Chicago  20 

 Detroit  23

SCORING:

FINAL	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	OT	Final
Chicago	0	10	10	0	0	20
Detroit	0	14	3	3	3	23

Scoring
2nd Quarter
CHI	FG	PAUL EDINGER 53 YD, 5:47 Drive: 10 plays, 36 yards in 4:58 Key Plays:   Chandler 4-yard pass to M Robinson on 3rd-and-2 to Chicago 41 CHICAGO 3-0
DET	TD	JAMES STEWART 6 YD RUN (JASON HANSON KICK), 10:01 Drive: 1 plays, 6 yards in :03 DETROIT 7-3
DET	TD	JAMES STEWART 1 YD RUN (JASON HANSON KICK), 13:49 Drive: 7 plays, 16 yards in 2:31 Key Plays:   E Davis 16-yard interception return to Chicago 16 DETROIT 14-3
CHI	TD	MARTY BOOKER 14 YD PASS FROM CHRIS CHANDLER (PAUL EDINGER KICK), 14:55 Drive: 6 plays, 79 yards in 1:06 Key Plays:   Chandler 22-yard pass to Baxter to Chicago 49 DETROIT 14-10
3rd Quarter
CHI	TD	ANTHONY THOMAS 1 YD RUN (PAUL EDINGER KICK), 4:49 Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards in 4:49 Key Plays:   Ellis 15-yard roughing-the-passer penalty to Chicago 43   Chandler 12-yard pass to Baxter on 3rd-and-9 to Detroit 44 CHICAGO 17-14
CHI	FG	PAUL EDINGER 42 YD, 6:31 Drive: 4 plays, 1 yards in :49 CHICAGO 20-14
DET	FG	JASON HANSON 30 YD, 14:26 Drive: 14 plays, 66 yards in 7:55 Key Plays:   Stewart 24-yard run to Detroit 46   Stewart 9-yard run on 3rd-and-1 to Chicago 36 CHICAGO 20-17
4th Quarter
DET	FG	JASON HANSON 24 YD, 14:58 Drive: 12 plays, 72 yards in 2:19 Key Plays:   Harrington 12-yard pass to Crowell to Detroit 34   Harrington 15-yard pass to S Anderson to Detroit 49   Harrington 20-yard pass to Stewart to Chicago 31 CHICAGO 20-20
Overtime
DET	FG	JASON HANSON 48 YD, 4:48 Drive: 8 plays, 30 yards in 4:48 Key Plays:   Penalty for kicking ball out of bounds during kickoff on Bears' Edinger gives Lions ball at Detroit 40   Stewart 9-yard run to Detroit 49 DETROIT 23-20

Statistics

Passing
Chicago Att Cmp Yds Td Int Chandler, Chris 25 16 163 1 1	Detroit Att Cmp Yds Td Int Harrington, Joey 30 16 199 0 0

Rushing
Chicago Att Yds Thomas, Anthony 26 92 Johnson, Leon 2 6 Pritchett, Stanley 1 2 Chandler, Chris 1 -1 White, Dez 1 -10	Detroit Att Yds Stewart, James 32 172 Cason, Aveion 3 9 Harrington, Joey 2 7 Schlesinger, Cory 2 4

Receiving
Chicago Rec Yds White, Dez 3 70 Baxter, Fred 3 40 Booker, Marty 1 14 Lyman, Dustin 2 11 Davis, John 1 10 Shelton, Daimon 2 9 Thomas, Anthony 3 5 Robinson, Marcus 1 4	Detroit Rec Yds Cason, Aveion 3 57 Anderson, Scotty 3 34 Stewart, James 2 28 Crowell, Germane 2 21 Foster, Larry 2 21 Owens, John 2 19 Hakim, Az-Zahir 1 13 Schlesinger, Cory 1 6

Tackles-Assists-Sacks (unofficial)
Chicago T A S Brown, Mike 8 0 0 Colvin, Rosevelt 6 1 0 Green, Mike 6 3 0 Robinson, Bryan 5 0 1 Urlacher, Brian 5 4 0 Azumah, Jerry 5 0 0 Caldwell, Mike 3 3 1 Daniels, Phillip 2 0 0 Austin, Reggie 2 0 0 Howard, Bobbie 2 1 0 Tafoya, Joe 1 0 0 Whigham, Larry 1 1 0 Boone, Alfonso 1 0 0 Knight, Bryan 1 0 0 McMillon, Todd 1 0 0 Traylor, Keith 1 0 0	Detroit T A S Harris, Corey 6 1 1 Curry, Donte' 5 1 1 Claiborne, Chris 4 3 0 Lyght, Todd 3 3 0 Hall, James 3 2 0 Elliss, Luther 3 0 1 Gooch, Jeff 2 0 0 Walker, Bracy 2 2 0 Porcher, Robert 2 1 0 Cash, Chris 2 0 0 Rogers, Shaun 1 1 0 Jordan, Richard 1 0 0 Green, Barrett 1 3 0 Walker, Brian 1 3 0 Edwards, Kalimba 1 0 0 Goodman, Andre 1 0 0

