DETROIT – Matthew Stafford has not been giving the football away much this season. His five interceptions before Sunday were a big part of why the Lions win close games, and win them late.
So it was particularly frustrating for the Bears, among the NFL’s poorest at catching opponents’ passes, who intercepted Stafford twice in the second half, once in their own end zone, the second returned all the way into the Lions’, and still lost despite leading in the fourth quarter.
The reason was defensive failures to end Detroit drives sooner rather than later. The Lions converted 50 percent (6 of 12) on third downs and had 34 minutes time of possession, to 26 for the Bears.