Chicago Bears’ Tough Loss to the Lions

DETROIT — The Chicago Bears were mere seconds away from heading into halftime of Sunday’s 52-21 defeat against the Lions, trailing by just a touchdown.

Confusion at Ford Field

Chaos erupted when Lions quarterback Jared Goff launched a deep pass to receiver Isaac TeSlaa, who made a stunning one-handed catch, placing Detroit at the Bears’ 4-yard line. Although the closest official indicated that TeSlaa was out of bounds, another ruled him in bounds, causing the clock to keep running. Goff quickly spiked the ball as time expired, leading one official to inform Bears coach Ben Johnson that they had reached halftime.

Replay Review Changes Everything

However, referee Land Clark later clarified that a replay review showed TeSlaa caught the ball in bounds with 16 seconds remaining. This resulted in a 10-second runoff, as the Lions had no timeouts left, granting Goff one final attempt to score with six seconds on the clock.

Impact of the Ruling

NFL vice president of instant replay Mark Butterworth explained in a postgame report that the original out-of-bounds ruling stopped the clock. Once the catch was confirmed to be in bounds, the clock continued, and the Bears were not prepared for another play. Goff capitalized on this opportunity, throwing a touchdown pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown, extending the Lions’ lead to 28-14.

The Bears’ Momentum Shift

The Bears were left astonished, believing they had successfully halted the Lions’ advance and could regroup for the second half. Defensive tackle Grady Jarrett acknowledged the dramatic shift in momentum, stating, “We were halfway in the locker room, but we had to go out there and play another play.” Meanwhile, safety Kevin Byard expressed disbelief, thinking the clock had indeed run out when Goff spiked the ball.

Coach’s Perspective

Lions coach Dan Campbell revealed he never considered a field goal attempt with just six seconds left, understanding the significance of scoring just before halftime. He stated, “That was big,” highlighting the pressure applied right before the break.

Looking Ahead

Although the Bears faced a tough defeat in the second half, the psychological impact of entering the locker room down just seven points would have been substantial. As Jarrett concluded, there were numerous aspects of the game that the Bears needed to improve on, suggesting they had many lessons to learn from this experience.