Interceptions
Chicago INT Yards None	Detroit INT Yards Davis, Eric 1 14

Fumbles Lost
Chicago   Thomas, Anthony 2	Detroit   Harrington, Joey 1 Foster, Larry 0

Opponent's Fumbles Recovered
Chicago   Boone, Alfonso 1	Detroit   Curry, Donte' 1 Davis, Eric 1 Pritchett, Kelvin 1

Officials

Referee- Bernie Kukar, Umpire- Bill Schuster, Head linesman- Paul Weidner, Line judge- Tom Barnes, Field judge- Lloyd Mcpeters, Side judge- Tom Hill, Back judge- Steve Freeman

Attendance - Time

60,421; 3:41

Team Statistics	Chicago	Detroit
First downs	17	23
Rushing	6	11
Passing	9	10
Penalty	2	2
3rd-Down Efficiency	6-12	3-12
4th-Down Efficiency	0-0	1-1
Total Net Yards	224	362
Total Plays	59	71
Average Gains	3.8	5.1
Net Yards Rushing	89	192
Rushes	31	39
Average Per Rush	2.9	4.9
Net Yards Passing	135	170
Completed-Attempted	16-25	16-30
Yards Per Pass	5.4	5.7
Sacked-Yards Lost	3-28	2-29
Had Intercepted	1	0
Punts-Average	4-46.5	5-43.4
Return Yardage	14	18
Punts-Returns	2-14	1-4
Kickoffs-Returns	5-112	5-95
Interceptions-Returns	0-0	1-14
Penalties-Yards	5-40	10-79
Fumbles-Lost	3-2	3-1
Time Of Possession	29:27	35:21

News: 10/21/02

The Lions had taken plenty -- hits, criticism, setbacks. They figured they had taken enough.
   So, they lined up Sunday at Ford Field and did something they almost never do.
   They hammered their response, again and again, up the middle, down the throats, through the uprights. The Lions' 23-20 overtime victory over Chicago was unique in its punishing style, marked by James Stewart's career-high 172 yards.
   This one just might mean a little more, displaying -- dare we say it? -- tangible signs of progress. It lifted the Lions' record to 2-4 and matched their victory total for all of that memorable 2001 season. It continued a recent surge of improvement and came without extraordinary heroics from rookie whiz Joey Harrington.
   The Lions showed they could win another way, with powerful blocking and running, even if they did it against the Bears, also 2-4.
   In the end, the Lions were on their knees. For a change, they were praying, not reeling. For a change, it was answered, when Jason Hanson's 48-yard field goal cleanly cleared the crossbar for the winning points.
   "I didn't even look," said Stewart, describing his pose as Hanson lined up. "I turned around, on my knees, and looked up in the stands. I figured the crowd's reaction would let me know. Great feeling."
   Rare feeling. Also, there's a growing feeling the Lions might be extricating themselves from the muck. They're 4-18 the past two seasons, but have won two of their last three, and this game capped a week when the strangest criticism surfaced from the strangest place.
   The issue of courage was tossed around, foolishly and irresponsibly, by Lions President Matt Millen. He had suggested, on a Chicago radio show, there was a "devout coward" on the roster. Millen didn't say who it was, or how he gauged the cowardice, or why he didn't have the guts to dump the player if he was so appalled by him.
   What Millen, the team's top executive below the Ford family, was trying to accomplish, we have no idea. He sounded like a blowhard and an amateur, and Sunday, he apologized repeatedly, which was appropriate.
   "What I said was stupid and wrong," Millen said. "I would hope I learned a big lesson because those words were careless."
   Lions owner William Clay Ford Sr. acknowledged Millen's mistake and said he still supported his president, but added, "Let's wait and see how this plays out."
   Watching this play out suddenly is getting interesting. Millen better not be the only one learning. Coach Marty Mornhinweg has done an admirable job keeping his team focused on the little matter of saving a season, and possibly saving jobs. Millen should be so focused.
   They all could learn a valuable lesson from Stewart, the 30-year-old back who was branded by many -- inside and outside the organization -- too slow and injury-prone to be the team's featured back. Some of us have tried mightily to point out the ridiculousness of that analysis.
   Stewart showed why on the finest afternoon of his eight-year career. He bulled over Bears, barreled around Bears, and blasted through Bears, scoring two touchdowns. Even in the glory days of Barry Sanders, the Lions were a finesse team, more likely to outrace you than outmash you.
   Behind a revived offensive line and bruising fullback Cory Schlesinger, Stewart mashed. In overtime, he carried the ball six straight times, setting up Hanson's winner. It's a lesson of perseverance, one that should motivate the entire team.
   "Joey came into the huddle (in overtime) and said, 'It's on you,' " Stewart said. "For the first time, we were comfortable, we were in a rhythm."
   It came amid a swirl of controversy, which began weeks ago with questions about the security of Mornhinweg's and Millen's jobs, and culminated with Millen's potshot. Did that make this victory especially notable?
   Stewart reacted to the furor the way most Lions did. He shrugged.
   "We've been facing controversy all year long, so you get used to it," he said. "I don't think one win silences people. I still think a lot of people will look at us as the bottom of the league. But hey, if I was upset every time someone said something bad about me, I'd have been out of the league a long time ago."
   The Lions haven't earned the right to silence anybody yet. They were -- sorry to douse any delirium -- a tad lucky. Three key calls were overturned by the replay official, all in the Lions' favor. And in the closing seconds of regulation, the Lions were saved by their own penalty. A false-start infraction nullified a sack of Harrington, put five seconds back on the clock, and allowed Hanson to boot the tying 24-yard field goal.
   Maybe the Lions were due a few breaks. They're also slowly, deliberately, piquing some interest. Harrington struggled at times and finished 16 for 30. But the defense was aggressive, holding the Bears to 224 yards.
   "This is the one we needed, the confidence-builder, the attitude adjustment," said Harrington, still afflicted with terminal optimism. "We can start walking around holding our heads up a little. This was a team effort, top to bottom."
   Top to bottom? Hmm. That's a concept everyone on the Lions -- management and players -- should commit to memory. Everyone's accountable, everyone matters, from the hotshot quarterback to the overlooked running back to the anonymous blockers and tacklers.
   If the Lions indeed are turning a corner, climbing back, they'll have to show more than a three-week response. They'll need everyone, and that does mean everyone, from the courage-conscious president on down.

