The second half of the season didn’t quite start out the way the Lions hoped. In fact things got real ugly real quick for Detroit this afternoon.
After throwing just four interceptions the first half of the season, Matthew Stafford matched that total today as Detroit got hammered by the Bears 37-13 from Soldier Field. Two of Stafford’s interceptions were returned for a touchdown while the Lions committed 6 turnovers the entire game.
Lions wide receivers Calvin Johnson and Nate Burleson committed the other turnovers while the Lions failed to score a touchdown until the game was well out of reach.
In order to offset and protect the fractured right index finger, Stafford wore a glove which he said didn’t bother him.
“It felt fine,” Stafford said. “I felt like I made some real good throws with it. I made some tough throws with it.”
As far as the finger…
“It’s fractured, but it’s not bad,” Stafford said.
Stafford finished the day completing 33 of 63 passes for 329 yards and those four interceptions. He even sparked a bench clearing brawl after his third pick of the day. As Tim Jennings ran past him, Stafford fended off a block by D.J. Moore and dragged him down to the ground by his helmet. Moore retaliated by hitting Stafford as Rashied Davis and Brandon Pettigrew came in to drag Moore off Stafford. From there players from both benches ran onto the field and Moore was eventually ejected.
Stafford surprisingly wasn’t penalized for the play however four Lions were hit with personal foul penalties. Kyle Vanden Bosch hit Matt Forte late on the Bears’ second offensive play, Cliff Avril had a face mask on Matt Forte, Nick Fairley was called for roughing the passer on Jay Cutler, and Dominic Raiola drew a chop-block penalty in the fourth quarter.
Jay Cutler and the Bears offense really wasn’t a huge factor in today’s game and they really didn’t need to be as the Chicago defense dominated pretty much all day. Cutler finished the day 9-for-19 for 123 yards.
In terms of the playoff picture, the Lions at 6-3 are still in good shape and would make the postseason if the regular season ended today.
Next weekend the Lions welcome in Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers to Ford Field.
Ref: Detroit Free Press, Mlive.com, YouTube, Freep.com (image)