(670 The Score) Sometimes life throws you a bone. For instance, sometimes Justin Fields falls out of the top 10. Sometimes, as your career as an NFL head coach hangs in the balance and an entire city turns on you, the Lions come to town. And sometimes those Lions quite literally hand you the football in the red zone. The Bears found a way to not boot what'll probably be the easiest game they play all year and are back to .500 after a 24-14 win against the Lions on Sunday afternoon at Soldier Field. Let's hand out some grades.
Offense: B+
Who would've thought that playing your best players can make such a difference? It wasn't a prolific performance, but beggars can't be choosers. The best moments for the Bears on Sunday were undeniably special – Fields' chemistry with Darnell Mooney (five catches for 125 yards) was on full display throughout the afternoon. The deep ball in the first quarter that went for a 64-yard gain may have been the longest play of the game, but the 32-yard *dime* from Fields to Mooney in the third quarter was unquestionably the prettiest. Allen Robinson had a mostly quiet day (three catches) but made the most of his targets (63 yards). David Montgomery (23 rushes, 106 yards) continued to build his reputation as one of football's most underrated backs, though the air was sucked out of Soldier Field when he went down in pain with a knee injury during the fourth quarter. In more positive news, the offensive line allowed eight fewer sacks than it did last week, which is, you'll agree, a step in the right direction. The offensive game play – schemed up by collaboration and definitely not just offensive coordinator Bill Lazor, nope, no way – was coherent and even, at times, clever. I imagine there are still plenty of "whys" to find before Chicago's game in Las Vegas next Sunday, but this was a good start.
Defense: B+
How you look at the Bears' defensive performance maybe says more about you than them, though it's hard to get too critical of a two-score performance. The Lions moved the ball pretty efficiently for most of the day, but the Bears found red-zone stops when they needed to and forced a couple well-timed turnovers (even if one happened to be snapped directly into Bilal Nichols' face). Robert Quinn (five tackles, one sack, one forced fumble) continued to look like a totally different player, Jaylon Johnson continued to make plays around the ball and Alec Ogletree continued to take Danny Trevathan's job. The run defense was suspect – losing Akiem Hicks to a groin injury on the first play of the game certainly didn't help, and Eddie Goldman looked like someone who hasn't played a whole lot of competitive football lately. Despite losing center Frank Ragnow early in the first quarter, Detroit ended the first half with 71 rushing yards (3.5 yards per carry) and finished with 90 for the day. The Bears' pass coverage benefited from what is known around the league as "playing Jared Goff" but struggled in the second half while Detroit aired it out in an effort to get back into the game.
Special teams: A
Tight end J.P. Holtz may have made the best (legal) tackle of the day on a punt, so that was exciting. Cairo Santos continued being automatic, which will surely not backfire at an important moment later in the season. Pat O'Donnell punted the ball, and that went fine too. It'll be interesting to see how much longer the Bears continue putting Nsimba Webster back to receive.
Cam Ellis is a writer for 670 The Score and Audacy Sports. Follow him on Twitter @KingsleyEllis.
