The Chicago Bears have lost safety Kevin Payne for the season and they have cut fullback Obafemi Ayanbadejo. Payne fractured his arm in the game against the Lions further depleting the depth of the Bears secondary. Payne had 2 tackles this season. Ayanbadejo had just become eligible to be activated after serving a four game suspension for violating the NFL’s Drug Abuse Policy. But the Bears decided to cut him instead.

The Bears held the Lions to three points over the first three quarters before the roof fell in. They allowed 34 points in the 4th quarter to lose the game! Brian Griese completed 34 for 52 passes for 286 yards with 2 TD passes and 3 interceptions. Running back Cedric Benson had another bad game as he carried the ball 15 times for 50 yards (3.3 ypc) and he also caught 5 passes for 24 yards (4.8 avg). WRs Bernard Berrian (8 rec, 99 yards), Mushin Muhammad (5 rec, 49 yards, TD) and Rashied Davis (5 rec, 38 yards) all had decent games. TE Desmond Clark also was busy with 7 catches for 44 yards (6.3 avg) with 1 TD grab. The Bears finished up with 69 yards rushing on 22 carries (3.1 ypc) and they completed 34 of 52 passes for 234 yards.

Brian Urlacher (11 tackles) and safety Brandon McGowan (10 tackles) led the way on the Bears defense. The Bears did a good job against the running game as the Bears rushed for 95 yards on 25 carries (3.8 ypc) but the Lions completed 20 of 24 passes for 215 yards.

Devin Hester had an outstanding game returning kicks. He returned 7 kickoffs for 219 yards (31.3 avg) including a 97-yarder for a TD. He also returned 5 punts for 95 yards (19.0 avg). The only down point for the Bears special teams was when Casey FitzSimmons of the Lions returned an on side kick 41 yards for a TD to seal the win for the Lions.