me and just hitting it and trusting it."
The Lions struck first with 14:22 left in the second quarter on a 73-yard third-down touchdown strike from quarterback Matthew Stafford to Calvin Johnson. It was Johnson's ninth touchdown of the season.
Stafford said the offensive line was responsible for that big play as well.
"I had a real good inkling they were going to play some Cover-2 and try to get Calvin matched up on the safety," Stafford said. "The guys up front did a heck of a job of giving me time. When they do that and Calvin gets down field, you know he's dangerous, and he made a great play."
But Chicago caused some damage in the first half as well, behind Jay Cutler's 11-of-14 passing for 103 yards and a touchdown.
Detroit's defense was consistently a split-second from sacking Cutler, and the veteran quarterback made the Lions pay.
Cutler hit tight end Kellen Davis with a 9-yard pass that gave the Bears a 10-7 lead.
The Lions took the ensuing kickoff and picked up a couple of first downs, but the drive stalled when Stafford's pass to Johnson was picked off by D.J. Moore. With just 31 seconds left in the half, the Bears took a knee, and awaited the second-half kickoff.
The crowd wasn't silenced, but was certainly subdued after Chicago led after the second quarter. The Lions looked to regain momentum, though the Bears would receive to start the second half.
After Detroit's defense held Chicago to three-and-out to open the third quarter, Stafford marched the Lions down the field on a drive that culminated in an 18-yard touchdown pass to tight end Brandon Pettigrew.
"We got on a little run there in the third quarter," Schwartz said. "We had a couple three-and-outs, got the ball for the offense, scored and it really flipped the script of the game. Obviously, that was big. We started fast in that second half.
"I thought we did some good things in the first half, but we didn't play our best. We still haven't played our best game yet."
Defensive end Willie Young's sack on third-and-18 with Chicago pinned deep in its own territory kick-started the Lions pass rush, which ended up with three sacks on the day.
The Lions racked up 389 yards of total offense compared to the Bears' 368. Stafford finished the day with 19-for-26 passing for 219 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He tied a franchise record with seven consecutive games of at least two touchdown passes.
Johnson, meanwhile, hauled in five receptions for 130 yards and a touchdown. His own streak of games with at least two touchdown catches ended at four.
Twenty-year veteran kicker Jason Hanson -- who kicked a 31-yard field goal to close out the scoring, and also made a fourth-quarter tackle on Chicago kick returner Devin Hester -- became the first player in NFL history to play 300 games, all for the same team.
