| |
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
CHICAGO (AP) -- The Detroit Lions haven't proven they're even an
average offensive team, much less among the NFL's best.
|  | | Detroit's Johnny Morton celebrates after scoring a touchdown on Sunday. |
But at 3-1 and unbeaten on the road, who needs to be an
offensive powerhouse?
The Lions rediscovered their missing scoring touch Sunday in a
21-14 victory over the turnover-prone Chicago Bears.
Charlie Batch threw two touchdown passes, James Stewart had
Detroit's first rushing touchdown of the season, and Kurt Schulz
intercepted three of Cade McNown's passes.
"We're not going to win any beauty pageants with our offense,
but we still won a tough game without really coming out yet on the
offense," said Johnnie Morton, who caught one of the TD passes.
"Hopefully ... it will just get better and better."
"Offensively we came back a little bit," agreed Lions coach
Bobby Ross. "I think it's something that we can build on."
For the Bears (0-4), meanwhile, the quest to reach the playoffs
after an offseason makeover appeared to end on the first official
weekend of autumn. The last team to start 0-4 and make the playoffs
was the 1992 San Diego Chargers, who finished 11-5 under Ross.
McNown fell to 2-8 as a starter with another erratic
performance. He ran for one touchdown and passed for another while
going 21-for-35 for 261 yards. But with the three interceptions and
one of the Bears' two lost fumbles, he was responsible for four of
their five turnovers.
"We're seeing with a young quarterback that sometimes you have
to suffer through mistakes," Bears coach Dick Jauron said. "I
think he's progressing, although not as fast as anybody would
like."
Batch threw first-half scoring passes of 13 yards to Johnnie
Morton and 36 yards to Germane Crowell -- the first TDs of the
season for the league's 30th-ranked offense aside from a
desperation pass last week in a lopsided loss to Tampa Bay.
|
TOM DONAHOE'S BREAKDOWN |
|
Detroit's problem this year has been an inability to score. The Lions' offense showed signs of emerging in this game with three touchdowns.
This was a strong performace by Charlie Batch (two TDs), who is starting to get more comfortable in Detroit's offense after missing much of the preseason with a knee injury. And though it wasn't spectacular, the Lions running game was better.
For the Bears, it was a tough way to lose -- fighting back from a deficit only to fall late in the game.
The Bears are making way to many mistakes on offense (as Cade McNown's three interceptions attest). Multiple turnovers are tough to overcome in this league.
Tom Donahoe, ESPN.com's NFL analyst, was formerly the Steelers' director of football operations.
|
Then after the Bears erased a 14-0 deficit with two
third-quarter touchdowns, Detroit reeled off a 91-yard scoring
drive.
Batch, 20-for-37 for 207 yards, was 5-of-6 for 47 yards on the
drive. Stewart carried nine times for 37 yards -- more than half his
total of 71 -- and plunged the final yard with 9:36 remaining.
TV replays showed he might have not reached the end zone, but
the Bears did not challenge the call.
Schulz made his third interception on the next possession,
stopping a drive when McNown threw deep into double coverage.
Chicago failed to capitalize on two more chances in Detroit
territory -- its last one ending when McNown was sacked near
midfield with 16 seconds remaining.
Batch took early advantage of lapses in the Bears' pass
coverage.
He found Morton all alone behind cornerback Walt Harris with
6:30 left in the opening quarter. Then, with 18 seconds left in the
half, he found Crowell wide open for a 14-0 lead.
The Bears got on the scoreboard with an assist from the wet
field conditions at Soldier Field. Lions safety Ron Rice fell down,
and McNown lofted a pass to the wide-open Marcus Robinson, who
caught it and backpedaled into the end zone on a 55-yard play.
Rookie Brian Urlacher, making his second start at middle
linebacker for the Bears, set up the tying drive with his first
career interception.
Six plays later, McNown saw an opening while dropping back to
pass and scampered in 14 yards to make it 14-14.
McNown was booed frequently Sunday.
"I feel like I've had four road games," he said after the
Bears' second home game.
Game
notes
Stewart's score was the Lions' first rushing TD in 21
quarters. Ranked last in the league in rushing offense coming in,
they managed just 80 yards on the ground. ... Chicago's James Allen
ran for 87 yards on 19 carries. Curtis Enis, the 1998 first-round
pick who has been a disappointment, carried once for 5 yards. ...
Fans began chanting for backup quarterback Jim Miller with less
than five minutes gone in the first quarter. Miller averaged 327
yards passing in three starts last year. ... The Bears' problem
with fumbled snaps continued _ McNown fumbled four times,
recovering two. ... Chicago's Mike Wells blocked Jason Hanson's
32-yard attempt in the third quarter. The Bears have blocked seven
of their opponents' last 29 field-goal tries.
| |
ALSO SEE
NFL Scoreboard
Detroit Clubhouse
Chicago Clubhouse
|
