It was a thumping. The Detroit Lions got smacked around by their division rival the Chicago Bears on Sunday, losing 28-13 in a game that the Lions should not have lost. There were mistakes on both sides of the football and the Lions now find themselves struggling to stay ahead in the competitive NFC North, despite their 9-4 overall record. But a loss to a 4-8 Bears team is not acceptable. The Lions now have themselves to blame for the loss, and three players in particular made it all the more difficult for the Lions to win on Sunday.

JARED, JARED, JARED!

The quarterback position always gets the most credit in a win, and the most blame in a loss. In the Lions' loss to Chicago on Sunday, a lot of the normal criticism is warranted. Jared Goff really had a bad game for Detroit. The Lions gunslinger threw two interceptions at inopportune times, and botched a snap with his center that led to a Lions fumble, which the Bears recovered. Those mistakes all played a role in causing Detroit to lose the game.

Goff looked like he was just trying too hard, and not letting the game come to him. He finished the game with 20 completions on 35 attempts, along with 161 yards and a touchdown with the two interceptions. That's not a good stat line. Jared Goff has now thrown five interceptions in the last four games, and all of them were in two games against Chicago. Half of Goff's interceptions this season have come against Chicago. Jared Goff is probably going to see Bears' defensive backs in his nightmares for the rest of the season.

PAGING MR. JERRY JACOBS

Lions cornerback Jerry Jacobs really struggled in this game. He's had a rough few weeks in the Lions secondary and that continued on Sunday. Jacobs got beat on some throws by Bears quarterback Justin Fields to DJ Moore, including one critical 38-yard touchdown that Moore nabbed because he just simply beat Jerry Jacobs down the field and made the catch.

Jacobs appeared to let some of his frustrations get to him. He was also called for a pass interference penalty in the game that set up another Chicago score. In the last few weeks, Jacobs is allowing too many passes against him to be completed. He's allowed 12 of the 15 passes against him to be completed in that time, per MLive. Jacobs has simply got to pin down receivers with his defense and help his team a lot better like he did earlier in the season.

GRAHAM GLASGOW AND THE DETROIT O LINE

Graham Glasgow had to fill in at center for the Lions, so it's hard to really give him a tough scolding for the loss. He's normally a guard, so that makes sense as to why he struggled at center. Glasgow botched a snap with Goff that led to a fumble that was recovered by the Bears. Unfortunately, that fumble turned out to be absolutely critical. The Bears got the ball at the Lions' 29 yard line off of that fumble. Justin Fields managed to make the Lions pay for that, scoring a touchdown on the very next drive. The mistake was just too big by Glasgow to let it pass.

Glasgow also holds some responsibility, along with the entire offensive line, for the team not being able to run the football very well. In critical situations, the Lions running backs got stuffed. The team couldn't score in the entire second half of the game and the Lions were forced to turn the ball over on downs because they failed in short yardage running situations. Graham Glasgow has to take some of the blame for that.

The season is far from over, and the 9-4 Lions still have time to fix it. But it's clear that right now this team is struggling to play as a cohesive unit. The team next plays the Denver Broncos on Saturday Dec. 16.