For the second time this season, the Chicago Bears have escaped with a tough, hard-fought win over the Detroit Lions, keeping Chicago in first place (and Detroit in last place) in the NFC North.
The first time, the Bears beat the Lions in Week One on the strength of a controversial call at the end of the game, when Calvin Johnson appeared to score a game-winning touchdown, only to have it overturned on replay. This time there weren’t any calls so controversial -- but Lions fans will surely complain that the unnecessary roughness penalty that set up the Bears’ game-winning touchdown should not have been called.
The penalty came when Bears quarterback Jay Cutler tucked the ball under his arm and ran, and Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh knocked Cutler to the ground with a hard shove to the back. The officials apparently thought Suh hit Cutler in the back of the head, but it was a bad call: Cutler was a runner, and Suh hit him in the back, not the helmet.
That penalty gave the Bears first-and-goal at the 7-yard line, and on the next play Cutler hit Brandon Manumaleuna for the touchdown that made the score 24-20. That was the final score of the game.
Cutler had a solid game, completing 21 of 26 passes for 234 yards, with a touchdown and no interceptions, and the Bears improved to 9-3. With four games to go, the Bears remain a game ahead of the Packers for first place in the NFC North. Chicago looks like it’s headed for the playoffs.