The Detroit Lions didn't exactly help their own cause Sunday in a 37-13 loss to the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field in Chicago.
After facing a 20-6 deficit at the half, the Lions' frustrations became increasingly evident in the third and fourth quarters, likely due to the fact that they were dominated in every facet of the game for the first 30 minutes.
Sure, Nick Fairley's drilling hit in the third quarter on Bears quarterback Jay Cutler was a good, hard hit. But it did set the wheels in motion for a more physical battle to take place.
Just a few plays later, Bears linebacker Lance Briggs laid a clean hit on Lions receiver Calvin Johnson. Yes, although he was penalized -- and I won't even really argue this any further -- Briggs' hit on Johnson was clean.
If it were a Lions player doing the same, the hometown camp would have been outraged at a flag being thrown. Can't have double-standards here, folks. Reality is reality.
I'll probably take some heat for this one, but I don't think Chicago's DJ Moore was too out of line for going after Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford. If a guy nearly ripped your helmet (and head) off while running full speed, then hung on your face mask to drag you down, you'd want to have a word with him, too.
It was a cheap attempt at a tackle, if that was indeed what Stafford was doing.
I'm thinking that Stafford, who threw four picks, was frustrated after throwing his third interception of the game -- two were returned for touchdowns -- and took it out on Moore. Moore lunged at Stafford, and then a raucous melee insued from there.
Moore's ejection was warranted, but Stafford was pretty much given a pass.
The chants of "Detroit sucks" from the Bears crowd only fueled the sideline activities. Bears, Lions, all tangling and taking shots at one another. It was ugly, and surely sent the Bears-Lions rivalry to new heights.
And on national television, in a key NFC-North rivalry, the Lions appeared a meek team incapable of challenging for a division title. The brawl certainly made the Lions appear the lesser, in my opinion, than it did the Bears.
I'd expect to see fines come down from the NFL for players on both sides. However, I wouldn't be shocked to see the Lions take the brunt of them, nor would I be surprised if Stafford got fined. It's unlikely, but warranted in this case.
The Bears owned the game. Period. From their physical play, to the their execution on both sides of the ball, the Bears made the Lions look like the Lions of old. A hot 5-0 start is in the rear view mirror for the Lions, now 6-3 and tied for second in the NFC North with the Bears.
Suddenly, my initial prediction of 9-7 is looking more and more possible. I forecast that record with one stipulation: Stafford had to be healthy all year, which, minus a couple minor injuries, he has been.
Stafford was miserable in the first half -- gloves to blame or not -- and never established a rhythm. At one point, he was 0-for-8 when throwing to his right and consistently over- and under-threw his receivers -- just didn't look like himself.
It was an embarrassing loss for Detroit, a sobering reminder that Stafford has a lot of work to do if he wishes to reach the status level of the league's upper-echelon quarterbacks.
A road win against the Bears would have helped Stafford's case. As for the Lions being perceived as a dirty team, well, they didn't help their cause, either. Handling a loss with a little bit of class would have benefited the Lions. But letting emotions take over and appear a poor sport is what I'm left with when thinking of the Lions.
Written by:
