Here are all the snap counts for the Chicago Bears, a spotlight on some of their individual statistics, and a few team stats from the 23 to 20 loss to the Detroit Lions.
I’m writing this on Thanksgiving to publish it Friday morning, so I’ll avoid any Matt Eberflus content because I’m holding out hope he’s fired at some point. I plan to wake up, add the snap count info, and fire the article away.
I’ve had my “The Chicago Bears fire Matt Eberflus” article prewritten for weeks now, and if it happens, you can find it here.
Yesterday’s game was a brutal watch for a half, but the Chicago Bears clawed back and lost 23 to 20 to the first-place Detroit Lions. The Bears only had 2 first downs in the first half, and they got one off a Detroit penalty. The Lions ran 47 plays in the first half to Chicago’s 19, and the time of possession was 22:54 to 7:06.
The total numbers were still lopsided but not nearly as bad. Detroit had the edge in yards (405 to 301), first downs (25 to 17), time of possession (35:14 to 24:46), and offensive plays (69 to 59).
The penalties were close, with the Bears flagged 8 times for 78 yards to Detroit’s 6 for 79.
Chicago had the edge on third downs, 7-15 (46.7%) to 5-14 (35.7%), but they were 0-2 on fourth downs, while the Lions were 1-1.
Let’s look at the Bears’ playing time breakdowns and a few individual stats from the game.
OFFENSE
Caleb Williams had a rough first half, going just 5 of 15 for 34 yards, but he finished strong with 3 touchdowns and 222 yards in the third and fourth quarters on 15 of 24 passing (62.5%). In the last two weeks, Williams was fantastic in the second half, going for a combined 376 passing yards, 5 TDs, and a passer rating of 121.5.
He’s been getting some criticism for the final sequence yesterday, but that’s 100% a head coach’s call. Caleb just got sacked. He was scrambling to get everyone lined up, listening for the play, looking over the defense, and at any point, Eberflus could have called time out and he should have called it.
“I like what we did there,” Eberflus said about the way he handled the waning seconds of the game.
He may like it, but he’s the only one who does.
Chicago’s receivers had some drops on catches they normally make.
Penalties also killed some drives and took away some positive plays, including two 12-yard pickups and a 21-yard gain.
DEFENSE
Safety Kevin Byard led the Bears in tackles for a third consecutive week and the fourth time in their last five games. He had 10 combined tackles and a pass defended.
It’s never good when a safety leads your defense in tackles.
The other safety, Jonathan Owens, was second with 8 tackles and a PD.
Defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr. had 7 tackles, a sack, and a fumble recovery. He’s up to 5 sacks on the season.
T.J. Edwards had 6 tackles.
Tyrique Stevenson had 5 tackles, a forced fumble, and a PD.
For those curious, that sack on #Lions offensive tackle Penei Sewell was split between #Bears linebacker Jack Sanborn and rookie defensive end Austin Booker.
— Lester A. Wiltfong Jr. (@wiltfongjr.bsky.social) 2024-11-28T17:47:24.559Z
Jack Sanborn also had 3 tackles on defense and a special teams tackle.
Terell Smith and Kyler Gordon each had 4 tackles and a PD.
SPECIAL TEAMS*
*The above image has players who only played in the third phase.
Cairo Santos was 2 for 2 on extra points.
Tory Taylor punted 4 times for a 55.8 average (45.3 net) and 1 punt inside the twenty.
To check out the complete Bears vs. Vikings box score, I find that ESPN has an easy-to-navigate site. Hit that link if you want to see all the game’s numbers.
All statistics and snap counts, as well as the accompanying pictures, are taken directly from the NFL’s Game Statistic and Information System.