The cliche about football being a game of inches still rings true in the NFL. And an inch is pretty small. But one thing even smaller and infinitely harder to measure is the difference between quitting and not quitting. It's as thin as a breath, as narrow as a muscle stretch, as quick as a snap decision.
Sunday at Soldier Field, the Detroit Lions had every reason to quit. It has been a losing season, their head coach was fired, and they were down 10 points in the fourth quarter after a disastrous Matthew Stafford interception. The Bears took possession on Detroit's side of the field with just 9:22 to go and a 30-20 lead.
The way Chicago had been mauling the Lions' defense all day, you anticipated a time-sucking drive, a touchdown, and a game out of reach. Another bad loss for Detroit. Another day of making flopping quarterbacks like Mitchell Trubisky look like world-beaters.
Then something changed. Something kicked in. Maybe it was tied to Detroit firing Matt Patricia last week. The lifting of a cloud. Their new interim head coach Darrell Bevell creating a looser, freer atmosphere.
But suddenly, the Lions' defense stiffened. It held Chicago to its first three-and-out of the day. A minute later, it did it again, this time limiting Chicago to minus-2 yards.
That stuff is contagious. So here came Stafford, shaking off his mistake, taking control at his own 5 yard-line and steering the offense 96 yards for a touchdown. He threw six straight completions, culminating in a beautiful 25-yard strike to Marvin Jones, Jr.
Now it's a three-point game. The Bears get the ball back. But on third down, Romeo Okwara fights off his blocker, stretches that proverbial extra inch between trying and trying your best, and knocks the ball from Trubisky's hand, a strip-sack, a fumble, a scramble — and the Lions recover!
That was pure extra effort. So, too, was Adrian Peterson, who, two plays later, despite having been stuffed much of the game, surged through blockers and would-be tacklers and bullied his way five yards into the end zone, slamming the football as an exclamation point.
Lions take the lead. Two touchdowns in a 41-second stretch.
Now, the final effort, because the Bears, at home, wouldn't give up. They marched 55 yards in the closing seconds, heading toward a winning score. But on fourth and one from the Detroit 20, they handed the ball to David Montgomery to secure a first down. Montgomery had been making the Lions look foolish all game, slipping tackles, spinning from grasps, scoring twice and averaging over four yards every time he touched the ball.
Except this time. The Lions defensive line surged as if it had a battering ram behind it, and defensive tackle Kevin Strong and linebacker Reggie Ragland brought Montgomery down shy of the mark.
The game was over. Lions win, 34-30.
Inches.
