After sitting out two games with a groin injury, receiver Allen Robinson II wasted little time making an impact in his return to action Sunday against the Lions.
The 6-3, 211-pounder caught three passes for 98 yards and one touchdown in the first quarter to stake the Bears to an early lead en route to a 34-22 win at Soldier Field. Robinson finished the game with six receptions for 133 yards and two TDs.
"He's explosive for how big he is," said coach Matt Nagy. "It's hard for teams to press him. And then when you play off, he's a big body. You can throw slants, you can do different things, and he's a good route runner."
Even after missing two games, Robinson and quarterback Mitchell Trubisky picked up right where they had left off before the receiver was sidelined.
"We're only in Week (10) right now with those two connecting, so it's early, but the trust level, that meter is really starting to go up high," Nagy said.
It was the ninth 100-yard performance of Robinson's career and his first with the Bears. The 133 yards were his fifth most in a game in his five-year NFL career behind outings of 155, 153, 151 and 147 yards in 2015-16 when he played for the Jaguars.
On the game's opening possession, Robinson's 35-yard reception to the Lions' 3 set up Tarik Cohen's 3-yard touchdown run on the next play. On the Bears' second drive, Robinson caught a 27-yard pass before hauling in a perfectly thrown 36-yard TD toss from Trubisky down the right sideline.
Stepping up: Rookie receiver Anthony Miller also had a big day, catching five passes for 122 yards, including a 46-yard TD that gave the Bears a 19-0 lead early in the second quarter. It was the first 100-yard performance of the second-round pick's career.
"He's got really strong hands, he played fast, he got open, great route running," Nagy said. "He's tough, and his confidence is starting to get really high."
Game of inches: You almost had to see it to believe it, but Cody Parkey hit the upright four times Sunday in missing two field goal attempts and two extra point tries.
He missed two of his first three PAT attempts, hitting the left upright in the south end zone and the right upright in the north end zone. Parkey then opened the second half by hitting the right upright in the south end zone on field-goal attempts of 41 and 34 yards.
"We all can go out there and kick a field goal 100 times and never hit that goal post one time, and he did it four times," Nagy said. "We expect him to make those. He expects himself to make them. Those are big kicks, whether it's an extra point or field goal."
Nagy said that there's "zero chance" the Bears would look to replace Parkey this week.
"We have trust in him and I know he's going to come back strong and make them," said the Bears coach.
Mack attack: After missing the last two games with an ankle injury, Khalil Mack registered two sacks, increasing his season total to a team-leading seven.
The Bears tied a season-high they had set in a Week 2 win over the Seahawks with six sacks Sunday. Others who recorded sacks were Roquan Smith, Bryce Callahan, Bilal Nichols and Leonard Floyd. For Floyd, it was his first of the season.
Ground up: Running backs Jordan Howard (11 carries for 21 yards) and Cohen (7-15) were limited to a combined 36 yards on 18 attempts, a 2.0-yard average. The Lions entered Week 10 ranked 30th in the NFL against the run, though they have improved since acquiring nose tackle Damon "Snacks" Harrison Oct. 25 in a trade with the Giants.
Asked how he felt about the Bears running game Sunday, Nagy said: "Not good. Nope. Not good enough. Right now, we need to figure something out there. It has nothing to do with any running back on our team, it has nothing to do with our offensive line. It's everybody. It's coaches too. We need to get better there."
Takeaway time: Prince Amukamara had a hand in two of the Bears' three takeaways Sunday, forcing a fumble by running back Kerryon Johnson that Adrian Amos Jr. recovered and later intercepting a Matthew Stafford pass.
Callahan forced the first Lions turnover, intercepting a Stafford pass and returning it 12 yards to the Detroit 18. The pick set up Trubisky's 4-yard touchdown run that gave the Bears a 26-0 lead midway through the second quarter.
The Bears have now generated multiple takeaways in eight of nine games this season and have produced at least three in six of their last seven contests.
