Thanksgiving 2019 marked the beginning of the David Blough era as the starting quarterback for the Detroit Lions. Jeff Driskel had started the last three games, including a massive clunker of an effort in the Week 12 loss to lowly Washington. But Driskel is out for this one and in steps Blough, an undrafted rookie from Purdue acquired from the Browns after the preseason.
Blough’s performance in this matchup with the division rival Chicago Bears in the annual Thanksgiving national broadcast is the primary point of focus. We’ve reached the point of the season where the Lions, now 3-7-1, are playing more youngsters more frequently. It’s a chance to evaluate guys like Blough, RB Bo Scarbrough, CB Amani Oruwariye and TE Isaac Nauta in their more extensive playing time.
Pregame notes
Chicago enters the game at 5-6, having won two of its last three games. That includes the Week 10 win over Detroit in Chicago. The Bears defense is hot, allowing the 4th-fewest points of any team over the last six games.
In addition to Stafford and Driskel, starters Rashaan Melvin (CB), Jamal Agnew (RS) and Damon Harrison (DT) are all out with injuries. Chicago is missing regular starting RT Bobby Massie, replaced by ex-Lion Cornelius Lucas. Linebacker Danny Trevathan and wideout Taylor Gabriel are the other key missing Bears.
The Lions are in the all-silver color rush uniforms while the bears are in the road whites with blue pants
First quarter
You know you’re in for a turkey of a game when the opening kickoff has to get redone thanks to offsetting penalties. You really know it’s going to be a clunker when referee Jerome Boger points the wrong way when making the official calls on the penalties. Not a good start…
It doesn’t get any better once Chicago gets the ball. Cordarrelle Patterson blows past several Lions up the left sideline and returns Matt Prater’s kick to midfield. Mitchell Trubisky comes out throwing, and specifically throwing at Tavon Wilson. The safety makes the tackle on the first three plays, targeted twice in coverage and once on a terrible run fit by LB Christian Jones.
Allen Robinson scores the touchdown, beating Darius Slay on a simple slant he sets up beautifully with a false step outside. Slay steps in the bucket and it was all the room Trubusky needed to fit it in before Tracy Walker’s help could close in. Way too easy of an opening TD drive for Chicago.
Chris Lacy fields the Bears kickoff and kneels. It’s his first time back as the return man in place of the injured Agnew.
Blough comes out without fear. He’s overzealous on his first attempt, a worm-burner to T.J. Hockenson up the right seam where the TE has a step on the coverage. He did not miss on the next play, a 3rd-and-10:
That’s how to take advantage of a blown coverage! Prater’s knuckleball of a conversion ties the game at 7-7.
Jarrad Davis keys the Lions D on the ensuing 3-and-out possession. Two nice stops from the LB including an open-field corraling of shifty RB Tarik Cohen. Slay had perfect coverage on Robinson on the other play. No pass rush up front but still a nice series.
It didn’t even take two full drives before Blough demonstrates he’s a better passer and has superior pocket presence and field awareness than Driskel showed in his three starts. Strikes to Marvin Jones and Golladay move the chain nicely. Blough is stepping up in the pocket and climbing the ladder nicely, not panicking at pressure and keeping his eyes down the field.
Blough hits Jones on a well-designed inside crosser from a bunch formation from the 8-yard line for a TD. The Bears, notably Prince Amukamara once again, get lost in coverage. Great pass protection by the offensive tackles this entire drive. The extra point puts the Lions up 14-7.
Prater gets tricky with the ensuing kickoff. He drills a hard grounder to the shortstop and it strikes a retreating Bears blocker. Jalen Reeves-Maybin comes out of the scrum with possession. The spontaneous, exotic onside kick works! Lions ball inside Chicago territory.
The teams trade 3-and-outs with both QBs making poor choices into coverage. Dee Virgin gets a big thumbs up for his exceptional punt coverage on Sam Martin’s nice boot deep into Chicago territory.
Blough’s initial buzz wears off. He missed Hockenson on a well-covered out route and then makes a terrible choice in forcing a high throw to Danny Amendola in traffic. Had Blough held just a count longer he had Hockenson up the right seam uncovered but he opted to throw to the sticks on 3rd-and-5. The ball nearly got picked off when Amendola tries to tip it to himself, a poor choice for a short receiver in a crowd.
Second quarter
Controversy strikes on a play where Trubisky narrowly avoids a Devon Kennard sack and throws to WR Anthony Miller on the run. Miller catches the ball and then get popped by Justin Coleman. Several players from both teams fail to recover it before it winds up in a pile.
Two officials signal Bears ball. Two others signal Lions ball at various points. The initial call from Boger gave the ball to the Bears, but as FOX’s Joe Buck quizzically notes on the broadcast, “I guess they changed their mind.” Lions ball.
Not so fast. After a lengthy review–more than double the allotted time–Boger decides the pass was incomplete. It wasn’t, but that’s how a bad official covers his inept tracks. Oh yeah, Boger also missed an obvious blow to the head of Trubisky by Wilson that Boger is staring at from five yards away. Oy.
