Three Takeaways from Bears' comeback win over Lions |
Boy, that was a drama-filled game, wasn't it? After three uninspired quarters of football against Detroit, rumblings of benching Mitch Trubisky for Nick Foles had to be going through the minds of nearly every Chicago Bears fan. After all, the defense allowed 23 points while the offense was only able to put up six points against a Lions defense that was near the bottom of the league in 2019.
Then, the fourth quarter began, and a light went off in Trubisky's head. He started to look like the quarterback everyone hoped he would as he led the offense to 21 fourth-quarter points on three touchdown passes for the 27-23 win. For the time being, that will allow Bears fans to forget about his bad performance through three quarters as they can salivate in the win. Here are some takeaways from the win. Mitch Trubisky comes up clutch: As mentioned above, Trubisky didn't play well through three quarters as the Bears overall looked like hot garbage on both sides of the ball. Once the fourth quarter began, Trubisky and the offense put the team on their backs as they led the comeback bid. Over his career, Trubisky has posted his highest quarterback rating of any opponent against the Lions. That will only continue to rise after his fourth-quarter showing on Sunday. Not only did they trust him with 36 passes completing 20 of those, but he threw for 242 yards and three scores, all in the fourth quarter. Not to mention, he also had zero interceptions, and you're looking at a recipe for success. Hopefully, his showing in week one is a sign of things to come in 2020. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Mitchell Trubisky threw 3 TD in the 4th quarter of the Bears' comeback win, all of which were in a tight window (less than 1 yard of separation)
Running game still a work in progress: Seeing David Montgomery on the field was a big surprise and was an excellent lift for Chicago. Despite only getting 13 carries, Montgomery led the team with 64 yards on the ground as the Bears rushed for nearly 150 yards averaging more than five yards per touch. This was a glaring issue last season as they couldn't run the ball consistently. A lot of that had to do with the offensive line, but even still, the running backs were unable to pick up yards when given the opportunity. I do expect Montgomery to get more touches as the season goes on, but the fact Chicago was able to win with him only rushing for 64 yards is telling. People just looking at the boxscore or fantasy points are going to think that David Montgomery wasn't effective yesterday.
They used many different packages to get other players involved and surpassed 145 yards as a team. While it is unclear if that will continue throughout the season, Chicago proved to have a balanced rushing attack and will use the first few weeks to figure out the perfect rotation offensively. When needed, the defense steps up: Despite forcing just one Matthew Stafford interception and recording only one sack, the Bears defense stepped up when they needed them the most. After getting gashed for three quarters, especially on the ground where Adrian Peterson averaged 6.6 yards per carry and grabbed 93 yards, the Bears calling card managed to find their form for 15 minutes when needed the most. Entering the fourth down 23-6, the Bears held the Lions to a punt, missed field goal, and an interception across their first three possessions in the final quarter. Given the ball one last time, the Lions began to move into Chicago territory needing a touchdown to win. Following a long pass to Danny Amendola to put the Lions inside the Bears 20, it was time for Chicago to man up on defense. Like all great defenses, the Bears managed to make the plays needed to secure the win as tight coverage in the secondary allowed Chicago to induce back to back incompletions to secure the win. Grades are out for Bears-Lions:
The Bears will be hosting the New York Giants next week in their first home game season.
Trubisky's 3 pass TD are the most in a single quarter since Next Gen began tracking 5 seasons ago. pic.twitter.com/Z75bCO95rV
Think again.
Game flow limited his work on the ground, but Montgomery looked fantastic all game long making plays like this one. pic.twitter.com/aPe4PUVoJ5
Anthony Miller with the top grade for the Bears - 90
Robinson, Monty, Massie, Mooney all with good grades
Khalil Mack led the way on defense. Kyle Fuller and Jaylon Johnson right behind (Johnson's debut probably couldn't have gone much better)
