Detroit
17
Chicago20
| FINAL | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | OT | Final |
| Detroit | 0 | 3 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| Chicago | 0 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 20 |
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| Officials |
| Referee- Tony Corrente, Umpire- Darrell Jenkins, Head linesman- Aaron Pointer, Line judge- Mark Steinkerchner, Field judge- Pete Morelli, Side judge- Dave Wyant, Back judge- Mike Carey |
| Attendance - Time |
| 50,643; 3:32 |
| Team Statistics | Detroit | Chicago |
| First downs | 19 | 21 |
| Rushing | 5 | 2 |
| Passing | 12 | 19 |
| Penalty | 2 | 0 |
| 3rd-Down Efficiency | 7-16 | 5-17 |
| 4th-Down Efficiency | 1-1 | 2-4 |
| Total Net Yards | 301 | 422 |
| Total Plays | 71 | 79 |
| Average Gains | 4.2 | 5.3 |
| Net Yards Rushing | 102 | 75 |
| Rushes | 29 | 25 |
| Average Per Rush | 3.5 | 3 |
| Net Yards Passing | 199 | 347 |
| Completed-Attempted | 21-40 | 31-51 |
| Yards Per Pass | 5 | 6.8 |
| Sacked-Yards Lost | 2-14 | 3-14 |
| Had Intercepted | 1 | 0 |
| Punts-Average | 6-36.5 | 5-39.8 |
| Return Yardage | 29 | 35 |
| Punts-Returns | 3-29 | 1-2 |
| Kickoffs-Returns | 2-39 | 5-131 |
| Interceptions-Returns | 0-0 | 1-33 |
| Penalties-Yards | 7-50 | 6-64 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 3-1 | 3-1 |
| Time Of Possession | 31:31 | 34:31 |
News: 11/25/02
We already knew that the Lions lacked talent. But this latest comical chapter confirmed that their head coach lacks a clue.
What was Marty Mornhinweg thinking?
There could have been a monsoon blowing through Memorial Stadium, and you do not voluntarily surrender the ball. Not when your defense relinquished 10 points in the last 2 1/2 minutes of regulation. Not when your team is looking for new and creative ways of losing a 14th straight road game. And not when a suddenly revitalized opposing quarterback believes he can leap tall buildings in a single bound.
"I couldn't believe that they didn't take the ball," said Chicago middle linebacker Brian Urlacher.
He wasn't alone. There were plenty of stunned and confused faces on the Detroit sideline when the Lions won the overtime coin flip and opted to take the wind and kick to the Bears.
Instead, Mornhinweg likely kicked the wind out of his chances of getting a third year. How can ownership's confidence in the coach -- and the team president who hand-picked him -- not erode after a 20-17 loss that solidified this franchise's claim as the league laughingstock?
This was the Lions' best chance for a victory the remainder of the season. The Bears were already two months into their hibernation, one shy of a franchise-worst nine straight losses. The Lions had a 10-point lead with less than three minutes remaining in regulation.
And they blew it.
Who honestly believes they're capable of winning another game this season?
All the chatter about needing to work harder and maintaining poise is falling on deaf ears. You start wondering if even the Lions believe their recycled spin.
How can a team exhibit poise if its coach freezes in the clutch?
Mornhinweg contradicted his rationale for taking the wind when he didn't decline a Chicago holding penalty that would have given the Bears a fourth-and-eight decision at the Lions' 35.
"I thought it was reasonable to expect them to try a 52-yard field goal, even with that wind," he said.
THEN WHY NOT LET THEM TAKE THAT CRAZY GAMBLE? WHY LET THEM OFF THE HOOK?
Apparently nobody on the Lions' sideline noticed Chicago's Paul Edinger practicing 40-yard kicks into the wind as the team captains met at the 50 for the overtime coin toss. Edinger barely cleared the crossbar then, so now it's suddenly "reasonable" to expect him to nail one from 52 in a similar gust?
"Paul is very frank about what he can and can't do on the field," Chicago coach Dick Jauron said. "He didn't feel like anything beyond the 26-yard line into that wind was reasonable. The 26 was his outer limit."
Jauron hinted that he probably would have gone for it on fourth-and-eight had the Lions declined the holding penalty, but he had punter Brad Maynard on the field.
Mornhinweg eventually conceded that he probably erred in taking the penalty and giving the Bears another crack at a porous Lions secondary.
But, Marty, didn't you say that you took the wind because you had faith in your defense? And wasn't this the same defense that was on the field for 8 1/2 of the last 10 minutes of the fourth quarter because it couldn't make a stop -- even on fourth-and-20?
"I really had confidence in our players at that point," he said. "It's a controversial call, it really is, but again, the wind did play a big, big factor in that game. . . . If I had to make that call again, I'd do it again."
