Detroit -- The details may change, but the end result is nearly always the same.
The Lions play valiantly, often leading at some point during the game, but eventually something (or a few somethings) happens and the Lions lose.
It's like a really bad version of "Groundhog Day."
On Sunday, it was the Chicago Bears benefiting from the things the Lions did or weren't able to do, leaving Ford Field with a 24-20 road win and a 9-3, NFC North-leading record.
Drew Stanton, filling in at quarterback because Matthew Stafford (shoulder) and Shaun Hill (finger) were both injured, had a solid performance. He was 16-24 for 178 yards and one touchdown. He also rushed for a touchdown. Stanton did not throw an interception and did not fumble.
But when it came to crunch time, when the offense absolutely had to have a score, Stanton wasn't able to make it happen.
That's not all on him, mind you.
The defense had its moments, too. Cliff Avril had three sacks of Chicago quarterback Jay Cutler.
But Ndamukong Suh, who was playing his aggressive style of defense, was called for unnecessary roughness when Cutler was running with the ball in the fourth quarter. Suh appeared to strike Cutler in the back of the head as Cutler was going to the ground.
Cutler had already gained eight yards, so it would have been second-and-2 at the Lions' 14-yard line. Instead, it was first down at the Lions' 7-yard line.
"I'm not going to judge the call," Suh said. "I really don't care what he called or if it was a penalty or not. I'm just going out there to make a play, get the ball out.
"We're in a tight situation, near the end zone. We've got to stop them somehow from getting a touchdown. Obviously, he broke the tackles. (I) had a great angle to make a play, get the ball out. That's what I went after."
On the very next play, Cutler found tight end Brandon Manumaleuna for what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown.
"I don't really think it was a bad play per se," Avril said. "The quarterback's a runner once he passes the line of scrimmage, but they called it and it definitely shifted the momentum their way."
Referee Ed Hochuli said he did not make the call simply to protect Cutler because he's a quarterback.
"In that situation it was I felt an unnecessary blow, a non-football act as the runner was going to the ground," Hochuli said.
Even if that call doesn't happen, you don't think the Bears might have been able to score from the 14-yard line?
Stefan Logan returned the ensuing kickoff 60 yards, giving the Lions the ball at the Bears' 44-yard line with 8:29 to play. But the Bears sent D.J. Moore on a corner blitz and he sacked Stanton for a nine-yard loss. The drive resulted in a punt.
Earlier in the third quarter, Avril forced Cutler to fumble the ball, which Turk McBride (starting for the injured Kyle Vanden Bosch) recovered at the Bears' 9-yard line. End result? A 25-yard field goal by Dave Rayner.
"When they got the turnover down there, we put up a field goal, but we want a touchdown right there," Calvin Johnson said. "When Logan gave us the short field, definitely we've got to score when we get those opportunities.
"We get that short field, especially when we get the ball across the 50, we've got to score. Those two things right there, I felt we could have done better on."
The Lions' defense needed to step up in the final 5:17 to get the ball back to the offense but Matt Forte ran for a first down, Cutler found his best friend Earl Bennett (the two played together at Vanderbilt) for another and Manumaleuna for still another. So no chance.
"Later in the game, fourth quarter, five minutes to go, they converted on a couple of passes, broke tackles," cornerback Chris Houston said. "I think that was the biggest thing of this game was missed tackles."
So just as when a team wins, there are usually contributions from every part of the team -- offense, defense, special teams. Similarly, when the Lions lose, it's a team effort.
"When you're in a close game like we were (Sunday), there are a lot of plays that you can look at and say, 'That was the play of the game,'" Lions coach Jim Schwartz said. "It might have been the first quarter of the game. It might have been the last.
"But what we have to do as a team is we have to find a way to make one more play on offense and special teams, and we have to find a way to prevent one more play on defense. That's the bottom line with us."
The bottom line is the Green Bay Packers come to town next Sunday with something to play for as they trail the Bears by one game in the division.
Expect the Lions to hang in there and look pretty good for some of the game. Just don't expect them to beat the Packers.
Dec. 5, 2010
