The Detroit Lions' offense was too strong for the Bears in their 34-17 win

CHICAGO – This is the best team in modern Detroit Lions history, and now they have the record to prove it.

Jared Goff threw for 336 yards and three touchdowns and Jahmyr Gibbs added 109 rushing yards as the Lions recovered from their second loss of the season to beat the Chicago Bears 34-17 on Sunday at Soldier Field in Week 16.

With the win, the Lions improved to 13-2 and set a season record for wins. They went 12-5 last year and 12-4 in 1991.

The Lions remain in control of the NFC’s No. 1 seed with two games remaining in the regular season. Both the Philadelphia Eagles and the Minnesota Vikings entered Sunday’s game with twelve wins. The Eagles trailed the Washington Commanders in the fourth quarter while the Vikings play the Seattle Seahawks late in the afternoon.

Along with the franchise record in wins, the Lions became only the sixth team in NFL history to win at least 13 games after suffering 13 or more losses in three or fewer seasons. Four of the five previous teams to accomplish this feat — the 1984 San Francisco 49ers, the 2019 49ers, the 1992 Dallas Cowboys and the 1998 Atlanta Falcons — reached the Super Bowl.

Only the 1999 Indianapolis Colts, Peyton Manning’s second season, failed to win their conference.

Here are three observations from Sunday:

RECAP:Detroit Lions vs. Chicago Bears result: summary, highlights from the 34:17 win against NFC North opponents

Sonic boom

The Lions will be missing David Montgomery if he’s unable to return to the playoffs from his knee injury, but Gibbs is more than equipped to play lead back the rest of the season – and the Lions are at their best when he’s playing in the backcourt.

Gibbs touched the ball on 20 of the Lions’ first 33 offensive snaps on Sunday and finished the game with 23 carries for 109 yards and four catches for 45 yards. He scored the Lions’ first touchdown on a 1-yard run and had success getting plays to the rim because of his superior speed.

Lions running backs coach Scottie Montgomery said during the week that he was more concerned about loading Gibbs with a high number of reps than a high number of touches, but the Lions didn’t seem too worried about that on Sunday close.

Gibbs had four games with more than 20 touches and one game with more than 20 carries early this season. Last year, as a rookie, he set a career high with 26 carries (and 31 touches) in a game the Lions played without Montgomery against the Las Vegas Raiders.

If Montgomery doesn’t return to the playoffs, Gibbs could – and should – play a similar role to the one he played on Sunday. This is the Lions’ best chance for a strong postseason run.

Danger of tripping

Ben Johnson pulled off another feat of a trick play on Sunday, tricking Jared Goff into faking tripping after a snap from Frank Ragnow – and Gibbs stopped, dropped and rolled to the ground as if chasing a fumble – before scoring a touchdown pass launched an open Sam LaPorta.

THIS IS WHAT YOU MUST SEE:Detroit Lions Special with fake Jared Goff trip, latest Ben Johnson masterclass

Goff’s stumble was realistic enough that I thought his foot was being stepped on again, like he did on the Lions’ four-and-1 conversion against the Green Bay Packers two weeks ago. He even extended his open hand to feign a surrender as he stumbled to the ground.

It’s hard to say how much this fake had to do with LaPorta being so open behind the Bears’ defense, but the Lions are so detailed on offense that it couldn’t hurt.

But I can’t lie: My first thought after checking to see if the stumble was real was that the next time Johnson calls a play like that at Soldier Field, it will be as the Bears’ head coach next fall.

Johnson is clearly the top head coaching candidate among current NFL coordinators (with Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn not too far behind), and the Bears have the best job open right now – and the job could get even more attractive, when they fired general manager Ryan Poles after the season.

In the Lions-Bears first game, Johnson ran a hook-and-ladder pass against Penei Sewell. And when he’s the Bears’ head coach next season, you’ll definitely see him making some of those trick plays against Detroit.

Spoil sports

Can we get into the playoffs yet? Or at least the Lions’ Week 18 game against the Minnesota Vikings, if that means anything?

It was nice to see the Lions get back to winning ways on Sunday. They needed it after the Buffalo Bills got their ass kicked last week. But there’s not much that can be inferred from the win, nor whether the Lions are ready for the type of teams they’ll face in the playoffs.

The Bears sleepwalked through the first quarter. They lost two fumbles, incurred a penalty and were down 20-0 before a somewhat competitive game. For all their talent on offense, they don’t have the type of passing game or quarterback that the Lions’ defense needs to stop in the postseason, and their defense wasn’t able to force a punt until 5:45 into the fourth quarter.

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The Detroit Lions’ offense was too strong for the Bears in their 34-17 win

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