Monday Night Football Afterword: Bears vs Lions

Monday's matchup was the 110th MNF game
televised by ESPN.

In a rehashing of the oldest rivalry in the National Football League, the Lions got crushed by the Bears. Okay, so they didn’t exactly get crushed, but anyone who watched any of the game knows that the 13-7 victory for the Bears was no escape either.

The Lions scored a late touchdown to avoid being shut out, but they played a terrible game. The Lions failed multiple times to get Calvin Johnson open, and the one time he did break wide open, early in the game, he dropped a well-placed pass by Stafford.

There were seven possessions inside the red zone between the two teams. Only two resulted in points. The Bears had enough scoring to make up for their two failed red zone attempts, but the Lions started 0/3 inside the red zone before their meaningless late touchdown. They fumbled just inside the 20 late in the second quarter, then fumbled again one yard out of the end zone in the third quarter. The third red zone turnover for the Lions was an interception three yards out.

So while the game certainly was not a blow out, I would still say that ‘crushed’ is a fair description of the Lions after last night. They had a few solid drives that should have resulted in some sort of points, but they repeatedly got crushed near the goal line.

Unfortunately, due to an outside obligation, I was unable to see the entire game. I watched the early portion of the game and a fair amount of the fourth quarter. From replays and recaps I have seen and read, I have gathered that it was a statement game for the Bears. However, I have to ask what explanation there is for the Lions driving so effectively leading up to those turnovers. The Lions could have easily won this game with just one or two of those turnovers not happening.

Once again, I still hesitate to put my trust in the Bears. I have no doubt they will win the NFC North, but once they get to the postseason I have a very difficult time believing this is the team to represent the NFC in New Orleans. Don’t get me wrong; this is a good team with some terrific players. But they haven’t played against a really good team yet. Even their loss came to a Packers team that had not gelled yet.

Chicago’s second half is a little more difficult. After two more games that should be easy wins – against Carolina and Tennessee – the Bears host Houston and then visit Candlestick. A win in San Francisco would give me a big confidence boost in them. But they also have two games against a competitive Minnesota team, matchups with defensive juggernauts Seattle and Arizona, and a home game against a Green Bay team that looks much better than they had during the first few weeks of the season.

Detroit, meanwhile, I think can be fairly dropped from serious postseason discussion. The Lions have lost Nate Burleson, possibly for the rest of the season, to a broken leg. Considering they have failed to come up with a solid game plan that gets the ball in Calvin Johnson’s hands, Stafford is about out of options. There is also talk that Jahvid Best may have played his last game because no doctor wants to sign off on him playing again after his recent concussion. Lions fans should be very worried about the very real possibility of their team returning to the cellar of the NFL. As long as Stafford is around, don’t expect another 0-16 season, but I could see some seasons with only three to six wins in the near future without some major offseason changes.