On a brisk day on the lake, the Bears righted Week 11’s brutal collapse with a dominant win over the Lions. In the 28-13 victory, the defense continued its impressive run and Justin Fields had another good outing. The team won the turnover battle again, this time 3-0. The Bears were also beneficiaries of several Lions offensive penalties. Unlike in the past, Chicago took advantage of these situations and it led to a big win.
Flus’ Defense is Thriving
Head coach Matt Eberflus’ defense put on a clinic on Sunday afternoon, much like it has for the past several weeks. Despite getting gashed on the ground in the first half (Lions: 15 carries for 106 yards at halftime; 7.1 y/c), it held Detroit to 13 points in the first half. After that, the defense forced three straight 3-and-outs to kick off the second half. This gave the offense time to build a lead.
The Secondary Has Come Together
Chicago’s secondary played a fantastic game. It held Lions QB Jared Goff to his lowest QB rating of the season and only allowed 161 passing yards. This was all against one of the most efficient passing offenses in the NFL. Star WR Amon-Ra St. Brown was held to 21 yards on only 3 catches, by far his season low (49 yards is second-lowest total). This is a player who has put together six 100+ yard games this season. It took the whole secondary to limit St. Brown to this extent. This includes Kyler Gordon- who saw a lot of him in the slot- and Jaylon Johnson- who added another interception to his stat page. However, there was one player who stood out above the rest.
Jaquon Brisker’s Big Game
Safety Jaquon Brisker was flying around the field in Week 14. He tallied an insane 17 tackles in total. He also had two pass breakups. As usual, he delivered several big hits. Brisker always found himself around the ball this week, and he always made the play. It was a very encouraging performance by the second-year safety.
Linebacker Duo
When a defense puts together such a strong performance, it takes everyone. Linebackers Tremaine Edmunds and TJ Edwards were no exception. I thought that Edmunds played his best game as a Bear. Underwhelming thus far into his Bears career, he finally lived up to his paycheck this week. He was locked onto the ball more than in past weeks, and made a few dominant tackles. I think that he is finally healthy again and it has resulted in a boost in production.
It All Comes Down to the Pass Rush
The pass rush was productive this week, which is arguably the only reason that the secondary and linebackers looked as good as they did. Matt Eberflus’ defensive style requires the defensive line to be able to get pressure with four rushers. This was not happening early in the year, and the defense was bad. Since signing Montez Sweat, everything has changed. He tallied another sack along with four QB hits today, in addition to opening up lanes for other rushers. The Bears are now creating pressure and everything else has fallen into place because of it.
Offense
Justin Fields Report
I thought that Fields looked pretty good again. He always has had Detroit’s number, and nothing changed in this meeting. OC Luke Getsy always calls a competent gameplan against the Lions. Since they struggle against running quarterbacks, he is forced to strategize towards Fields’ strengths (something that he usually fails to do). Regardless, things were good today. There was a healthy amount of designed QB run plays, and Fields was able to gain good yardage through scrambles in key moments. He did take one very bad sack in the first half, but these types of moments were rare. There was only five or six instances where I thought he held on to the ball for too long or made a bad throw.
The hard count touchdown play was also a big sign of evolution. He sold it really well and was able to deliver a perfect ball to DJ Moore for a huge, momentum-swinging touchdown. I love that he and Moore were on the same page and were able to connect. If Fields keeps playing like he did this week, I think he stays in Chicago.
DJ Moore is Awesome
Lastly, WR DJ Moore is just incredible. After zero catches in the first half, he still finishes with two touchdowns and 68 receiving yards on six catches. He and Justin Fields have a special connection, which will only further improve if Fields stays with the team next year. As dynamic as he is after the catch with the ball in his hands, I love the idea of getting him involved in the running game. Hopefully those plays are sprinkled in throughout the remainder of the season.
Onto Cleveland
Riding on the wave of the first winning streak of the Matt Eberflus era, vibes are high heading into Week 15. Chicago has won 3 of its last 4 and has a much-less-than-daunting remaining schedule. Next week’s game in Cleveland is the toughest remaining matchup, on paper. We will learn a lot about the team next week, mainly on the offensive side. With Fields and the offense playing solid football, a matchup against the top-five Cleveland Browns defense will be a great litmus test. For now though, let’s bask in the feeling of the Poles/Eberflus regime’s biggest win yet.