Super-freak Mack quiet but a factor
The Lions succeeded in one of their top offensive goals Thursday — preventing Khalil Mack from being a game wrecker.
But achieving that wasn’t enough as the Bears prevailed 23-16 at Ford Field to win their fifth straight game and to improve to 8-3 with a commanding lead in the NFC North.
Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford did a good job of getting the ball out quickly although that limited his shots downfield. The Lions attempted only six passes that traveled more than 10 yards beyond the line of scrimmage in the air. The Lions gave left tackle Taylor Decker help, assigning as many as two other players to help on occasion, and Stafford had bootlegs away from Mack, all designed to get the ball out of his hand quickly.
It led to a quiet outing for Mack, who was credited with only one tackle and had one hit on Stafford after he had gotten the ball out quickly to Kenny Golladay on a shallow crossing route that turned into a 23-yard gain when the wide receiver was able to turn upfield.
Where the Bears had problems was when Mack was on the sideline. The outside linebacker was out for only seven of the 66 defensive snaps and the Lions gained 65 yards (9.3 average) and scored both of their touchdowns while Mack was catching a breather. With Mack on the field, the Lions had 268 yards on 59 snaps (4.5).
It’s a reminder of the value veteran outside linebacker Aaron Lynch has provided for the defense, playing 53.5 percent of the snaps in the six games that preceded the Vikings game last Sunday when he suffered a concussion.
Isaiah Irving was the primary replacement for Mack but it would be unfair to place the blame solely on him for the yardage piled up in Mack’s absence. LeGarrette Blount scored on a 4-yard run when Decker pinned Irving inside and the powerful Lions running back ran through strong safety Adrian Amos’ attempted tackle. Maybe sensing Mack was on the sideline later, the Lions ran from the 4-yard line again and Blount scored to that side, carrying defensive end Bilal Nichols into the end zone. Irving wasn’t on the field for that score as the Bears had nickel personnel with three defensive linemen. Bears Rewind
Blount broke off a 27-yard run in the fourth quarter on outside zone. Decker blocked Irving and nickel cornerback Bryce Callahan couldn’t bring Blount down by the jersey as the running back got loose to the second level.
The sample size was small but it’s a good reminder of the value Mack brings to the defense, and Lynch too.
Going downfield
A lot of times backup quarterbacks will take the field with conservative game plans but Chase Daniel’s experience in the system and coach Matt Nagy’s comfort with him created a situation in which the Bears were able to be aggressive throwing the ball. Daniel was 7 for 11 on passes that traveled 10 or more yards in the air beyond the line of scrimmage, gaining 113 yards and two touchdowns on those completions.
A 29-yard gain to Allen Robinson came against good man-to-man coverage from cornerback Darius Slay, the Lions best cover man who missed the first meeting between teams Nov. 11. Daniel picked up 26 yards hitting Anthony Miller across the middle running a route against Nevin Lawson.
There were some missed opportunities on two of the four sacks. On third-and-8 from the Lions’ 40-yard line on the first possession of the third quarter, the Lions had busted coverage on tight end Trey Burton, who was easily open behind cornerback DeShawn Shead running a seam route. It was a touchdown if Daniel saw him. In the fourth quarter, the Lions brought a six-man pressure with Bears facing third-and-8 from their own 27. Miller was wide open on the back side behind rookie Mike Ford but Daniel didn’t see him.
In a close game those are opportunities an offense needs to hit, but Daniel was smart with the football and didn’t force throws when they were not there. When you get a turnover-free performance from a backup quarterback, the chances for winning certainly increase.
Staying grounded
The Bears handed the ball off only 11 times to running backs, gaining a total of 34 yards. There were just five handoffs for 22 yards in the second half and three came on the final possession as the Tarik Cohen broke off a 10-yard gain, the longest of the game, on the final carry to move the chains and set up a kneel down for Daniel.
The Bears have to become more effective running the ball to help the offense as a whole. Daniel ran a play fake to Jordan Howard from under center late in the third quarter, taking a shot deep down the sideline to Robinson that was just overthrown. That play is much more effective when Howard is actually a threat to gash the defense. It’s given Nagy something to work on with extra time to prepare for the Dec. 2 game at the Giants.
“I don’t think too much is being made of it,” Nagy said. “You have to be able to run the football inevitably. You can’t be one-dimensional. It’s just like on defense. You’ve got to be able to stop the run.
“So for me running the ball is important but I’m not just going to run the ball just to say and make people happy that we ran the ball. That’s not what I do. So we’re going to do whatever we think we do for the best matchup and whatever works for that week.
“If it’s running the ball 50 times and that’s the way we’re going to win, I’ll run the ball 50 times. If it’s running the ball five times and that’s how we’re going to win, I’ll run the ball five times. You get into all this fantasy stuff that everybody’s doing and I think their emotions get a little bit tied up into that.”