Written by Ryan Wilson at CBS Sports.com
The Lions needed a win on Saturday, and while it was far from exciting, that’s exactly what they did against an overmatched Bears outfit, 20-10. Matthew Stafford was an efficient 25-of-33 passing for 237 yards and two touchdowns and no turnovers, and Marvin Jones led all receivers with 85 yards on three catches. In case you’re wondering, Theo Riddick led the Lions with 49 rushing yards, which keeps the team’s streak of games without a 100-yard rusher since Thanksgiving Day 2013, when Reggie Bush (who appears ready to retire) ran for 117 yards against the Packers.
But there was no need for a running game against the Bears, whose offense sputtered early and never really was a threat to mount a comeback after trailing 20-3 early in the third quarter. As has been the case all season, Detroit’s offense goes through Stafford, who passed Tony Romo in all-time passing yards in the win. Needing 197 yards coming into the game, he bested that by 40 and now has 34,223 yards for his career. Next up: 30th on the list, Steve DeBerg, who has 34,241. Stafford’s two passing touchdowns also tied him with Matt Hasselbeck and Terry Bradshaw for No. 33 on the all-time list.
Bears rookie quarterback Mitchell Trubisky showed glimpses of why he could be a special player — he was 31 of 46, and many of those 31 completions were thrown accurately into tight windows, and on time. Unfortunately, he also had three interceptions, including one that came in the red zone and another that killed Chicago’s final drive.
Detroit moves to 8-6 on the season and will need to keep winning to have a chance to pass the Seahawks and Falcons for the final wild-card spot. The Bears, meanwhile, fall to 4-10. It’s the third straight season they’ll lose at least 10 games — all during the John Fox era (though it’s worth noting that the team went 5-11 under Marc Trestman in 2014).
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