Lions...16 Bears...7

CHICAGO -- The Detroit Lions didn’t set any NFL records this time. They simply made the Chicago Bears look bad.

Jon Kitna passed for 268 yards, Kevin Jones ran for 105 yards and a touchdown, and the Lions again showed they’re serious contenders in the NFC with a 16-7 victory over the Bears.

Detroit is 5-2 for the first time since 2000 and making a strong bid for its first playoff appearance since 1999. The Lions have had six consecutive seasons with at least 10 losses and won just three games last year, Coach Rod Marinelli’s first. But things are different now.

Four weeks earlier, they scored an NFL-record 34 points in the fourth quarter to beat the Bears, 37-27, in Detroit.

Sunday, they didn’t need dramatics. They got two of Jason Hanson’s three field goals, along with a four-yard touchdown run by Jones, in the second quarter to take a 13-0 halftime lead and hung on from there. Kitna completed 24 of 35 passes without an interception. Roy Williams caught eight passes for 77 yards. The Bears fell to 3-5.

Quoteworthy: “This is uncharted territory for us.” -- Dominic Raiola, Lions center