DETROIT - Detroit Lions fans counted down the final seconds - as if it were New Year's Eve - when the franchise finished its first Monday night game in a decade. The Motor City is hoping this party doesn't stop anytime soon.
Matthew Stafford's second touchdown pass put Detroit ahead in the third quarter and Jahvid Best's 88-yard run later in the period gave the Lions a double-digit lead in a 24-13 win over the Chicago Bears.
"It was electric," Stafford said. "Our fans came out and did an unbelievable job."
The Lions did a pretty good job, too. Detroit(5-0) is undefeated through five games for the first time since 1956 - the year before its last NFL title.
Lions coach Jim Schwartz, though, refused to be celebrate, pointing to the team's next game on Sunday at home against the San Francisco 49ers.
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"We'll start on San Fran in about an hour and a half," Schwartz said shortly after midnight.
The defending NFC North champion Bears (2-3) are off to their worst start since 2007. They are three games behind Detroit and defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay (5-0) in the division.
The Lions had their largest crowd at Ford Field, and the 67,861 fans created enough noise to rattle the Bears into nine false starts.
"It was unbelievable," Stafford said. "Especially early on, some of those third downs, you couldn't hear yourself think."
The Bears looked unnerved at times by the raucous crowd. Chicago committed six false-start penalties in the first half - an NFL season-high for a game, according to STATS, LLC.
Chicago quieted the fans briefly by taking a 10-7 lead just before halftime and seemed to make them a little nervous by pulling within eight points with 4:07 left to play. Best, though, made them roar again with a 43-yard run that was capped by a horse-collar penalty that gave Detroit the ball at the Chicago 22. He ran for another first down that took time off the clock and set up Jason Hanson's 31-yard kick with 1:56 to go to seal the victory.
The Lions got some large gains on offense and a lot of solid and subtle ones on defense, holding Chicago to just three points in the second half.
"Can't give up the big plays," Chicago coach Lovie Smith said. "Their defense made us earn everything. We didn't do the same."
Stafford lofted a pass to Calvin Johnson for a 73-yard scoring play - extending his NFL-record start with nine TD catches in five games - early in the second quarter.
Best's 88-yard run was the second-longest in franchise history, trailing only Bob Hoernschemeyer's 96-yard run against the New York Yankees on Nov. 23, 1950. It was 3 yards longer than Barry Sanders' longest gain on the ground.
Smith was dumbfounded that Best wasn't touched on the run through a hole up the middle and past the secondary.
"Hard to swallow," Smith said. "Jahvid Best is a good player, but we can't let that happen."
Stafford was 19 of 26 for 219 yards with two TDs, including the go-ahead score to Brandon Pettigrew from 18 yards with 9:55 to go in the third quarter. Best more than doubled his previous career-high with 163 yards rushing on 12 carries. Johnson finished with five catches for 130 yards.
Matt Forte ran for 116 yards on 22 carries for the Bears. Jay Cutler was 28 of 38 for 249 yards with a TD and no interceptions.
