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The season's accomplishments are at best incomplete benchmarks, but Sunday's 34-22 win over the Detroit Lions gave the impression of not winning another victory for a team that, in nine games, matched his best total of wins in the season of the previous four seasons.
The win, in which the Bears (6-3) exploded to a 26-0 lead before Detroit scored, with a minute to play in the first half, before defeating its own short-win in the second half, s & # 39, is made at the expense of a division rival, the first for more than two years. It was against the always enigmatic Lions (3-6), whose three victories of 2018 were decisive against the three teams that had defeated the Bears – Green Bay, Miami, New England, with an average of 12 points – and who & # 39; d has beaten the Bears in nine of the 10 games played since Lovie Smith's departure after 2012.
"It feels good," said cornerback Kyle Fuller. "It feels good to get a win, so we'll take it. We will take this style, learn from it, we will be better and continue.
It was also the first time that quarterback Mitch Trubisky led a win against an opponent of the division. He lost his first two games against Detroit, Green Bay and Minnesota. The Vikings (5-3-1) will travel to Soldier Field Sunday night after a week off.
While the Bears retain their position at the top of the division with Sunday's win, they remain responsible for winning or sliding behind the Vikings, the last opponent of the NFC North that the Bears defeated (October 31, 2016) before the Sunday. In all scenarios, which do not make sense yet, only the Bears and Carolina Panthers have up to six wins, aside from division leaders, Los Angeles, New Orleans and Washington .
The win was also the second time the Bears "stack" wins this season, a third time in a row for the second time this year. It depends of course on the Bears: the last time the Bears won three straight twice in the same season (2010), they scored a touchdown before the Super Bowl. But a 6-3 record does not mean much: the 2012 Bears were 8-3 and missed the playoffs.
But Sunday was marked by an unofficial marker that the Bears need. Their victory was led by their "best" players, those in which the organization made its largest investments in financial and financial capital capital:
Trubisky: 23 passes out of 30, 355 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT, 148.6, the third over 100 in six games. "I thought Mitch had his best game of the season," said coach Matt Nagy. "Without a doubt ";
Allen Robinson: 6 catches on 8 targets, 133 yards, 2 TDs, first multi-TD game since September 2016. "It had a huge impact," said Trubisky. "It's so difficult to cover one against one. I will continue to search for it. "
Khalil Mack: 2 bags, 2 tackles for loss. "Our defense improves when it's in," Nagy said. "But our defense is very good when he is not there";
Roquan Smith: 10 top teams, 1 pass defense, one bag, third time in five weeks, leading Bears to the attack.
Domination increases?
The final result was followed by a growing power statement from the Bears, who scored 23 points or more for the eighth time in nine games, missing only in the 16-14 win over Arizona. The Bears have limited quarterback Matthew Stafford and Lions to 305 yards. The sixth of nine opponents failed to raise 315 yards against a Bears defense that produced four sacks, two interceptions and a break-in. The match marked the third time in nine games that the Lions were under 315.
In attack, the Bears had scored six consecutive possessions until the end of the first half, joining the last two finals in Buffalo. The last five have been touchdowns, including 75, 86 and 71 yard TD discs the first three times they played football against the Lions. They may have accumulated eight wins on Sunday, but kick kicker Cody Parkey missed 41 and 34 yards in the third quarter.
Defensively, before the Lions landed just before the end of the first half, the Bears defense allowed only two touchdowns in the last 30 possessions dating back to the fourth quarter of the New England match. The unit fired Stafford six times, following Minnesota's sacking 10 times last week.
"It's great to see both sides of the ball dominating," said defensive lineman Akiem Hicks. "Our attack, running in the field, you want to tell them:" Do not mark so fast, we have just left! But I think the attack has something really nice and our defense is playing at a high level. "
Not so high on the special teams. In addition to his goal blunders, Parkey misses two PATs – the four shots are vertical, and the goals missed by successive possessions after the defense forced a turn-down at Detroit.
"It can mess with you a bit," said Nagy. "We trust him, we know that he will make them and it is only one of these days …. My confidence is not drawn at all with him. "
Aggravating Problems in Teams: After the Lions scored in the middle of the fourth quarter, the Bears failed twice to control an opponent's kick, once during an illegal call against Anthony Miller for sweeping the ball off the field, then failed. the re-blow. Detroit turned that into a touchdown and a score of 34-22. The defense was able to cancel a two-point conversion test that seemed to empty all Lions orders.
Running to nowhere
If there was one persistent concern in a match where the Bears had built a four-point lead, it was the persistent inability to make football work with appreciable success. Jordan Howard counted for only 21 yards in 11 runs (1.9 yards) and the attack ended with 54 yards only because Trubisky was able to carry or score 18 yards in three attempts.
Adding to the feeling of instability, the Bears were engaged in the race even before the match, choosing to keep five backs and three tight ends active. Still, the Bears were still unable to take control of the game against the 31st defense, with a combined average of 2.5 yards against a Detroit group that allowed 5.1 yards per run before Sunday.
"We have to find something out there," said Nagy, blaming neither blacks nor blocking as a cause. "As the weather gets worse, we have to be able to run for football. It's simple and clear.
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