SportsDirect Inc. staff
Sep 29, 2013
Lions 40, Bears 32: Reggie Bush ran for 139 yards and a touchdown and host Detroit rode a 27-point second quarter before holding on for a big division win.
Matthew Stafford threw for 242 yards and a touchdown and scored once on the ground for the Lions (3-1), who moved into a tie with Chicago (3-1) atop the NFC North. Detroit forced Jay Cutler into four of Chicago's five turnovers while sacking him three times and holding the Bears to 1-for-13 on third down.
Cutler completed 27-of-47 passes for 317 yards and two late scores but had three interceptions and lost a fumble. Matt Forte had a 53-yard touchdown run and 95 rushing yards for Chicago, which had two touchdowns and two two-point conversions in the final four minutes but could not recover a pair of onside kick attempts.
Forte's touchdown put Chicago up 10-6 with 13:44 left in the first half, but the Lions scored 24 points in less than eight minutes before the break. Stafford got in on a quarterback sneak after picking up his own fumble at the goal line to make it 16-10 and Cutler threw a pick on the next play from scrimmage to set up Stafford's 2-yard scoring strike to Calvin Johnson, giving Detroit two touchdowns in 22 seconds.
Bush took it in from 37 yards out to give the Lions a 30-10 advantage late in the half and Cutler fumbled on a sack late in the third, with Nick Fairley taking in the recovery from 4 yards out to make it 37-16. Cutler found Alshon Jeffery from 14 yards out to get within 40-24 and then hit Earl Bennett with a 10-yard touchdown in the final minute before the Lions ran out the clock.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Jeffery had five catches for a game-high 107 yards. ... Lions CB Rashean Mathis left the game with a concussion. ... The 40 points allowed are the most by Chicago since it gave up 41 in a loss to Arizona on Nov. 8, 2009. Detroit produced its highest output in the rivalry since a 55-point outburst vs. Chicago in 1997.