Chicago Bears Score and Recap (Week 18): Lions 19, Bears 16 – Another Late Rally Comes Up Short In Loss

The Bears wrapped up the regular season with a chance to earn the number two seed in the NFC playoffs with a win. Their opponent, the Lions, came ready to fight and grabbed a big lead before the home team stormed back came up just short of a victory that proved to be unnecessary after the Eagles lost.

Detroit absolutely dominated possession in the first half with two very long drives that ended in field goals by Jake Bates. Chicago could do very little when they had the ball and Jared Goff hit Jahmyr Gibbs for a 15-yard touchdown that gave the road team a 13-0 advantage at the half.

After the Lions kicked a third field goal to go up 16-0, the Bears offense finally woke up in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Caleb Williams connected with rookie Jahdae Walker for a 25-yard touchdown and added a two point conversion run by Kyle Monangai to cut the deficit in half.

Chicago kept the momentum going the next time they had the ball with Williams throwing a second touchdown pass from one yard out to tight and Colston Loveland. Fellow TE Cole Kmet hauled in the two point attempt and the game was tied 16-16.

The Bears intercepted Goff on the ensuing drive but could not take advantage of it and were forced to punt. Detroit moved the ball into Chicago territory and Bates nailed the game-winning 42-yard field goal as time expired. (Box score)

Why the Bears Lost

They did almost nothing on offense in the first three quarters of the game Sunday afternoon and couldn’t quite recover.

Key Moment

The Bears went three and out after Kevin Byard intercepted Goff leaving the Lions 1:41 to drive down for the winning field goal.

Stats That Matter

• Williams turned it on late throwing for 210 yards and two touchdowns and passed Erik Kramer for the most passing yards by a Bears quarterback in a single season.
• Loveland had another monster game with 91 yards on 10 catches and a touchdown.
• Chicago had 65 total yards rushing against it has been an iffy Detroit run defense.

Bottom Line

The Bears really need to work on their problem with getting off to slow starts, they got away with it early in the year but it hasn’t worked out the last two games. Philadelphia’s loss to Washington means Chicago is the number two seed which is a good thing, although, it might not matter much if they don’t play better than they have the past two weeks. The playoffs are officially here, it’s time to see what this team is really made of when it’s all on the line.

Next Up

The Bears host the Packers in the NFC Wildcard game Saturday, January 10 at 7pm CT with a broadcast on Amazon Prime Video.