RECAP:

The Detroit Lions have won as many games in six weeks as they did all of last season. They still don't think anybody believes in them.

Jason Hanson's 48-yard field goal with 10:18 left in overtime gave Detroit a 23-20 win Sunday over the Chicago Bears, who have lost four straight.

"I don't think it silences a lot of people, I really don't," said James Stewart, who ran for a career-high 172 yards and two touchdowns on 32 carries. "I really think people will still look at us as being on the bottom of the league. I really don't think this win makes people change their minds about us, but we can't worry about that."

While the Lions (2-4) matched their win total from last season, Chicago (2-4) already has more regular-season losses than all of last year, when it won its first division title since 1990.

The victory was especially sweet for rookie quarterback Joey Harrington, who failed to lead Detroit on fourth-quarter comebacks last week against Minnesota and in his first start against Green Bay -- throwing an interception each time.

After leading 10 fourth-quarter comebacks at Oregon, Harrington now has one in the NFL after completing 16 of 30 passes for 199 yards with no TDs or interceptions.

"We've been very close a couple times and haven't pulled it out, so it's a frustrating feeling to be 2-4," Harrington said. "But it's a good feeling because we've been so close and we've been improving. We're really optimistic."

The Bears scored 17 unanswered points to take a 20-14 lead midway through the third quarter.

Harrington then led a 14-play drive to pull the Lions within three late in the third. The game-tying drive -- with no timeouts left -- set up Hanson's 24-yard kick with 2 seconds left.

"These are the games we were winning last year," Chicago's Rosevelt Colvin said. "Now, we're losing them."

James Stewart's monster effort was part of a big day for the Lions. Anthony Thomas ran for 92 yards and a TD, but fumbled twice.

Chris Chandler, starting in place of an injured Jim Miller, was 16-of-25 passing for 163 yards with one TD and one interception. He extended his own NFL record (since the 1970 merger) by starting for his seventh team.

Hanson's kick to force overtime capped a wild, 12-play drive that covered 72 yards. It started at the Detroit 22 with 2:21 left.

The Lions benefited from instant replay for the third time in the game when Harrington's 15-yard pass to Scotty Anderson at midfield was ruled a catch and fumble, not an incomplete pass by the replay official.