And the result would be the same.
Winners make plays. Losers make excuses. And the Matt Millen-Mornhinweg operation has become one lame rationalization after another. This game never should have gotten to overtime.
The Bears faced desperate long-yardage situations twice during their last two fourth-quarter possessions, and they converted both. And two holding penalties killed any "reasonable" chance the Lions had to run out the clock.
The Lions have the wind at their backs, and it's pushing them into oblivion.
This is a team devoid of talent and smarts.
And they've become the spitting image of their coach.
Paul Edinger kicked a 40-yard field goal 6:02 into overtime as the Bears rallied from a 10-point deficit in a 20-17 victory over the Detroit Lions.
Detroit won the coin toss in overtime and coach Marty Mornhinweg elected to kick off and take the wind for a potential field goal. His offense never got on the field.
Battling tendinitis in his right arm, Jim Miller completed a 14-yard pass to Marty Booker on 3rd-and-11 from the Chicago 49-yard line to keep the winning drive alive.
After Mornhinweg chose to take a holding penalty that put the Bears in a 3rd-and-18 hole, Miller hooked up with Booker for a 15-yard gain to the Detroit 30. He found Dez White over the middle for a five-yard gain on fourth down and, after three rushes for as many yards by Leon Johnson, Edinger easily booted the field goal to give Chicago (3-8) its first win since edging Atlanta, 14-13, on September 15.
"I would do that again. Well, knowing the outcome of this game, I wouldn't," Mornhinweg said. "But if it were a similar situation I would do that again. I had a lot of confidence in our defense up to that point. That guy is a heckuva field goal kicker. I wanted them to have little or no opportunity to kick a field goal, so I backed them up."
Rookie Joey Harrington completed 21-of-40 passes for 213 yards with one touchdown and an interception as Detroit (3-8) lost its third straight game.
"Nope, it's hindsight and hindsight's 20-20," said Harrington when asked if he questioned the call to start overtime on defense. "You saw the wind out there, everybody saw how that affected the game. It's a decision we made and it's a decision I'm backing 100 percent. It's blind loyalty out there.
"I'm never going to be devastated personally because we can learn something from this. We can take a step forward and improve from this."
Miller replaced Chris Chandler in the third quarter and was 21-of-35 for 250 yards and a touchdown. Chandler was 10-of-16 for 111 yards and a score before leaving with a sprained left ankle.
"I hadn't thrown in two weeks," Miller said. "I had to compose myself. I know my first throw wasn't pretty. The arm gets worse as the game goes along. My arm is not right, I can say that much. But if I had to, I think I would play 60 minutes. They blitzed us when we were in empty sets and we made some plays on them. They dropped to cover-two and we picked them apart some more."
The Bears had three prior eight-game losing streaks, but never lost nine in a row.
"We had talked about it for a long time. I don't think there is a wrong decision there," Chicago coach Dick Jauron said about Detroit kicking off in overtime. "I think it was really hard to turn the ball down in an overtime situation, but I think he made the right decision. I can tell you we talked about it long and hard on our sideline.
"It really wasn't on our minds. We needed to get a victory. You know they worked so hard and got nothing to show for it. I'm so happy for them. I'm certainly glad this isn't on the 2002 team's resume."
Miller directed a 12-play, 91-yard drive that pulled the Bears within 17-14 on a 23-yard catch by White with 2:33 left in the fourth quarter. He again hooked up with White for a 33-yard reception on a 4th-and-10 from the Detroit 45 and three plays later, Edinger kicked a 22-yard field goal as time expired.
Chandler tossed a three-yard TD pass to Marcus Robinson 78 seconds into the second quarter after cornerback R.W. McQuarters had a 33-yard interception return to the Detroit 14.
The Lions closed within, 7-3, on a 23-yard field goal by Jason Hanson with 5:46 left in the second quarter.
Detroit scored on consecutive possessions in the third quarter. Harrington hooked up with Germane Crowell for a one-yard touchdown, giving the Lions a 10-7 edge with 5:09 left in the third.
James Stewart, who had 85 yards on 22 carries, scored from 23 yards out to make it 17-7 with 2:38 left. Detroit began the drive on the Bears 35 after a 16-yard punt return by Eddie Drummond.
