Lions Top Bears 40-32 to Tie for NFC North Lead
The Detroit Lions erupted for 27 points in the second quarter and made their lead stand up through a furious Chicago Bears fourth quarter rally in a 40-32 win in Detroit. Both teams are now 3-1 and atop the NFC North Division standings. The Lions went into the game as three point favorites despite the Bears unblemished record. This raised our eyebrows a bit at Betting Sports, but as is so often the case, the odds makers knew their stuff.
Detroit sped out to a 30-13 halftime lead behind Reggie Bush with his 139 yards rushing despite a banged up knee. He had a 37 yard touchdown run during the Lions explosive second quarter in which they outscored Chicago 27-10.
The Lions led 40-16 early in the fourth quarter and as it turned out they really needed the cushion. Jay Cutler led the Bears on a furious rally to cut it to a one possession game. They scored 15 points on two Cutler TD passes in the final four minutes, but an onsides kick with under a minute to play was recovered by the Lions to seal the deal.
The Lions won only four games last season and are only one short of matching that total already at the one-quarter mark. The addition of Bush has certainly sparked the offense.
In the NFC North’s only other game this week, the Minnesota Vikings got off the winless list this week with a 34-27 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Vikings watched a huge lead evaporate in London, but they kept their composure and pulled out their first win of the season while sending the Steelers to 0-4. The last time the Steelers were 0-4 was in 1968.
Greg Jennings and Adrian Peterson scored two touchdowns each, becoming the one-two punch Minnesota has been looking for since signing Jennings in the off-season. Matt Cassel started at quarterback for the injured Christian Ponder and led the Vikings to the win. He was 16 of 25 for 248 yards and two touchdowns. One has to wonder if Ponder’s job will be awaiting him when he returns if this keeps up.
The Vikings led 34-17 going into the fourth quarter and held on as the Steelers closed to within one touchdown with over 3:00 remaining. Ben Roethlisberger had a good day throwing the football for Pittsburgh going 36 for 51 with one touchdown and one interception.
A dejected Roethlisberger wondered loud if the Steelers might be considered the worst team in he NFL. Don’t worry Big Ben, as long as the Jacksonville Jaguars are around, that distinction is sewn up.
