DETROIT — There’s not enough money in the NFL salary cap to buy the mental toughness the Bears’ defense desperately needs. You have to develop that on your own — through the heat of battle and in real time.
The Bears learned that hard lesson in a stunning, dispiriting 31-26 loss to the Lions on Sunday at Ford Field. With linebacker Tremaine Edmunds returning after missing two games and with defensive end Montez Sweat playing for the first time with a full week of practice, the Bears’ defense not only was finaly whole, but as strong as it has ever been in two seasons under Matt Eberflus.
And for the most part it looked like it, as the Bears mostly throttled Jared Goff and the Lions’ second-ranked offense, including three takeaways — interceptions by cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, linebacker T.J. Edwards and Edmunds.
But when the Lions desperately needed points quickly, they willed their way to touchdowns three times with drives that make the Bears’ defense suddenly look helpless. The Lions had a 10-play, 75-yard drive in 96 seconds in the final 1:47 of the first half, and then two soul-crushing drives in the final 4:15 to overcome a 26-14 Bears lead — 75 yards on six plays in 76 seconds to cut the deficit to 26-21; and 73 plays on 11 plays in 2:04 to win the game.
“Pretty frustrating,” said cornerback Jaylon Johnson, who rued two missed interceptions that could have resulted in pick-6s. “The whole game we whupped their ass and then they pulled through when it mattered.”
On the three drives that the Lions imposed their will, they averaged 8.3 yards per play (27-223). On their other seven drives, they averaged 3.6 yards per play (32-116) with three turnovers.
“It’s very frustrating,” Sweat said. “Feel like we had them beat. We won the turnover battle. We were leading at the end of the game. Just a tough one.”
Like everyone else, Edwards was at a loss to explain it. “For the most part we beat them all game,” he said. “It’s a really good football team we just played. We did a lot of good things — a lot. But we’ve got to find a way to minimize the bad and find a way to make those plays in crunch time when it comes down to it. We’ve got the guys to do it for sure.”
Even just a little resistance might have helped. With the Bears leading 26-14 after Cairo Santos’ 39-yard field goal with 4:15 to play, Goff threw short passes to Amon-Ra St. Brown for 16 yards and rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs for 13 before hitting Jameson Williams deep for a 32-yard touchdown pass with 2:59 left.
After a Bears three-and-out, another flurry of small chunk plays greased the skids. Goff threw a short pass to running back David Montgomery for 13 yards; Montgomery rushed for 12; short passes to Gibbs and rookie tight end Sam LaPorta gained eight and nine yards. Montgomery went up the middle for 10. Goff threw another short pass to St. Brown for eight. Suddenly the Lions were at the Bears’ 7-yard line with 38 seconds and defeat seemed inevitable, tarnishing what should have been a notable step for the Bears’ defense.
“That’s what hurts,” Edwards said. “We all know it in here. We all believe it. We’re at a point where we’ve got to find a way to win those close games.
“Everyone’s obviously disappointed. [But] I don’t feel discouragement. There was a lot of encouragement after what happened today. We played some really good football on all three phases. We’ve just got to find a way to [win] at the end and we will, for sure.”