The level of play quickly descends to the level of officiating. Wilson badly misses an open-field tackle, another in-the-box attempt, and has an illegal contact penalty (he was guilty) declined. The Lions pass rush isn’t nearly as effective as Trubisky would have you believe it is, and his impatience and lack of accuracy bail out Oruwariye and Coleman in coverage on separate throws.
Troy Aikman’s not having a great game on as a color commentator, either. He enthusiastically notes that “this Bears offense is the same one Kansas City runs” and “they’re capable of scoring from anywhere”. Going back to the Week 10 matchup, the Bears offense has gone 3-and-out on seven of its last 10 drives against the Lions defense, which entered this game ranked 30th. Chicago is 29th in scoring entering the game, 30th if you strip out defensive and special teams scores. He says the latter as it’s 1st-and-32 after two dumb penalties on the OL. But I digress…
The Bears opt to go for it on 4th-and-5 from the Lions 32, eschewing a 50-yard FG attempt. Trey Flowers surges past LT Charles Leno and Trubisky flings the ball at the feet of a receiver short of the sticks. The Bears also had an illegal formation but the Lions decline it and celebrate the nice stop. Davis was effective on a couple of A-gap blitzes on this drive and was in nice position in coverage on the final play too.
Some really nice run blocking from Frank Ragnow, Graham Glasgow and Taylor Decker gets the Lions rolling. Ty Johnson and Scarbrough are both effectively running downhill, not hesitating or dancing through the hole and it’s working. Boger’s crew once again interferes with the game with a truly baffling offensive pass interference call on Marvin Jones that wipes out an intentional defensive pass interference call against Buster Skrine on Golladay in the end zone (Skrine got beat and knew it). Boger quickly gives a make-up call, flagging (now Lions DT) Nick Williams for roughing Blough. It’s a flag that not even Aaron Rodgers gets most of the time.
The red zone offense sputters badly. Two Blough throwaways under pressure (rough set for Rick Wagner) and a pointless J.D. McKissic run smack into a stacked box stall the drive. The Lions kick a 25-yard field goal to surge out the lead to 17-7 with 3:00 to play in the half.
Poor containment on the kick return by Patterson sets the Bears up near their own 40, thanks in part to an egregious missed holding call on the player blocking Dee Virgin. The drive quickly becomes “let’s pick on Justin Coleman” as Trubisky targets him in coverage on his first three passes. Two are complete, the third (technically the first of the series) Coleman broke up nicely. Quick-hit completions on slants against Oruwariye (who missed the tackle too) and Slay set the Bears up in FG range.
Jarrad Davis is playing really well and there’s a play at the end of the drive here that needs appreciation. Trubisky takes off from the pass rush and is poised to get a first down with his legs. Davis explodes into the path Trubisky wants to take and it scares the QB enough that he veers sideways. That gives Walker time to close in and make a very nice open-field tackle. Davis doesn’t get any credit in the box score but he’s absolutely the reason the Bears’ drive fizzles and results in a field goal and not a TD. Lions lead 17-10 at the half.
Third quarter
Bad start for the Lions with a quick, poorly-blocked 3-and-out and an undisciplined penalty on Virgin on the punt return, negating a fantastic punt from Martin and exceptional coverage from Miles Killebrew. Trubisky comes out throwing and finds Robinson on a crosser in between safeties Wilson and Will Harris. Both overcommitted to their outside help roles in zone coverage and Trubisky drilled it into the hole. What’s frustrating here is that Trubisky glared at Robinson from before he even got the shotgun snap but neither Wilson nor Harris paid attention to Robinson, the best player on the Bears’ offense.
Slay bails out an unimpressive defensive set with a great INT, undercutting Robinson on the left numbers and making the acrobatic adjustment. The Lions had switched from zone to man one play earlier but Trubisky apparently missed that. He didn’t miss Slay, fortunately.
Another 3-and-out, another bad series from the OL, notably Ragnow at center. The Bears keep moving the defensive front around and it’s giving the Lions line some terrible fits. On a positive note, Blough is very sharp and convincing with his play-fakes and also at avoiding pressure.
The third-down play here is an example of Bevell being too cute. McKissic lines up tight to Decker at left tackle, while Hockenson and Jesse James are tight on the right. Bears defenders pick up on it quickly, diagnosing “screen” to McKissic before Blough even turns back to look at him from rolling out the opposite way. If that’s Hockenson over there, the Bears might buy the run or action to the right but two stay completely unfazed and smother McKissic right away.
General note on Jahlani Tavai that stems from one play in particular but has been prevalent all game: he’s waiting for the block to get to him instead of attacking against the run.
The Lions go zone coverage again and once again Trubisky heats up. That is not a coincidence. Other than Flowers coming close on one play, there is absolutely no pass rush up front.
A really nice open-field stick on Miller by Oruwairye saves Coleman from getting beaten for a TD, but it’s only for a play. Jesper Horstead blows past Harris in man coverage and makes a very nice over-the-shoulder catch in the end zone for a TD. Pretty nice throw from Trubisky and late help from Walker, but expecting Harris to need help on Jesper Horstead is not something Walker should have to entertain when Robinson is also in the area. Tie game at 17.