If there ever was one game to point to in support of Mornhinweg losing his job, this might be it! It's bad enough when your defense blows a 10 point lead with less than three minutes left, but to give the opposition the ball first in overtime??? I think Mr. Mornhinweg had a Bobby Ross (Arizona two point conversion) brain fart!!! Kick the ball off in overtime so you get the wind at your back??? I just couldn't help but laugh when Jim Miller, yes the injured Jim Miller, led the Bears down field to setup a game winning field goal. Ironically, Tony Dungy had the same exact decision to make in overtime in the swirling winds Sunday night in Denver. He chose to take the ball first. Mike Vandjerget kicks a 51 yard field goal against the wind to win the game for the Colts. Just goes to show you the difference between an experienced head coach and one who has lost 14 striaght road games! With the Lions Defense, which played a great game for 55 minutes, giving up 10 striaght points, Mornhinweg decides to rely on them to begin OT??? What can I say: if this game occurred before the M&M boys took over I'd be in a rotten mood for days, but not any more. How many times do the Lions find some way to blow it on the road against the Bears. Last year it was jason Hanson missing two short field goals. If the Lions cannot beat a pathetic injury riddled Bears team on the road, they certainly aren't going to beat Arizona (the Lions never win in the Desert) or Atlanta (the hottest team in football).
Offense: --- D+. Once again, Harrington and the Offense struggled to get touchdowns. With only a field goal to show at the half, it did not look good given the Offense rarely scores in the 2nd half. But, to my disbelief, they put together back to back touchdown drives, capped off with some third down conversions, and even a 4th and goal! But, after that, the Offense went three and out in three of their next four drives including the last two. What hurt the most in the fourth quarter was after the Defense stopped the Bears on 4th and 4 in Lions territory, all the Offense needed was a first down to setup a Hanson field goal. Instead they go three and out! Germane Crowell played a full game for the first time in over a year. He had some nice catches, but also had two boneheaded penalities (a taunting and holding call) which ended up killing both drives. James Stewart wasn't as impressive as he was in the first game, but had a nice 23 yard run to give the Lions a 10 point lead. Joey Harrington struggled most of the game and had only one good drive the entire game. When all the Offense needed to do was get a few first downs in the 4th to seal the game, they couldn't.
Defense: --- D. For 54 minutes of the game, the Defense was on the verge of getting an A- grade. But, the last three Chicago drives they flunked miserably! After Jett pinned the Bears on their own nine yard line with a little more than six minutes to go, it looked very good that the Lions would get their first road victory in two seasons. But, Jim Miller, who came in whan Chandler got injured, led the Bears to a touchdown on a 3rd down and 20! If that wasn't bad enough, after the Bears got the ball back, Miller and the Bears were facing a 4th and 20 on the 45 yard line. After Miller stumbled and fell to the ground, it seemed like the game was over. Wrong! He gets up and throws a 33 yard reception to setup the game tying field goal. In overtime, the defense allowed the Bears to march right down the field to setup for the game winning field goal. None of this should come as a surprise given the Lions have by far the worst secondary in the NFL.
Special Teams: --- C-. Jet had a great punt in the 1st half to pin the Bears at their 1 yard line. When the Lions needed him to come up with a big kick late in the game, he shanks a 27 yarder to help setup the Bears game tying field goal. Eddy Drummond did a good job returning the ball. Hanson made his only field goal attempt he had.
Coaching: --- F-. I think this grade should come as no shock since Mornhinweg's decision to kickoff in overtime blew up in his face. When 77% of teams who get the ball first win in overtime, and 99.9% (Mornhinweg is the other .1%) elect to take the ball first, I think it would make sense to get the ball first (just like when your down four points, you kick and extra point, right Bobby?). This was definitely the 2nd most boneheaded decision I have seen in years (Bobby Ross' decision was worse). To make his decision look even worse, when the Bears were facing a 4th and 8 at the 35 yard line, Mornhinweg decided to take a 10 yard penalty and back them up to the 45. If the wind was such a big issue Marty, wouldn't of the Bears had punted or gone for it on 4th and long??? After the Bears complete a 15 yard pass, they decided to go for a 4th and short. Sure enough, they make it and win the game a few plays later! Great coaching Marty. Just like the decision to punt the ball in the 4th quarter instead of giving Hanson a shot at a long field goal!
Overall: --- F. When the Lions were up 10 late in the 4th quarter, it seemed like the M&M boys finally got their first road victory. But, after another heart breakening loss, the M&M boys still are searching for that first road victories in 14 tries! At 3-8, the Lions are in the NFC North Cellar with Minnesota and Chicago. Besides Green Bay, is there more of a pathetic division in the NFL? The remaining schedule doesn't look too promising. With New England coming to town for the annual Thanksgiving Day game, the Lions sure have their work cut out for them. The Patriots are fighting for their playoff lives and will beat the Lions sending the honolulu blue and silver to 3-9. After Thanksgiving, the Lions head to Arizona. Although the Cardinals are one of the worst teams in football, the always beat the Lions in the desert. Their next two games are against two of the best teams in football (Tampa and Atlanta). Which means that the last game of the year, the Lions will most likely be 3-12 facing Minnesota for a top five pick in next years draft and what hopefully will be the end of the disasterous M&M regime!!!
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