Detroit 20, Chicago 14
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, December 21, 2014
Where: Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois
Temperature:
36°
Head Official:
Gene Steratore
Attendance:
61420
By SportsDirect Inc.
Lions 20, Bears 14: Joique Bell rushed for 59 of his 74 yards and a touchdown in the fourth quarter as visiting Detroit rallied to keep alive hopes of a first-round bye or an overall No. 1 seed in the upcoming NFC playoffs.
Matthew Stafford completed 22-of-39 passes for 243 yards with two interceptions for the Lions (11-4), who already had clinched a playoff spot for the second time in 15 years with Philadelphia's loss on Saturday and next face a winner-take-all battle for the NFC North title in Green Bay. Calvin Johnson made six catches for 103 yards as Detroit won a fourth straight meeting with Chicago for the first time since 1971-73.
Jimmy Clausen conducted himself nicely in his first start since 2010, going 23-of-39 for 181 yards with two touchdowns, an interception and seven dropped passes for the Bears (5-10), who took advantage of two Lions mistakes and blocked a field goal to almost pull off the upset. Matt Forte had 95 yards from scrimmage and a TD while the Bears' 32nd-ranked defense also showed signs of life, picking off Stafford twice in the red zone.
Bell bounced a run to the outside and broke a few tackles en route to a 17-yard TD following a 46-yard pass interference call to give Detroit a 17-14 lead with 7:15 to play. He broke off a 20-yard run on Detroit's next possession to set up a 30-yard field goal by Matt Prater with 2:35 left, and Glover Quin picked off Clausen to seal it.
Reggie Bush rumbled 13 yards down the left sideline to open the scoring and, after Stafford threw two interceptions in the red zone and the Bears recovered a muffed punt inside the 15-yard line, Clausen threw an 11-yard TD on a swing pass to Forte for a 7-7 halftime tie. Prater drilled a 39-yard field goal early in the third before Clausen connected on a 20-yard TD down the right sideline to Alshon Jeffery with 2:45 left in the quarter after a roughing-the-punter-call kept alive the drive.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Johnson extended his franchise record by going over the 1,000-yards receiving mark for a sixth season. … The Lions snapped a nine-game losing streak in division contests in December or later and a 16-game skid in contests in which the temperature was less than 40 degrees. … Detroit, playing in Green Bay next week, is 0-23 in the state of Wisconsin since 1991.
Top Game Performances
Rushing
| Detroit |
|
Chicago |
|
Joique Bell
|
Player |
Matt Forte
|
|
13 |
Attempts |
19 |
|
74 |
Yards |
55 |
|
5.7 |
Avg Yards |
2.9 |
|
1 |
Touchdowns |
0 |
|
20 |
Long |
10 |
Team Stats Summary
| |
Yards |
Scoring |
Defense |
| Team |
Tot |
Rus |
Pas |
TD |
FG |
INT |
Sck |
FF |
| Detroit
|
367 |
138 |
229 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
2.0 |
0 |
| Chicago
|
234 |
64 |
170 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
4.0 |
1 |
Upcoming Games
-
Chicago will play their next game on the road against Minnesota. The Bears have a W/L % of .400 after a win and .300 after a loss.
-
Detroit will play their next game on the road against Green Bay. The Lions have a W/L % of .727 after a win and .750 after a loss.
For more information, contact us