Lions Muddle Through

Though he had an awful start to the day, Jared Goff saved the Detroit Lions on Sunday afternoon and got the franchise to a place it hasn’t been in in more than 60 years.

Despite throwing three interceptions at Ford Field, Goff led the Lions out of a 12-point hole in the fourth quarter to steal a 31-26 win over the Chicago Bears. The win marked the Lions’ third straight and pushed them to 8-2 on the season — which is one of the best records in the NFC and gives Detroit a commanding lead in the NFC North. This is now the first time the Lions have been 8-2 in a season since 1962.

The Bears, who intercepted Goff twice on his first two drives of the day, jumped ahead 26-14 late in the fourth quarter. It wasn’t until there were less than four minutes left in the game that Goff finally turned it on.

Goff hit Jameson Williams for a 32-yard touchdown to end what was just a 76-second drive, which cut the game back to a single possession with less than three minutes left in the fourth quarter.

The Lions then shut down the Bears and Justin Fields — who was playing in his first game back after missing four straight with a hand injury — on their next drive. They forced a three-and-out, and got the ball back less than 30 seconds later.

So Goff went to work again, and led an 11-play drive that David Montgomery ended with a 1-yard touchdown run. The two-point conversion then gave the Lions a three-point lead.

For good measure, with the Bears having fully collapsed, the Lions forced a safety to seal the five-point comeback win.

Fields went 16-of-23 for 169 yards with a touchdown in his return for the Bears. He was also their leading rusher with 104 yards on the ground on 18 carries. He now has five 100-yard rushing games in his career, and only Lamar Jackson and Michael Vick have more at the quarterback position. D.J. Moore had 96 receiving yards on seven catches.

Goff finished 23-of-35 for 236 yards with two touchdowns to go with his three interceptions for the Lions. Montgomery had 76 rushing yards and a touchdown on 12 carries, and Amon-Ra St. Brown had 77 yards on eight catches.

The Lions have won seven of their past eight games and are on pace to win their first divisional title in three decades. They’ll host the Green Bay Packers next on Thanksgiving.