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The Detroit Lions used two late touchdowns in Sunday's Week 13 matchup to overcome a deficit and beat the Chicago Bears, 34-30. With 2:19 remaining in the fourth quarter, Chicago was leading 30-20. The sequence of events to follow was maddening for Bears fans. Matthew Stafford completed six consecutive passes, including a 25-yard touchdown to Marvin Jones, to cut into their opponent's lead. Three offensive plays later, Detroit had recovered a fumble at the Chicago 7-yard line. Three plays after that, the Lions were leading 34-30.
Chicago was very close to thrusting themselves back into the NFC playoff conversation. Instead, they cleared a path for the likes of Tampa Bay and others.
Why the Lions won
All it took was Detroit staying within striking distance towards the end of the game. They did not run the ball particularly well but Matthew Stafford was able to take chunks out of the defense throughout the game. On throws of 10-plus yards, the veteran completed 17 of 23 passes for 334 yards and three touchdowns. On the day, he finished with 402 yards on 42 attempts.
Detroit was able to stay in the game following that recipe and ultimately achieved victory because of the series of events detailed below. The defense made a huge stop on fourth down and forced a turnover to move into the lead and maintain it.
Why the Bears lost
The Bears did everything correctly to put themselves in a position to win late but it all unraveled because of a few plays. They were balanced on offense accumulating 140 rushing yards and 267 passing yards. Penalties had been limited, the team had not turned over the ball and they were able to control the clock on the ground. Neither team was able to apply pressure for most of the game but Detroit made the big play late to swing the outcome in its favor.
The margin of error is so small in the NFL and most teams are capable of scoring quickly. Interestingly enough, both teams successfully converted all their trips to the red zone.
Visual of the game
It was unlikely that Detroit was going to emerge with a victory midway through the fourth quarter of this contest. It seemed rather unlikely as the two-minute warning approached. Here is a visual of Detroit's chances of winning courtesy of PFF's Lee Sharpe.
Play of the game
On third-and-4 from the Chicago 9-yard line with 1:46 remaining, Mitchell Trubisky took the snap and dropped back to pass. On the end of the line of scrimmage, Romeo Okwara was coming around the edge to apply pressure. Okwara made a play for the football and was able to strip it from Trubisky's hand. The ball fell helplessly to the turf and defensive tackle John Penisini fell on it to give the Lions the ball at the Bears 7-yard line down 30-27 with 1:46 remaining in regulation.
What's next
Chicago has four games remaining against the Texans, Vikings, Jaguars and Packers. Coming into Week 13, the four teams had a combined 18-26 record (.409 winning percentage). Three of those teams were sub-.500 so there is an opportunity for Chicago to slip into the playoffs after an up-and-down season.
Detroit has four games remaining against the Packers, Titans, Buccaneers and Vikings. All four of those teams are still alive in the playoff hunt, which makes for a difficult path to the finish line for the Lions.
