Dhruv Koul shares his in-game reactions, thoughts, and observations from the Bears-Lions game at Ford Field. Follow him on Twitter @DhruvKoul to continue the conversation.
DETROIT — We made it. We actually made it to Week 1 of the NFL season. An NFL game successfully occurred on Thursday night, and the bulk of games for Sunday are set to kick off.
The Chicago Bears open the season in Detroit to take on the Lions at Ford Field. While the Bears swept the Lions in 2019, they struggled to do so against backup QBs Jeff Driskel and David Blough. Matthew Stafford is back and healthy, and now the Bears have to contend with an elite QB, an excellent passing game, and a revamped stable of running backs. This was my pregame Thoughts thread from Friday:
Thread: A few thoughts on the upcoming Bears-Lions game…
1. Mitch's career numbers against Detroit mean nothing. What matters: Can he consistently make the right read and apply his newfound mechanics/footwork when there are live bullets flying? If so, the Bears will win.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) September 11, 2020
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Since then, the Bears have listed star offseason pass rush acquisition Robert Quinn as Doubtful for the game. Meanwhile, Detroit listed star WR Kenny Golladay as Doubtful, too. Golladay would be a massive loss for this passing game, but it still has plenty of weapons.
Obviously, the biggest story, as has been the case the last three seasons, will be Bears’ starting QB Mitch Trubisky. After winning an offseason competition against newly acquired Nick Foles, all eyes are on Mitch to see if he can ignite any sort of hope after a turbulent, lost, and pathetic 2019.
In the end, the Bears gave everyone in Chicago a heart attack after getting embarrassed for three quarters, but pulled off an exhilarating win on the road to kick off 2020!
I shared my in-game reactions, thoughts and observations below. Follow me on Twitter @DhruvKoul to continue the conversation.
Thoughts and Observations
1. (PREGAME) The Bears’ injury report included Robert Quinn and Riley Ridley, and the Lions’ injury report included Kenny Golladay and Jeff Okudah, their #3 overall pick in the 2020 draft to replace Darius Slay. My reaction:
Golladay for Detroit and Quinn for the Bears are both out.
Lions losing Golladay is a bigger loss than Quinn is for the Bears. Significantly.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) September 13, 2020
Here’s why, alluding to my Thoughts thread above:
With the Lions’ RT out, I expect Detroit to go quick game anyway, rendering the pass rush limited in impact. Golladay impacts a game like Michael Thomas or DeAndre Hopkins. https://t.co/dNfFCCfg0L
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) September 13, 2020
2. Early returns on the offense are not good. The running game has looked decent early on, highlighted by a 13 yard pitch to Cordarrelle Patterson. But Trubisky couldn’t pick up a third-and-1 on a sneak which killed one drive. And then Trubisky fired behind Ted Ginn (terrible throw) on 4th and 7 from plus territory that killed a second drive. Mitch does not look good early on.
3. After trading field goals, the Bears got a couple of breaks on their next drive with an unsportsmanlike penalty that disqualified Jamie Collins, Detroit’s starting linebacker.
Oh wow! Jamie Collins has been DQ'd.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) September 13, 2020
And the running game was looking strong. However, a couple misfires by Trubisky, including one that was a bad decision, should’ve been caught by Allen Robinson, and almost picked off, led to a punt.
On the Lions’ ensuing drive, the third down defense (including distances of 17 and 10 yards) couldn’t hold Detroit out of plus territory. The Lions eventually settled for a field goal to go up 6-3 with five minutes left in the first half (after Jaylon Johnson almost picked off a Stafford throw). The pass rush has been quite bad today. Khalil Mack has been held a lot (and not called), but the rest of the line is not getting enough push.
4. Jimmy Graham has had two opportunities at touchdowns in this game on decently thrown balls, and he’s mistimed his jump on both of them. That’s not good. He’s not the same player he was in New Orleans, but he has to help his quarterback out.
The Bears had to score a touchdown here.
Instead, another mistimed jump by Jimmy Graham and a misfire to Cole Kmet led to a field goal try. Oof.
Cairo Santos hit the field goal and the Bears tie it up at 6.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) September 13, 2020
5. What a horrific sequence to end the first half. After getting the ball inside the 20 with just over a minute remaining in the half, Trubisky found Cohen for three yards, missed Miller deep down the right sideline, and saw a poor throw to Javon Wims fall incomplete. The drive took 10 seconds off the clock and the ensuing punt return set up the Lions in plus territory.
Here’s where it got bad: The Bears had no answer for anything the Lions threw at them — Danny Trevathan looked lost in coverage, and Jaylon Johnson also easily got beaten deep. And, you guessed it, the pass rush didn’t come close to touching Matthew Stafford.
The Bears' defense is lost atm.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) September 13, 2020
One play later, Detroit scored a touchdown and went up 13-6. They also get the ball back after halftime. Mitch has not looked good, yet I doubt the Bears will make a change to Nick Foles. Trubisky has been let down a few times today, for sure, but he has not been good enough himself.
6. Well, then. The Lions took the second half kickoff and punched the Bears right on the nose. As I suspected pre-game, the Lions went to their quick passing game and they found space all over the field. Stafford is so accurate, it’s absurd. A four-yard TD to TJ Hockensen put the Lions up 20-6 and may have taken the Bears pretty much out of the fight. The Bears need Mitch to respond here.
Turns out, Matthew Stafford didn't need Kenny Golladay. How scary is that?
Bears are down two scores.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) September 13, 2020
7. Narrator: They didn’t. They are 0-7 on third down today. And now the defense is playing slow and almost disinterested. This is usually what happens when a defense doesn’t have faith in the offense to do its job. It’s an ugly, ugly Week 1 showing for the Bears.
And Peterson gashes the defense. Damn, they are defeated.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) September 13, 2020
8. A pretty pathetic showing overall still netted a Bears touchdown, after the Lions took a three-score lead. Trubisky almost threw a pick (potentially on pick-six) on a goal-line pass, but Jimmy Graham finally timed his jump properly to win a one-on-one for the touchdown. It’s 23-13 Lions and it’s likely over, but:
The Bears finally score a touchdown in the fourth quarter. But there's some semblance of life, I guess.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) September 13, 2020
9. What a turn of events — after Trubisky plays hurry up, backyard mode to get the Bears another touchdown, a Kyle Fuller interception near the two-minute warning sets the Bears up in plus position to at least tie the game. What a play by Jaylon Johnson to tip the pass. What a moment for the Bears to force their first takeaway.
10. Holy hell, Trubisky with an absolute dime to Anthony Miller down the right sideline to go up 27-23 with 1:54 left. What a play. This is exactly what the Bears needed to see today. Now to do it consistently. Can the Bears get a stop now on defense?
OMG TRUBISKY MILLER.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) September 13, 2020
11. Holy shit, with 6 seconds left, Stafford threw a beauty into the end zone that was dropped. He was wide open and in the end zone and that should’ve been a winner. Instead, another try — one that the Bears broke up in the end zone to win it. What a fucking game.
12. Heartbeat is a bit fast… What a ridiculous comeback and survival.
13. That was almost a humiliating loss, then an insane win, and then a heartbreaking loss. This team, man. Now, with the Giants at Soldier Field next week, there’s a chance to correct things, but with his second half performance, Mitch has earned Week 2. I liked what I saw from the running game. And the weapons are going to be good.
With Eddie Goldman out, we saw what the Lions’ running game did to the Bears. I don’t think Saquon Barkley is as special as others make him out to be, but he could be in for a big game if the gaps aren’t filled. The Bears will need a plan.
Early prediction: Bears 23, Giants 17.
