Chicago Bears: 3 Takeaways vs. Lions in Week 11
3. Lots of close plays that could change the tide went the other way
There were some very close plays that if they went the Bears’ way the game would be very different. In the second quarter, Trubisky almost got Cody Whitehair‘s snap. He didn’t but the Lions’ cornerback D.J. Hayden did and took it 27 yards for a touchdown. That was a game-changing play as the Lions woke up and played better.
Cre’von LeBlanc and Marcus Cooper came close to getting interceptions. They couldn’t get the ball and the Lions scored on both those drives.
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Kyle Long wiped out two nice offensive plays. The first one really hurt as it negated a nice 15-yard Trubisky run. The referees called him for unnecessary roughness. Of course, the Trubisky fumble came on the next play. These are things that happen to bad teams trying to get better. The 50-50 balls don’t go your way and the good plays you make get called back because of dumb mistakes.
It doesn’t matter how developed Trubisky is, if these mistakes continue the Bears still lose. Also, the secondary needs to make plays. The defensive front did their job and provided pressure on the Lions’ backfield. They even forced a big turnover. At some point, the secondary needs to step up.
For the second straight game, Kyle Fuller struggled. He gave up some big passes that hurt. In addition to that, his hardest hit was on a play that might hurt the defensive front for the rest of the season.
Fuller, trying to make a tackle, missed and hit Floyd on the leg. The knee bent and it looked ugly. After the game, head coach John Fox talked about the injury (per ESPN):
"“Leonard Floyd left with what looks like a really serious knee injury. I hate to speculate, but usually when you get taken out on a cart, it’s not great. We’ll evaluate it. I’ll talk to our doctors more today and tonight and we will continue to evaluate tomorrow.”"
This is a big blow to the Bears defensive front. Floyd is a freakish athlete who puts a great deal of pressure on opposing offenses. HIs absence weakens the defense. Hopefully, he comes back sooner rather than later. He is crucial for the Bears’ rebuild program.