Undefeated Lions on a lofty perch at NFL

Detroit moved to 5-0 to start the season for the first time since 1956 by beating Chicago 24-13 behind a dominating defence and sharp passing from quarterback Matthew Stafford. Stafford's second touchdown pass put the Lions in front in the third and Jahvid Best's 88-yard run later in the quarter gave the Lions a double-digit lead in their first Monday night appearance in a decade. The reigning NFC North champion Bears (2-3) are off to their worst start in four years. They are three games behind the Lions and defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay in the standings. Stafford went 19-for-26 with 219 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Best gave the Lions a 21-10 lead with 5:20 left in the third by taking a handoff and racing 88 yards untouched into the end zone. In the fourth quarter, Best scorched the Bears defence with a 43-yard run that led to a 31 yard field goal with just under two minutes left in the game to seal the victory in front of a crowd of 67,861. Detroit knows they can't afford to gloat. Just three seasons ago, the Lions set a standard of futility with the first 0-16 season in the history of the league. "We have a lot of experienced players here and they're also our hardest working players," Lions head coach Jim Schwartz said. "We played a good game tonight, but we made a bunch of mistakes. We can play better than we did tonight." The Bears are having problems of their own this season. Chicago committed a a league-high six false start penalties in the first half. They had a few bright moments Monday, briefly taking a 10-7 late in the second quarter and pulling within eight points with just over four minutes remaining in the fourth. "I was just trying to move around a bit and find some guys open," said Chicago quarterback Jay Cutler. "But it was hard out there tonight cause those guys were getting four or five yard pushes on every snap."