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Lions look to end troubles on road

Oct 28, 2007 - 10:55 AM Detroit (4-2) at Chicago (3-4) Sunday 1:00 pm EDT

CHICAGO (Ticker) -- The Detroit Lions are 3-0 at home this season. But if they are going to be a legitimate playoff contender, they have to play better on the road.

The Lions try to shake off back-to-back road blowouts Sunday, when they visit the Chicago Bears in an NFC North battle.

With running back Kevin Jones making his first start since December 10, the Lions rushed for a season-high 147 yards in last week's 23-16 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Jones, who missed Detroit's first two games of the season, rushed for 76 yards in his first start since undergoing surgery in December for a foot injury.

On defense, Detroit has been opportunistic, forcing 16 takeaways, which is tied for the NFL lead.

But the Lions have been outscored 90-24 in their last two road games, getting drubbed by the Philadelphia Eagles (56-21) and the Washington Redskins (34-3).

Detroit needs to reverse another trend as it has lost its last to games in a Chicago by a combined score of 72-13.

"We've got to play extremely well at home," Lions coach Rod Marinelli said. "We've got great fans. I've got to figure out a way to go on the road and do a better job."

The Lions are 4-2 for only the second time since Matt Millen took over as the team's president in 2001, but they don't to get too excited. They also started 4-2 in 2004, and finished 6-10.

Chicago is coming off a dramatic victory, driving 97 yards in the final two minutes without a timeout to defeat the Philadelphia Eagles, 19-16, on Brian Griese's 15-yard touchdown pass to Muhsin Muhammad with nine seconds remaining.

The win may have saved the for the Bears, who were looking at falling to 2-5 in defense of their NFC title. Now, they hope to climb back to .500 at the midpoint of the season.

The Bears' defense showed marked improvement, allowing only one touchdown after giving up 12 in the previous four games. The week before, Minnesota rookie Adrian Peterson ran wild against the Bears, scoring on TD runs of 73, 67 and 35 yards.

The Bears are 2-2 since Griese replaced Rex Grossman at Detroit on September 30.

In the first meeting between the teams, the Lions scored an NFL-record 34 points in the fourth quarter en route to a 37-27 victory.