Five plays later, the Lions had a first-and-goal from Chicago's 2 with 34 seconds left. After Harrington was stuffed on a sneak, he spiked the ball with 11 seconds to go.

Chicago's Mike Green was called for pass interference on third down, which gave the Lions a new set of downs from the 1 with 7 seconds left.

Two plays later, a false start by Lions rookie Matt Murphy negated Larry Whigham's sack, which would've ended the game.

Harrington was relieved it didn't.

"I didn't have a clue -- I never saw the flags," he said. "I was on the ground, and I heard the ref coming in and yelling 'False start, false start -- no play,' and I was yelling back 'Thank you! Thank you!"'

Chicago's overtime kickoff went out of bounds, giving the Lions the ball at their own 40. Detroit ran the ball seven straight times to set up the game-winning kick.

Scott's Game Commentary:

The Lions almost blew it again the closing minutes of the game. Fortunately, a false start called on rookie Matt Murphy negated a game ending sack on Harrington that setup a Hanson chip shot to force overtime. For the first time this year, the Defense played well from start to finish. They forced three turnovers, which lead to the Lions only touchdowns of the game. Luther Elliss, who has been non-exisitant the entire year, had a big sack and forced a fumble. But, the biggest story to emerge from the game was James Stewart, who had a career high 200 all purpose yards and two touchdowns. Stewart, who had not gotten a lot of carries in prior games, had 32 for the game and helped setup the game winning field goal in overtime. The Lions are 2-1 at home and could easily be 3-0. I wonder what Matt Millen, who made some ridiculous comments that a Lion player was a devout coward and lacked testicles on a Chicago radio station on Thursday, thought after the game? I'm sure there were quite a few players that would love to shove his comments back in his face.

Grades:

Offense: --- B. Although Joey Harrington had an off game, he was able for the 2nd consecutive week to give the Lions a chance to tie or win the game in the closing minutes of the game. The only touchdowns were setup from turnovers, but at least the offense was able to capitalize on them. James Stewart, who rushed for 172 yards, had if not his best game as a Lion. Coming into the game, the Lions rush offense was dead last in the NFL. The offensive line did a great job opening holes for Stewart. Germane Crowell made his long awaited return from two ankle surgeries and had two catches.

Defense: --- B+. The Defense came up with some big plays, including three turnovers that turned into 14 points and only gave up a field goal after Joey Harrington fumbled the ball in Lion territory. The Defense only yielded 20 points and 224 yards, both season bests. Bears QB Chris Chandler, making his first start of the year, had always given the Lions problems in the past. But, Chandler wasn't a factor and Bears RB Anthony Thomas had two costly fumbles. The defensive line had a good game, although it still remains a mystery why Robert Porcher can no longer make big plays. It was nice to see Luther Elliss come out of hiberation for the first time this year. What impressed me most from the defense was their effort late in the game. Unlike last week when they yielded two touchdowns late in the game, they practically shut down the Bears offense. They will definitely have their work cut out for them next week when they face the Buffalo Bills, who have one of the best offenses in the league.

Special Teams: --- B. Jason Hanson's 49 yard kick won the game and John Jett had two beautiful punts he nailed within the five yard line. Coverage was nothing great and Hakim didn't have any good returns. The Lions were fortunate that Paul Edinger kicked the ball out of bounds to start OT. Talk about a bone headed mistake!

Coaching: --- C. Mornhinweg rolled the dice in the 1st quarter on 4th and goal and it paid off with a touchdown. It was also nice to see him run the ball more and it was a big reason why the Lions won the game. The only thing that upset me was the play calling after the Lions had 1st and goal with under a minute to go. With no time outs it was very risky to run a QB sneak and it almost back fired. Worse yet, with seven seconds to go, why run a play that could end a game if the QB gets sacked? If it wasn't for a false start, the game would have ended in miserable fashion.

Overall: --- B. With the unnecessary heat Millen put on the team with his boneheaded comments, the Lions responded with another solid effort for the 4th game in a row. They took advantage of a Bears team that is also decimated with injuries. At 2-4, the Lions find themselves tied with the Bears for 2nd place in the NFC North. Only problem is they have no chance at catching the Green Bay Packers. Next weeks game will be a big test for the honolulu blue and silver. The Bills are vastly improved and the Lions have not won in Buffalo since they capped of the 1991 regular season with their 12th victory. If Mornhinweg wants to take another step forward, he needs to win a game on the road. A victory would give the Lions a 3-4 record and a great chance of reaching .500 against a crappy Cowboys team in two weeks. But, I'd be shocked if they were able to pull a victory out.

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