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Closer Look Lions' prowess on third down was the difference
Posted: Friday November 26, 1999 11:11 AM
By Jon A. Dolezar, CNN/SI DETROIT, Mich. -- Third downs can make or break a season, and the Detroit Lions' season is looking pretty nice this Thanksgiving evening. Detroit converted 11-of-19 third-down situations against Chicago (an impressive 57.9 percent), including six-of-eight in the fourth quarter. Though they didn't score any points in the last 31:45 of the game, the Lions' success on third down enabled them to regain a half-game division lead over the Minnesota Vikings, and send the Bears reeling further into the basement of the competitive NFC Central. The Lions felt their season slipping away sometime in the third quarter, but they didn't panic in key situations. Detroit was able to hold off the Bears' impressive second-half rally thanks to three fourth-quarter drives that took time off the clock but put no points on the board. Detroit kept the ball for 12:31 in the fourth quarter, gaining six first downs in the final quarter to the Bears' two. Chicago managed to get first downs on only two-of-12 third-down plays in the game. "We can't fall down 21-0, because it's tough to come back from that, but we did have a chance to win it," Bears quarterback Jim Miller said. "We had a couple of possessions and we just didn't do anything with the football. You tip your hat to them, but I think it's more what we didn't do than what they did." Miller was referring to Chicago's offensive struggles after pulling to within four points of the Lions on the first play of the fourth quarter. The Bears were looking good after Marty Booker's 23-yard touchdown catch made the score 21-17, but the Lions picked up their play from that point on, and the Bears were forced to punt on both of their remaining possessions. The Lions converted two key third-down passes on the final drive that allowed them to salt the game away without the Bears ever getting a final chance. Greg Hill made a spectacular one-handed catch on third-and-5 from the Bears' 49 that went for 15 yards with two-and-a-half minutes to play in the game. "That's something that our offensive coordinator [Sylvester Croom] has been on us a lot about," Hill said. "I think today that was a big key. The third-down conversions were the reason probably that we won the game, and that we took it out of Chicago's hands and kept it away from those guys." Hill's impressive catch was followed up just three plays later with another nice effort from Johnnie Morton. Moore sprung free for a 13-yard gain on the first play after the two-minute warning for a first down. If the Lions had not converted on that play, the Bears would have gotten the ball back with a chance to win the game. "In the second half I thought we came out with a lot of energy and we controlled the game for a while," Bears head coach Dick Jauron said. "It was disappointing not to get the ball back at the end, but we did have it a couple of times when the score was 21-17 and we didn't do anything with it." Morton suffered a blow to the head in the third quarter and finished the game a bit woozy, and following the game he had some trouble recalling the crucial plays that helped Detroit continue to move the chains. "I was little dinged up, so I only remember a couple of them," Morton said. "Now that you tell me that, I'm pretty impressed. I think it shows a lot of focus." Defensive tackle James Jones realized that his team's proficiency on third down kept the Bears offense off the field, and allowed Detroit's defense to stay fresh and ready to attack the quarterback when it got back on the field. "I don't really count how many times they convert, I'm just glad that they are keeping the ball and keeping the chains going," Jones said. "Our offense did a good job, and I thought that we could run the ball on them."
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