LOS ANGELES — Matthew Stafford threw two touchdown passes Saturday as the Detroit Lions kept their National Football League (NFL) playoff hopes alive with a 20-10 home victory over the Chicago Bears.
Stafford completed 25 of 33 passes for 237 yards. Tight end Eric Ebron caught five passes for 33 yards and a score for the Lions, who improved to 8-6.
Darius Slay highlighted a strong defensive performance for the Lions, intercepting two passes as Bears rookie quarterback Mitchell Trubisky was picked off three times.
Trubisky completed 31 passes for a career high 314 yards and a touchdown. But Chicago running back Jordan Howard, who came into the contest with 1,032 rushing yards, was limited to 37 yards on 10 carries.
Slay intercepted a Trubisky pass in the opening minute of the second half and the Lions cashed in on Stafford’s eight-yard TD pass to Ebron for a 20-3 lead.
Early in the fourth quarter Chicago were within Detroit’s 10 yard line, but Trubisky was intercepted again, this time by safety Quandre Diggs, in the end zone.
Trubisky connected on a nine-yard scoring pass to Benny Cunningham with 2:32 remaining, but it was window dressing.
The Lions had led 13-3 at halftime with early field goals by Matt Prater and a touchdown pass from Stafford to TJ Jones.
The Bears would have been shut out in the half if not for Detroit running back Theo Riddick’s fumble at his 27 yard line in the closing seconds. That was followed by Mike Nugent’s 41-yard field goal for Chicago with two seconds remaining in the first half.
The Lions improved to 8-6 to remain in the hunt for a National Football Conference playoff spot, although they’ll need some help from other teams the NFC wild card race to get there. — AFP
