Bears rush for 3 touchdowns in 1st half, but can't replicate it after halftime

CHICAGO – Against a porous Detroit Lions defense, the Bears put together one of their best rushing performances of the season. For the second straight week, the Bears were over 100 yards.

Yet, it all went to waste in a 34-30 loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday at Soldier Field.

The Bears scored three rushing touchdowns in the first half – two from David Montgomery and one from Cordarrelle Patterson. The team had only two rushing touchdowns all season prior to Sunday. Montgomery picked up right where he left off last week in Green Bay, finding ways to slip through would-be tacklers.

The Bears rushed for 140 yards as a team, their second-highest total of the season, nearly matching their season-high 149 yards against the Lions in Week 1. Montgomery ran for 72 yards on 14 carries, including his two first-half scores. He also caught four passes for 39 yards.

“Yeah, that hurts,” Montgomery said after the loss. “That one really hurts because everything was going the way we wanted it to go earlier.”

For the first time in weeks, the Bears had some consistency on the offensive line. With Charles Leno, Cody Whitehair, Sam Mustipher, Alex Bars and Germain Ifedi all starting for the second week in a row, the Bears found ways to create holes front.

It helped, too, that Lions defensive tackle Da’Shawn Hand missed the game with a groin injury.

Montgomery made the highlight reel with a 13-yard touchdown in the first quarter, complete with a leaping effort for the pylon. He scored again in the second quarter. Patterson added his touchdown in the second quarter, his first rushing touchdown as a member of the Bears.

Unfortunately for the Bears, 106 of their 140 rushing yards came in the first half. They could not replicate that success after halftime

“It was just kind of how the game is going,” Montgomery said. “You’ve just got to try to take what they give you.”