6 winners and 2 losers for Lions from rebound win over the Bears in Week 16

The Detroit Lions got back in the win column on Sunday with a 34-17 win over the Chicago Bears. It was the kind of win a good team gets, taking care of business against a team that is clearly inferior. It was far different than the game between the two teams on Thanksgiving.

The Lions have won 13 games in a season for the first time in franchise history, and here are our winners and losers from the Week 16 win over the Bears.

6 winners and 2 losers for the Lions in Week 16 win over the Bears

Winner: Jahmyr Gibbs

The winners column has to start with Gibbs. David Montgomery's absence put him into the lead back role on Sunday (and for the next few weeks, at minimum), and he delivered with 154 total yards (109 rushing) on 27 touches (23 carries) with a rushing touchdown.

There was an effort to set the workhorse tone early, as Gibbs touched the ball on 20 of the Lions' first 33 offensive plays. If not for a comfortable lead late, he would have surely surpassed his career-highs in carries and touches (26 and 31 respectively, from Week 8 last season against the Las Vegas Raiders). That late lead allowed the Lions to give Gibbs a break as he heads into a longer stretch as the No. 1 back.

Winner: Jameson Williams

Williams let Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson bait him into a taunting penalty again (the officials somehow missed the late hit out of bounds), and Dan Campbell gave him an animated (and probably stern) talking to.

But after that is was wheels up for "Jamo", with an 82-yard touchdown on his way to a career-high 143 yards on five receptions.

Loser: Pass Defense

According to Pro Football Focus, Terrion Arnold, Amik Robertson and Brian Branch combined to allow 14 catches for 217 yards (15.5 yards per catch) in their coverage on Sunday (23 targets). Keenan Allen particularly had his way (nine catches for 141 yards and a touchdown), but DJ Moore and Rome Odunze also had 30 and 25-yard receptions themselves respectively.

The Lions' pass rush only sacking Caleb Williams once made it harder for the coverage to hold up. Marking the pass defense as a loser here is a little nitpicky, but it needed to be better.

Winner: Jared Goff

Goff's home/road and indoor/outdoor production splits as the Lions' quarterback are well-known, however they may be fading over time, but they absolutely did not apply on Sunday. He went 23-for-32 for 336 yards and three touchdowns with a 137.0 passer rating as he made on the mark throws to every level.

The MVP buzz around Goff has faded recently, but he re-inserted himself in the conversation on Sunday.

Winner: Christian Mahogany

With Graham Glasgow (knee) out, Mahogany made his first NFL start on Sunday. He allowed two pressures on Goff, but otherwise he was very good in pass protection and he was able to get push in the run game.

Mahogany's rookie season was derailed by a case of mono during training camp that delayed him even being on the 53-man roster. But he has been in uniform in recent weeks as the primary backup guard for the Lions, and he acquitted himself well in his first start. The hope he can be a future starter at one of the guard spots is firmly back in play.

Loser: Pass rush

A mobile quarterback like Williams is never easy to corral, and it was not an issue of getting pressure on him (21 pressures and 16 hurries, according to PFF). But the Lions only sacked the Bears rookie signal caller twice (one by a defensive lineman) and they hardly hit him. Za'Darius Smith has faded a bit over the last couple games, and while he did have five pressures on Sunday he also had a bad 15-yard penalty.

The Bears allowed 58 sacks this season entering Sunday, and they lost both starters on the left side of their offensive line in the game. It should have been easier to finish at the quarterback, but it simply wasn't.

Winner: Ifeatu Melifonwu

Melifonwu made his season debut on Sunday, and he was back being a weapon as a blitzer just like he was late last season. He played 50 of 63 defensive snaps in the game, with four total tackles, one sack and three quarterback pressures.

The Lions did not seem to limit Melfonwu at all on Sunday, in terms of snap count. If anything, he played more than what would have been reasonably expected. An injury-thinned defense will welcome his presence.

Winner: Ben Johnson

If Johnson was auditioning to be the Bears' next head coach on Sunday, he put a good tape out there. The Lions offensive coordinator cooked up another trick play, where Goff and Gibbs pretended to fall down, named the "Stumble Bum", and it resulted in Goff's touchdown pass to Sam LaPorta.

Apparently Johnson wanted Goff to outright fumble the ball on purpose and pick it back up to make the throw. Goff naturally had his doubts about that, instead suggesting the fake falls to sell it.

Johnson is clearly deep in his bag of trick plays if he even hints to his quarterback about intentionally fumbling the ball. Sunday on the whole goes on his head coaching resume, in front of a team that should want him very badly.