Lions grades: Vintage Johnson was at captivating best
Quarterback:
Performances like Sunday's have become the norm for Matthew Stafford in the second half of this season. He was excellent again Sunday, finishing 28 of 39 for 298 yards with three touchdowns and a 119.4 passer rating. Outside of a couple off-target passes, Stafford hardly made a mistake in leading the Lions to a win. He also improved his touchdown-to-interception ratio in the second half to 19 to 2.
Grade: A
Running backs: The Lions struggled to run the ball overall with 67 yards on 21 carries, but Ameer Abdullah was solid with 44 yards on 10 carries. The backs also contributed in the pass game as Joique Bell gained 49 yards on two catches, including a 36-yarder. Theo Riddick added four catches for 29 yards, and fullback Michael Burton caught an 8-yard pass.
Grade: C+
Wide receivers: Calvin Johnson had a throwback performance, one that reminded people why he's been a top offensive weapon for several years. He finished with 10 catches for 137 yards and had three catches of 20-plus yards, including a diving 36-yard touchdown. Golden Tate had four catches for 34 yards, but there weren't many opportunities for other players with Johnson dominating.
Grade: A
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Tight ends: This was one of the best games for the Lions tight ends as Eric Ebron and Tim Wright each caught a touchdown. Ebron had five catches for 25 yards, including a nice one-handed grab, but his blocking wasn't great.
Grade: B
Offensive line: Losing right tackle Michael Ola on the opening drive was a setback as his replacement, Cornelius Lucas, allowed at least one of the four sacks. The line gave Matthew Stafford enough time to pass for much of the game, but the lackluster rushing numbers and nine quarterback hits allowed was one of the worse blocking performances of late.
Grade: C
Defensive line: Ziggy Ansah's strong performance isn't totally reflected on the stat sheet as he hit quarterback Jay Cutler on two plays that resulted in interceptions. He also had a sack and tackle for loss, and fellow defensive end Devin Taylor added a sack, too. Tackle Haloti Ngata was disruptive for much of the game, too, and fellow tackle C.J. Wilson added a sack. However, the Lions did give up 4.3 yards per carry.
Grade: B+
Linebackers: Stephen Tulloch might have nightmares about his indecision that helped Matt Forte score on a 23-yard touchdown. Outside of that, though, the linebackers consistently made plays. Tulloch had eight tackles, Tahir Whitehead had six tackles, two for loss and an interception.
Grade: B+
Secondary: Interceptions by safeties Glover Quin and James Ihedigbo help boost the grade on a mostly unimpressive day. Cornerback Nevin Lawson was solid, but rookie Quandre Diggs struggled mightily for much of the game. Darius Slay gave up a couple more passes than usual, too. Considering the Bears had all backups at receiver, it was an ugly performance at times.
Grade: C-
Special teams: Matt Prater kicked a 59-yard field goal at the end of the first half, the longest in team history. Punter Sam Martin was solid with a 44.7-yard net and a long of 58 yards. However, the Lions allowed a 47-yard kickoff return and struggled with returns of their own. On kickoffs, Ameer Abdullah averaged just 16 yards, and Golden Tate let one punt drop that eventually rolled to the 2.
Grade: B
Coaching: Offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter had another successful and creative game plan to help the offense consistently move the ball. Defensively, there were some issues for Teryl Austin's unit against a decimated Bears offense. Overall, though, coach Jim Caldwell kept his team going despite having a much harder game in the second half.
Grade: B+
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