NORTH STRIDERS
Bears end 10-game losing streak in NFC North with lopsided win over Lions
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Anthony Miller walked into the Bears’ locker room after catching five passes for a career-high 122 yards and noticed his right pinkie was pointing the wrong way.
“I guess it was so cold I really couldn’t tell,” he said.
The Bears rookie receiver first dislocated the pinkie over the summer. He said he would be fine for the game against the Vikings next Sunday. Good thing because Miller is becoming one of the Bears’ best weapons.
Miller and quarterback Mitch Trubisky produced the two longest plays — a 55-yard pass in the third quarter and a 45-yard scoring pass in the second — in the 34-22 victory against the Lions on Sunday at Soldier Field.
“It’s something we’ve both been waiting for because we’ve missed a lot of connections over the past few weeks,” Miller said. “It’s finally all coming together. He’s throwing the ball great.”
Miller also made some bad decisions in the fourth quarter.
When the Lions attempted an onside kick with 8:30 left, Miller smacked the ball out of bounds rather than fielding it. He didn’t know it was illegal to hit the ball forward. He was flagged for illegal batting, and the Lions got to kick again. This time, the Lions recovered and eventually scored.
Later in the fourth, Miller was flagged for spinning the ball on the ground after converting a third down.
“I say that’s a bad call,” he said. “I wasn’t taunting anyone. I still apologize to Coach [Matt Nagy] for it because it hurt the team in the end.”
Too slow
Nagy blamed himself for throwing the challenge flag too late on a play in the second quarter. Receiver Kenny Golladay fumbled, and the officials ruled that the Lions recovered.
Replays appeared to show that the Bears had the ball, but the Lions ran a no-huddle play before Nagy could throw the flag. Nagy said he was too busy looking at his play sheet for the next drive.
“That’s my fault,” he said.
This and that
In between kicker Cody Parkey’s missed field goals in the third quarter, cornerback Prince Amukamara popped the ball out of running back Kerryon Johnson’s arms with what looked like a “Peanut Punch.” Safety Adrian Amos recovered the ball.
“I don’t know that [defensive backs coach Ed Donatell] would count it as one,” Amukamara said. “He calls those maybe a ‘tomahawk.’ ”
♦ Amukamara’s jersey was missing the second “a” in his name until the Bears gave him a new one to wear in the first half.
“I keep telling everybody, ‘If you sound it out, it’s spelled the way it sounds,’ ” he joked.
♦ Outside linebacker Leonard Floyd got his first sack, a bear hug of Matthew Stafford.
“It’s been so long since I held the quarterback,” he said, “I just wanted to hold him a little longer.”
♦ Receiver Kevin White was a healthy scratch for the second consecutive week.