Fourth quarter
The Lions pull off a 15-play drive that spans almost nine minutes between the third and fourth quarters. It’s effectively a showcase drive for what Blough can do under heavy pressure, because the pass protection is largely dreadful. Another terrible series from Wagner at RT is exacerbated by having Kenny Wiggins in at RG. Wiggins does fine in pass protection but in the run game he’s a clear downgrade (outside of one nice downfield block) from Glasgow.
Blough largely passes the test. Throwing at receivers who are well-covered and often evading the rush to get the throw off, the rookie’s ability to stay on task as a passer is a stark contrast to Driskel’s tuck-and-run at the first sign of potential trouble. Some nice, small-window lasers to Jones, Amendola and Hockenson keep the chains moving. McKissic barely gets tripped up (fantastic tackle by Fuller, tip of the hat) on 3rd-and-1 from the Chicago 5 and Prater bangs home the go-ahead field goal.
Trey Flowers forces a 3-and-out all by himself. After burying Montgomery at the line on first down, he forces Trubisky into a wild scramble on 2nd down that Davis nicely ends after a short gain. Third down is the exact type of play Lions fans want from Flowers, a clean and quick win against the Charles Leno block and then a devastating sack on Trubisky where the poor QB had no chance.
Detroit comes out running with Nauta in as the fullback. He nails his lead block and Scarbrough chugs nicely behind it for four yards. If Ragnow had sustained his initial block it would have gone for much more. A good call on Golladay for an illegal block wipes out a great Scarbrough run off right tackle and results in the Lions punting. It’s a great punt by Martin and more great coverage from Virgin to force the fair catch at the 10.
John Atkins begins the next drive with another great individual play that doesn’t make the box score. He reads screen right away and prevents the back from getting open initially. When Trubisky finally throws the ball there are three Bears linemen down the field illegally and they get flagged for it. That’s an effective 5-yard loss for Atkins that doesn’t show up. Davis also played it very well.
Alas, the Lions allow Trubisky to get something going once again by dropping into zone coverage and rushing three, with Davis also sugaring as a Trubisky spy. Against a mixed coverage, Trubisky finds Miller over the top of Coleman for a huge conversion that takes the ball to midfield. It’s not bad coverage but Miller still got a step and the throw up the left seam was impressive.
I’ve talked up Davis quite a bit here, so it’s only fair to point out when he badly misses a tackle. That happens on 1st-and-10, though Da’Shawn Hand whiffed even worse on the play before Montgomery shrugged off Davis to the turf. Two plays later Davis absorbs the lead block nicely so Walker can knife in for the TFL, restoring balance to what has been a really nice overall game from Davis.
On the very next play, Trubisky once again zeroes in on Coleman in coverage. The deep strike up the right sideline in 1-on-1 man coverage to Miller ends with the Bears 1st-and-goal from the 3. A better throw and it was six points.
No matter. Two plays later the Bears slip Montgomery out on a delay route from the backfield and there isn’t a Lion within five yards of him as he secures the go-ahead TD. Harris overcommitted to Miller and I honestly don’t know what Kennard and Davis are doing on this play other than not paying any attention to the RB. Piniero nails the conversion, and gets roughed by Killebrew while doing so, and the Bears lead 24-20 with just over two minutes to play.
Blough and the Lions come out in the 2:00 drill content to dink and dunk quickly. The QB is consistently taking his first open read, often Hockenson and Amendola. A well-blocked set allows Blough to find Golladay between zones on a deep in and the Lions are in business near midfield.
A couple of stupid Bears penalties (Aaron Lynch jumping offside, Roquan Smith tackling Ty Johnson some three steps after he ran out of bounds) helps even more. Then tragedy strikes. Hockenson catches a quick out and gets his leg rolled up under himself and Smith. It’s a nasty fracture that will end the rookie TE’s season.
Blough just misses Amendola open inside the 5. Catchable pass but it needed to be sharper; Amendola expected it on his other shoulder and couldn’t adjust. He had the coverage beat. Smith sacks Blough on an untouched A-gap blitz, setting up one last shot. On 4th-and-22, the deep prayer to a well-covered Golladay gets picked off by Eddie Jackson. I love that the Bears rushed six on this play from a football standpoint, but the result ends in a tough Lions loss.
Good games: Joe Dahl, Bo Scarbrough, Kenny Golladay, Jarrad Davis, Graham Glasgow, Darius Slay (outside of one play), Trey Flowers, Tracy Walker (mostly), Sam Martin, punt coverage team
Bad games: Tavon Wilson, Justin Coleman, Will Harris, Jahlani Tavai, Danny Amendola, Marvin Jones, Romeo Okwara, Frank Ragnow (more of a bad 2nd half), Rick Wagner, kick coverage team, referee Jerome Boger
The Lions next limp into a road rematch with the Vikings. This loss officially eliminated Detroit from the postseason at 3-8-1.
