It was a gloomy-weather day, both literally and figuratively, in Chicago. The Lions gave up a Montgomery TD in the red zone on the Bears opening drive. And then the most Lions’ play of the day occurred when they found themselves driving into the Red Zone.
The story of the game was how Fields would respond after only netting 57 yards of offense for the Bears the previous week versus Cleveland. Safe to say, he put that behind him as Fields finished the game 11/17 with 209 yards and a pick (83.6 QBR) Not bad for the rookie, but with only 11 completions on the day- what really killed the Lions?
Montgomery’s two touchdowns definitely did us in early in the game. We had two fumbles to the Bears one interception that happened late in the first half, so there’s that as well. But the real killer? I would say goes to the play calling on fourth down. Why put the ball in Goff’s hands on fourth and short, when we have an above-average running back tandem? Especially late in the game, down only ten points. I would have much rather Campbell elected for the Field Goal- the fourth down stop for the Bears D effectively ended the game then & there.
Mismanagement of the game is something I have seen common with this coaching regime early on. To Campbells credit, we are not a good team. Finding a way to win, even in an unorthodox manner, is necessary with this team. But making the right play calls is just as important. Also worth noting that Goff missed a wide open Cephus on the aforementioned play.
The offensive line struggled mightily against the Bears pass rush. In my opinion, the Lions offense won’t amount to any points if the OL is not on top of their game. There is just not enough talent surrounding them to ensure me otherwise. Sewell was graded porously by PFF, perhaps due to practicing at RT all week. But shoutout to Kalif Raymond: 3-46-2 TDs is a decent stat line. Same goes to ASB’s 6-70-0 line.
The Lions showed us that they aren’t going to be contenders this season after all (shocker, I know.) With that being said, I’m hoping to see some growth out of Campbell as the head coach, and young players on this roster who will step up and make plays. As far as the outcome of this season goes- I am not excited to watch this team week-in and week-out. We aren’t going to win many games. Don’t expect us to, either. But I expect growth.
Next week the Lions travel to play the Minnesota Vikings for a Sunday matinee.
The Fans' Den 