Jared Goff couldn’t get out of his own way for three quarters Sunday.

But with the Detroit Lions on the verge of losing control of the NFC North, Goff delivered when his team needed him most.

Goff led two scoring drives in the final five minutes and David Montgomery scored the winning touchdown on a 1-yard run with 29 seconds to play against his old team, as the Lions rallied from a 12-point fourth quarter deficit to knock off the Chicago Bears, 31-26, at Ford Field.

The Lions improved to 8-2 with the win, the first time they’ve reached the mark since 1962 and the fifth time in franchise history. They lead the NFC North by two games over the Minnesota Vikings, who play at the Denver Broncos on Sunday night.

Goff threw three interceptions Sunday for the first time since Sept. 29, 2019, when he was with the Los Angeles Rams, and the Lions lost four turnovers as a team.

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Goff threw picks on the Lions’ first two offensive possessions and had a third on a tipped pass early in the fourth quarter. He nearly had two more passes intercepted, Craig Reynolds fumbled a kickoff the Bears turned into a field goal, and Brian Branch was called for two drive-extending penalties on third downs away from the play.

Trailing 26-14 with 4:15 to play, Goff led a six-play, 75-yard touchdown drive he capped with a 32-yard touchdown pass to Jameson Williams to cut the Lions’ deficit to five points.

The Bears went three-and-out on their next series, with the Lions stuffing two runs up the middle and Justin Fields just missing a downfield shot to receiver Tyler Scott, who beat Cam Sutton deep on the play but appeared to pull up slightly before the ball sailed past his fingertips.

After a Bears punt, the Lions started their winning drive at their own 27-yard line with 2:33 on the clock. Montgomery, who played his first four seasons for the Bears after being a third-round pick, touched the ball five times on the 11-play, 73-yard drive. He had catches of 13 and 9 yards and runs of 12 and 10 yards, before scoring on a 1-yard plunge.

The Lions made the ensuing two-point conversion with Goff hitting Sam LaPorta, then Aidan Hutchinson sacked Fields and forced a fumble on the first play of the Bears’ final drive. As the ball bounded loose on the turf, a Bears lineman kicked it out of the back of the end zone for a safety.

Goff finished 23-for-35 passing for 236 yards with two touchdowns. He was 4 of 9 passing for 34 yards late in the first half, before leading the Lions’ on a two-minute touchdown drive just before halftime.

Montgomery finished with 12 carries for 76 yards and Amon-Ra St. Brown had eight catches for 77 yards and a touchdown for the Lions.

Fields ran for 104 yards on 18 carries and completed 16 of 23 passes for 169 yards for the Bears (3-8) in his return from a dislocated thumb.

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The Lions face a quick turnaround with their annual Thanksgiving Day game Thursday against the Green Bay Packers. Green Bay (4-6) clipped the Los Angeles Chargers, 23-20, on Sunday at Lambeau Field.

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him @davebirkett.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions epic rally past Bears gives them best start since 1962