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Week 5 Game Recap: Chicago Bears 34, Detroit Lions 7
What you need to know
| Chicago Bears |
The Bears' offense was firing on all cylinders in this game. QB Kyle Orton had control over the offense, completing 24 of 34 passes for 334 yards and two touchdowns. One of these touchdowns was to WR Devin Hester, who got his first start of the year, ending the day with five receptions for 66 yards and the touchdown.
RB Matt Forte continued his impressive rookie season in this contest. Although total yards might have been lacking, Forte redeemed himself with two touchdowns, one rushing and one receiving. He ended the day with 61 total yards.
The Bears' defense dominated the Lions all day, holding them to 209 total yards of offense. The defense also added a touchdown to the Bears' cause when Charles Tillman intercepted a pass in the third quarter and took it to the house.
| Detroit Lions |
Detroit's offense sputtered all day, struggling to find any kind of rhythm. In the second half, QB Jon Kitna was benched with back spasms in favor of backup Dan Orlovsky, who didn't fare any better against the Bears. Combined, the two were held to 171 yards passing, no touchdowns, and an interception.
WR Roy Williams was the most consistently targeted Lions receiver. Although Williams racked up 96 yards receiving, he did so on a team high 19 targets, only managing to haul in seven of them. Calvin Johnson was nowhere to be found in this game, only being thrown to six times, good for two receptions, each for eight yards.
RB Kevin Smith scored the only Detroit touchdown of the afternoon, and saw more playing time than expected. After reports that Rudi Johnson had taken over as the lead Detroit running back, Smith still got the start and saw eight carries to Johnson's five. Smith gained 56 total yards of offense, compared to Johnson's 32.
What you ought to know
| QB Kyle Orton, Pass: 24 - 34 - 334 - 2 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 1 - 10 - 0 |
Orton had a spectacular afternoon from the start, completing eight of his first ten passes to six different receivers. He did a great job spreading the ball around all afternoon, and was able to often find receivers wide open downfield. Orton threw for two touchdowns on the afternoon, with no turnovers.
| RB Matt Forte, Rush: 15 - 36 - 1, Rec: 4 - 25 - 1 (5 targets) |
Forte was often stuffed at the line against the Lions, and received the bulk of his work in the first half of the game. Forte caught a nine yard pass for a touchdown in the second quarter, doing a good job of stretching the ball across the goal line to get the score. Later in the third he got his second touchdown of the game on a one yard run up the middle.
| RB Kevin Jones, Rush: 10 - 36 - 0, Rec: 2 - 5 - 0 (3 targets) |
Jones saw most of his work in the second half as he relieved Forte. Jones also managed 36 yards on the ground, but did so on ten carries compared to Forte's 15. Jones ran angry the when he was in, wanting to punish his former team, but was unable to find the end zone, ending the afternoon with 41 total yards.
| RB Garrett Wolfe, Rush: 8 - 15 - 0 |
Once the game was safely put away Wolfe began to see carries, and was not able to do much with the work he received. Barring an injury, Wolfe probably won't be a major part of the running game except in similar situations.
| WR Rashied Davis, Rec: 6 - 97 - 0 (9 targets) |
Davis received a team high nine targets, hauling in six of them for 97 yards. Although he didn't manage to catch any touchdowns, he had an encouraging day as Grossman often looked his way and managed to find him open downfield for a couple long completions.
| WR Devin Hester, Rec: 5 - 66 - 1 (6 targets) |
Hester's highlights of the day came in the receiving game rather than the return game. Hester caught a couple of key third down passes early in the game, and in the second quarter caught a 12 yard touchdown pass, doing a great job of pivoting after the catch and taking it across the line. On special teams, Hester's day was a little more frustrating, as he had a 28 yard return called back and also fumbled a ball that led to Detroit's only touchdown.
| WR Marty Booker, Rec: 2 - 37 - 0 (5 targets) |
The highlight of Booker's afternoon was an amazing one handed catch down the sideline for a 30 yard gain, coming up about a yard short of the goal line. Aside from that, Booker only had one other reception for seven yards.
