Lions look to pick themselves up against struggling Bears after getting 'popped in the mouth'

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Already banged up, the Detroit Lions were beaten, too, last week. This seems as good a time as any to visit Chicago.

The Lions will try to get back to winning when they play the struggling Bears after having their franchise-record 11-game streak stopped.

“We got popped in the mouth and we have to get up off the ground and we have to go back to work and reposition ourselves to be able to play the next game and learn from what just happened,” coach Dan Campbell said. “And the other is to not lose confidence in the fact that we still have really good players here on defense and that we have good coaches and that we can play any way that we need to play from that standpoint, but as well as offense and special teams and still win games.

"So, that’s what’s important and, really, you just have to stay focused on what’s in front of you.”

The Lions (12-2) have plenty in front of them despite taking a hard hit last week when Buffalo beat them 48-42. If they beat the Bears (4-10), they'll set the franchise record for victories.

Detroit is coming off its first loss since Week 2 against Tampa Bay. Combined with wins by Minnesota and Philadelphia, that dropped the Lions into a first-place tie in the NFC North and in the race for top seed in the conference.

Detroit didn't just lose a game against Buffalo. The Lions lost some more key players, adding running back David Montgomery, defensive tackle Alim McNeill, cornerback Carlton Davis and special teams ace Khalil Dorsey to a lengthy injury list.

For all the shots they've taken, the Lions are in an enviable spot. They haven't lost consecutive games since dropping five in a row early in the 2022 season — Campbell's second. They are also the NFL's only team with a perfect road record at 6-0.

The Bears have dropped eight straight after getting blown out at Minnesota on Monday and are 0-2 under interim coach Thomas Brown.

They fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and then let a head coach go in season for the first time in their history when they booted Matt Eberflus the day after an excruciating Thanksgiving loss at Detroit. Prized quarterback Caleb Williams is coming off several shaky performances.

“I think about all things to be grateful for in this scenario," rookie receiver Rome Odunze said. "There’s a plethora of those regardless of our record or the circumstances we’re in right now. There’s plenty to be grateful for in our situation, our circumstances. Just keying in on those things, but also having that disappointment, that desire that fuels the fire and allows you to go out there and work a little bit harder, dive in a little bit more to go out there and get the result that you truly want.”

The Lions were 1-6 with five straight losses after Miami beat them in Week 8 of the 2022 season. Since then, they are 32-9 in the regular season and 2-1 in the playoffs.

Williams looked physically and mentally beaten Monday, when he had 191 yards passing against Minnesota after throwing for 134 the previous week at San Francisco.

The Vikings sacked the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner out of Southern California twice, bringing his league-leading and franchise-record total to 58.

On a more positive note, Williams has gone eight straight games and an NFL rookie-record 286 passes without an interception — the longest streak by any Bears quarterback.

Detroit had perhaps the NFL's best tandem of running backs before Montgomery — a former Bears standout — suffered a knee injury against Buffalo.

That leaves Jahmyr Gibbs to shoulder a heavier load, though Campbell wants to be mindful of the number of carries the speedy, second-year pro gets against the Bears.

“We’ve got to use and maximize the reps that we have for him and be careful that we don’t give him too much,” Campbell said. “We’ve still got to be able to be smart with him, but we need him. We need him and that’s the trick.”

Gibbs had a rushing touchdown and a catch for a score along with a career-high 83 yards receiving against the Bills. He has already exceeded his totals from a Pro Bowl rookie season, with 1,047 yards rushing, 1,442 yards from scrimmage and 14 touchdowns.

When the Lions give Gibbs a break, their options are 28-year-old Craig Reynolds and rookie Sione Vaki.

The Bears continue to struggle early in games.

They've been outscored a combined 73-20 in the first quarter this season, including 27-0 over the past three games. Opponents have a 53-0 edge in the first half during that span.

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Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs (26) runs against Buffalo Bills cornerback Christian Benford during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Rey Del Rio)

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) throws a pass during the second half of an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell, bottom, reacts next to quarterback Jared Goff during the second half of an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Rey Del Rio)

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma man who killed a 10-year-old girl in a cannibalistic fantasy died by lethal injection Thursday in the nation’s 25th and final execution of the year.

Kevin Ray Underwood was pronounced dead at 10:14 a.m. at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. It was Oklahoma’s fourth execution of the year, and it took place on Underwood’s 45th birthday.

Oklahoma uses a three-drug lethal injection process that begins with the sedative midazolam followed by a second drug that paralyzes the inmate and a third that stops their heart.

Strapped to a gurney inside the death chamber, Underwood apologized to Jamie's family and to his own family “for all the terrible things I did.”

“The decision to execute me on my birthday and six days before Christmas was a needlessly cruel thing to do to my family,” Underwood said, “but I'm very sorry for what I did and I wish I could take it back.”

Underwood looked over to members of his legal team and his family, including his mother, as the execution began at 10:04 a.m.. His breathing hitched slightly and his eyes closed a few minutes later. A doctor entered the execution chamber at 10:09 a.m., shook him a few times and declared him unconscious. He was pronounced dead five minutes later.

Underwood, a former grocery store worker, was sentenced to die for killing Jamie Rose Bolin in 2006. Underwood admitted to luring Jamie into his apartment and beating her over the head with a cutting board before suffocating and sexually assaulting her. He told investigators that he nearly beheaded Jamie in his bathtub before abandoning his plans to eat her.

Jamie's sister, Lori Pate, who was among several relatives who witnessed the execution, thanked prosecutors for helping guide her family through the nearly 18-year process from Jamie's death to Underwood's execution.

“This doesn't bring our Jamie back but it does allow the space in our hearts to focus on her and allow the healing process to begin,” Pate said.

During a hearing last week, three members of the state's Pardon and Parole Board unanimously voted against recommending clemency.

Underwood’s attorneys had argued that he deserved to be spared the death penalty because of his long history of abuse and serious mental health issues that included autism, obsessive-compulsive disorder, bipolar and panic disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizotypal personality disorder and various deviant sexual paraphilias.

Prosecutors argued that many people suffer from mental illness, but that doesn’t justify harming children.

In a last-minute request seeking a stay of execution from the U.S. Supreme Court, Underwood’s attorneys argued that he deserved a hearing before all five members of the board and that the panel violated state law and Underwood’s rights by rescheduling the hearing at the last minute after two members of the board resigned. The court rejected that bid earlier Thursday morning.

FILE - Kevin Ray Underwood arrives in the courtroom for his formal sentencing in Purcell, Okla., on April 3, 2008. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, Pool, File)