CHICAGO — Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions locked in from the start and delivered a bounce-back performance. It came with a few team records, too.
Goff threw for 336 yards and three touchdowns, and the Detroit Lions remained on top of the NFC with their franchise-best 13th win, 34-17 over the Chicago Bears on Sunday.
Jameson Williams had a career-high 143 yards receiving on five catches, including an 82-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Jahmyr Gibbs ran for 109 yards and a score, and Detroit (13-2) broke a tie with the 1991 and 2023 teams for the most wins in franchise history. The Lions also set a single-season record for scoring with 493 points, and they improved to 7-0 away from home, a franchise record for road wins.
The Lions took control early against the Bears (4-11), and they even flexed their dominance by executing a trick play in which Goff intentionally stumbled while dropping back. With Detroit players yelling ''Fumble!'' and Gibbs pretending to dive for the ball, Goff threw to Sam LaPorta for a 21-yard touchdown that made it 34-14.
It was just what Detroit was looking for coming off a 48-42 loss to Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. That stopped a franchise-best win streak at 11 games and dropped the Lions into a tie atop the conference with Philadelphia and NFC North rival Minnesota.
''This is when your eyes get opened, when competition is at its highest, people are breathing down your neck or you're chasing somebody and you're at the top,'' coach Dan Campbell said. ''It just doesn't get any better than this. This is what it's all about. Can it get frustrating, can it get stressful? Yeah, it gets all those. But also it's the drug. It's the drug. This is what you live for. Look, some can't. Some can't handle this. It's too much for them. Players, coaches, teams, it's just too much. But not our group. This is the good stuff, man, and we're in the middle of it right now.''
The day took another good turn for Detroit when Washington beat Philadelphia 36-33 on Jayden Daniels' touchdown pass to Jamison Crowder in the closing seconds. Lions players watched the end of that game on their phones.
''We know the circumstances that we're in, and obviously Washington winning, that does do something for the playoffs, but we still have to win these games, and we know that,'' Goff said. ''It doesn't change what we had to do anyways. Yeah, we've got to win, and San Francisco is next.''