Chicago Bears: Mistakes Lead To Epic Collapse, Another Loss

The Chicago Bears offense had another great showing on Sunday but too many mistakes ruin what should have been a nice win.

Okay, so we have to keep in mind that wins and losses are not the main priority for the Chicago Bears this season. The development of the young players and seeing which players should be a part of the rebuild moving forward is what is most important.

However, it would be nice to see the Bears in the win column at some point. Their 31-30 loss really hurt.

The Bears were set up to have a nice win against the Detroit Lions, owners of the worst defense in the NFL. With the Chicago Bears rolling on offense, it was supposed to be a fun game and the team could finally win a game.

They were in a similar situation in Week 6 when they faced a Washington Commanders team that lost four in a row and was reeling with struggles on and off the field. It was supposed to be a win, yet they ended up losing.

After starting out the season 2-1 the Bears have now lost six of their last seven games.

Too many mistakes hurt

Head coach Matt Eberflus introduced the team to his HITS principle. It is his philosophy on how to play. It means they hustle, play with intensity, cause and limit turnovers, and play smart.

Well, the smart part was lacking against the Lions. The Bears kept shooting themselves on the foot and helped the Lions stay in the game. It continued until Detroit finally got it together and came away with their third win of the season and second in a row.

It started right on the first drive. The Bears were moving the ball well. Quarterback Justin Fields, who broke the record for most yards by a quarterback in a game last week, picked up where he left off. He had 47 rushing yards on the drive.

Mistakes, however, stalled the drive. Braxton Jones was called for a holding penalty and the Bears settled for a Cairo Santos field goal.

The Lions got themselves a field goal as well on their first drive. After the Bears punted on their second drive, the Lions marched down the field. The Bears’ defense made miscues on coverages and Detroit quarterback Jared Goff completed big passes. The Bears’ defense put up a fight, but the Lions got a touchdown on fourth and goal.

Penalties were the name of the game for the Bears. They had nine penalties accepted for 86 yards. Many of those penalties really hurt the team both on offense and defense.

The Bears were able to overcome the mistakes when they scored right before the half. Fields again waved his magic wand. On many occasions, the Detroit defense thought they had him for a loss but he escaped and gained big yards.

That was especially true on his touchdown run. Fields had the most exciting one-yard run you’ll see. He dropped back looking to pass but everyone was covered. He scrambled to his left, then to his right. A Lions defender had him in his hands but Fields skipped away. He then ran to his left and took a hit from behind and proceeded to run over the defender in front of him. The defender ended up with a concussion and left the game.

The Bears control the second half

The Chicago Bears took control of the game in the second half. After not forcing any Detroit Punts in the first half, the defense forced punts on two straight drives.

Fields and tight end Cole Kmet took advantage of that. They connected on two touchdown passes, one for six yards and another for 50.

The longer play was a result of FIelds’ running. He took the snap and moved to his left. All the Lions defenders followed him, trying to stop him from another big run. That left Kmet wide open. There was no one near him when Fields threw him the ball and he walked into the end zone.

It was great to see Kmet continue to grow. After having just two career touchdown catches entering this season, he now has five of them in the past three games. He now only trails Travis Kelce for most touchdown grabs by a tight end this season.

The Bears were now up 24-10 and just had to cruise to a victory, right?

Well, that did not happen. Mistakes continued to haunt Chicago. Trenton Gill punted the ball back to Detroit. A holding penalty on snapper Patrick Scales moved the ball to the Lions’ 45.

The Lions scored a touchdown on a drive in which almost half of the 55 yards (25) they had came on Chicago penalties.

One of those penalties wiped out a Jack Sanborn interception. Sanborn had a tremendous game. He recorded 12 tackles (2 tackles for loss) and 2 sacks. His interception could have gone a long way to sealing the game.

Instead, the Lions ended up with a touchdown on the very next play.

The miscues continue

Instead of having an interception seal a Chicago Bears victory, a penalty brought the Lions to within a touchdown, 24-17.

The Bears were not done with making mistakes. When the offense took the field again, FIelds looked for another big play. What happened was a big play, but for Detroit.

Aidan Hutchinson was able to pressure Fields. Fields tried to throw the ball over him and get the ball to a receiver. However, the ball wobbled and Jeff Okudah, Fields’ teammate at Ohio State, intercepted the pass.

That was not enough, though. Okudah took the ball and got into the end zone for a pick-six. It was the Lions’ first pick-six in 60 games. Suddenly we had a game tied at 24.

Fields came back to the field looking to make up for that mistake. He did it. On third-and-two from Chicago’s 33, he hit the jets and ran past everyone for a 67-yard touchdown run. It was the second consecutive game in which he had a 60-yard+ run for a touchdown.

Of course, there had to be another miscue. Enter Santos. He completely botched the extra point and missed it. Now, a Lions touchdown could give them the lead instead of tying it.

That is exactly what the Lions did. After the teams traded punts, Goff took the Lions 91 yards on nine plays and took 3:21 off the clock. Michael Badgley hit the extra point, and Detroit had a 31-30 lead with 2:21 left in regulation.

The Bears did have one more shot, but then the offensive line reverted back to what we’ve seen over the last decade. The Lions, struggling to keep Fields under control the entire game, proceeded to sack him twice on that final drive. The Bears ended up losing three yards and the game.

This was perhaps the most frustrating loss in a season with multiple frustrations. Eberflus certainly has a lot to go over during practices and meetings this week. They had a victory at hand but let it slip away.

As good as it is to see the offensive improvements, it would sure be nice to see at least one more win before the season ends.