Oct. 19--DETROIT -- For much of Sunday afternoon, cornerback Tracy Porter felt like he had been dialed in, taking a leading role in the Bears' efforts to slow Calvin Johnson.
Yes, the Lions receiver had beaten Porter deep for a 39-yard catch late in the first half. But otherwise, as Sunday's game pressed on, Johnson's quiet productivity seemed indicative of another steady, disciplined effort by the Bears secondary.
With a minute left in regulation, Johnson had only three catches. Furthermore, after he caught that first-half bomb, the Lions ran 31 offensive plays before throwing another ball Johnson's way.
And then? "Megatron" came to life, delivering the day's two biggest catches -- a 6-yard go-ahead touchdown in the final minute of regulation and a 57-yard uppercut in overtime that set up the winning field goal in a 37-34 Lions victory.
"We were executing," Porter said. "We were bottling him up."
Porter shook his head thinking about Johnson's late touchdown catch. It came with 21 seconds left and the Lions trailing 31-27. On first down from the 6, Porter was on an island, matched up in man coverage to the right of defense and aware of the stakes.
"They had been running fade routes the whole game," Porter said. "And he knew that."
Porter played outside leverage. Instead, Johnson hit the goal line, juked and broke toward the post.
Matthew Stafford threw a high dart. Porter made a desperate leap. Johnson stabbed the ball.
The Lions went ahead 34-31.
"Just the laws of physics, man," Porter said. "He's 6-5. I'm 5-11. It sucks. I can't say I could have gotten in any better position."
Added Stafford: "It's the Calvin Johnson that I've been seeing my whole life."
The Bears too. The 45th 100-yard game of Johnson's career was his fifth against the Bears.
His overtime home run proved momentous, the longest gain for either team. On the Lions' third possession, Johnson broke free deep against zone coverage. Kyle Fuller covered Johnson off the snap, then passed him on to rookie safety Harold Jones-Quartey.
Stafford said Johnson was his fourth read. But as the Lions quarterback rolled right and bought time, he saw his best receiver one on one with a safety.
"I feel pretty good about that," Stafford said. "And at that point in the game we needed a chunk."
Johnson peeked back at his quarterback.
"I saw him do the crow hop," he said. "So I knew it was coming."
In a blur, Jones-Quartey, an undrafted rookie out of Division II Findlay, experienced a disappointment felt by so many defensive backs before him. Johnson, jump ball, huge gain inside the Bears 10.
"When the game's on the line and your number's called, you have to make that play," Jones-Quartey said. "I did the best I could. I could have done a better job of tracking the ball. But you have to give it up to (Calvin) and Matt. They made a great play."
Johnson entered Sunday's game averaging a career-worst 10.1 yards per catch this season. His six grabs against the Bears went for 166 yards (27.7 ypc) and lifted the Lions out of their winless funk.
dwiederer@tribpub.com
