David Blough‘s first half as a starting quarterback in the NFL is in the books and the Lions have to like what they’ve gotten from the rookie.
Blough hit Kenny Golladay for a 75-yard touchdown on the team’s first offensive possession and followed that up with an eight-yard strike to Marvin Jones for a score the second time that Detroit had the ball. The Lions would stretch their lead to 17-7, but the Bears hit a field goal in the final minute of the half to slice the lead down to 17-10 before the break.
Blough was 7-of-15 for 179 yards overall and took his only sack on the last snap before time ran out in the second quarter. The Bears had not been able to make Blough uncomfortable in the pocket until that point and the Lions have picked up 65 yards on 15 carries to provide the new starter with good offensive balance.
The Bears opened the game with a quick touchdown drive, but struggled to mount any offensive momentum until their scoring drive before halftime. They had one other drive into Detroit territory, but failed to convert a fourth down from the 32-yard line. Mitchell Trubisky threw an incompletion on that play, although a conversion would have come back because the team was flagged for illegal formation after taking a timeout to set up the play.
Those kinds of miscues have been an issue for the Chicago offense all season and any more of them in the second half will help make Blough a winner in his debut.