| TE Greg Olsen, Rec: 3 - 87 - 0 (3 targets) |
Olsen caught a 52 yard reception opening the Bears' second drive, with no Detroit defender anywhere near him. Although only targeted twice more all game, Olsen made the most of his opportunities, catching both and ending the day with 87 yards.
| TE Desmond Clark, Rec: 2 - 17 - 0 (4 targets) |
Clark was targeted four times, catching two of the attempts for 17 yards. He was targeted once in the end zone however.
| PK Robbie Gould 2 - 2 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 10 points |
There is nothing significant to report in the kicking game, Gould made all of his kicks.
| CHI Rush Defense |
The rush defense shut down the Lions, allowing only 58 yards of offense on the ground. However, the Lions were forced to abandon the run in the second half since they were trailing so much, so the Bears weren't tested very much.
| CHI Pass Defense |
The Lions' pass offense was completely shut down by the Bears in this game, gaining only 171 yards through the air. Charles Tillman also picked off a pass in the third quarter that bounced off of Roy Williams' hands, which he returned for a touchdown.
| QB Dan Orlovsky, Pass: 13 - 23 - 97 - 0 TD / 1 INT |
Orlovsky came into the game on the Lions' first drive of the second half. His second pass he threw an interception, which wasn't really his fault because it hit Roy Williams right in the hands and he deflected it to a defender. Orlovsky still didn't look good in his playing time however, often badly missing his targets and not having much velocity behind his throws.
| QB Jon Kitna, Pass: 8 - 16 - 74 - 0 TD / 0 INT |
Kitna struggled leading the Lions against the Bears. On the Lions' fourth drive when they finally started to move the ball, Kitna lost a costly fumble, and found himself benched in the second half of the game, it was reported that he was suffering from back spasms. Kitna ended the day with only 74 yards passing.
| RB Kevin Smith, Rush: 8 - 31 - 1, Rec: 4 - 25 - 0 (4 targets) |
Smith started for the Lions, struggling to find running room against the tough Bears defense. The highlight of his afternoon was a 12 yard touchdown run, as he had a good cutback to take the ball into the end zone. Smith only had eight carries on the afternoon; however given the limited number of running plays this was good for the most carries by any Lions running back.
| RB Rudi Johnson, Rush: 5 - 23 - 0, Rec: 3 - 9 - 0 (3 targets) |
Johnson didn't see as much work as expected, getting only five carries all game. Johnson churned out 23 yards rushing in his limited time, and also added three receptions for nine yards.
| RB Jerome Felton, Rec: 2 - 12 - 0 (2 targets) |
Felton had two receptions for twelve yards against the Bears. He really wasn't on the field for more than a few plays.
| WR Roy Williams, Rec: 7 - 96 - 0 (19 targets) |
Williams received a staggering 19 targets against the Bears, but was only able to haul in seven of them. He dropped multiple passes; however the majority of the failed targets were due to errant throws by the quarterback. Williams was responsible for the interception by Orlovsky, as the ball hit him right in the hands and wound up being deflected to Charles Tillman.
| WR Mike Furrey, Rec: 2 - 8 - 0 (3 targets) |
Furrey caught two of the three balls thrown his way, gaining eight yards on the afternoon.
| WR Calvin Johnson, Rec: 2 - 16 - 0 (6 targets) |
Johnson did not receive many opportunities in this game, catching only two balls for 16 yards. He was targeted another four times, but none of these balls were anywhere near him, giving him no chance to make a play.
| WR Shaun McDonald, Rec: 1 - 5 - 0 (3 targets) |
McDonald only had one catch for five yards against the Bears.
| PK Jason Hanson 0 - 0 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 1 points |
There is nothing significant to report from the Lions' kicking game, no field goals were attempted.
| DET Rush Defense |
The rush defense held up well all afternoon, limiting rookie sensation Matt Forte to under three yards a carry. However, they were unable to hold up at the goal line as Forte found a seam to slip in for the one yard score.
| DET Pass Defense |
The pass defense was embarrassed by Orton in this game, giving up over 300 yards of passing to the Bears' QB. The defense seemed unable to get off the field on third down, and gave up two touchdowns on the afternoon.
