Bears Beat Lions 38-6

By Benjy Lipsman in News on Sep 19, 2005 5:22PM

Something told Chicagoist that the Bears had the potential to be a pretty good football team this season, and Sunday's game was about what we'd imagined a good Bears team might look like. Scoring in just about every possible way, the Bears beat the Detroit Lions 38-6. The 38 points were the largest offensive output by the Bears since 1993.

The game was truly a team effort as the offense capitalized on turnovers caused by the defense. We expected the Bears defense to be tough, and they were. The held the Lions to just 6 points and Detroit QB Joey Harrington was intercepted 5 times by the Bears. Mike Brown ran one back 41-yards for a TD, and the offense converted the others into 21 points.

That the offense was able to move the ball and score was a huge relief to Bears fans who have seen too many games where the offense has been seemingly incapable of doing anything. Thomas Jones ran for 139 yards on 20 carries for a gaudy 7.0 yards per carry -- especially considering his longest was only 22 yards. Rookie QB Kyle Orton completed 14 of 21 passes with a touchdown and no interceptions. While not flashy, he's proving to be very poised and avoids the mistakes that many rookies make.

With the win over the Lions, the Bears technically sit atop the NFC North. They and the Lions are each 1-1, but the Bears hold the tie-breaker as a result of yesterday's win. Yeah, we know it's still early but we can dream. Next week's matchup should be a very interesting. The Bears play the Cincinnati Bengals, who devoured the Minnesota Vikings 37-8 yesterday. Are the Bears for real? How about the Bengals? And are the Vikings really that bad?

Photo via ESPN.com