Chicago Bears Score and Recap (Week 4): Bears 24, Lions 14 – Montgomery and Mooney Lead the Bears to Victory

The Bears looked to recover from a rough game in Cleveland last Sunday. Perhaps it was getting to play the Detroit Lions, but whatever the reason, they certainly played a much better game this Sunday in a pretty comfortable win.

Chicago set the tone in the first drive with a touchdown, rookie Justin Fields was much better Sunday and had a 21-yard pass play to Darnell Mooney before David Montgomery punched in the score. After a Detroit turnover, Fields and Mooney combined again for a 64-yard bomb that set up a second Montgomery touchdown and a 14-0 lead.

The Lions and quarterback Jared Goff moved the ball throughout the half only to come up empty in three red-zone opportunities. Fields started out the second half much like the first with 60 yards passing in a touchdown drive to go up by three scores.

The only down note in the game was an injury to Montgomery in the second half. The Bears running back appeared to be in a lot of pain, although, he was able to gingerly walk off the field.

Detroit scored a pair of late touchdowns to increase the stress at the end of the game. It was not enough, however, as the Bears took home the 24-14 victory. (Box score)

Why the Bears Won

The offense was balanced with an emphasis on the running game that set up Fields for play-action passing success. On defense, there was a lot of bending but not breaking as demonstrated by four Lions red zone turnovers.

Key Moment

On their initial drive of the game, Detroit had a first and goal on the Bears 6 with a chance to tie the game at 7. The Lions center snapped the ball wide of Jared Goff for a fumble that the Bears recovered.

Stats That Matter

• Fields was not perfect, still, it was much better than last week. There was a fumble that he recovered and an interception but he threw for 209 yards and had several beautifully thrown deep completions.
• Montgomery ran for 106 yards and was a big part of the attack on Sunday. Obviously, any injury that has a long-term impact would hurt the Bears significantly.
• This had the feeling of a breakout game for Darnell Mooney with five receptions for 125 yards. If he can become a significant threat with the deep ball it will open up a lot more windows for Allen Robinson.

Bottom Line

With all caveats in place for the quality of the opponent this was a big step forward for Justin Fields. He made significant improvement in his play, was it aided by not having Myles Garrett chasing him the entire game? Of course, yet it was good to see the young QB adjust after last week’s debacle. It seems pretty clear now that the team should be in Justin’s hands the rest of 2021.

Next Up

The challenge gets bigger Week 5 as the Bears head to Las Vegas to play the Raiders at 3:05pm CT on Sunday, October 10. The game will be broadcast on CBS and WBBM radio.