Finishing off the regular season with the division rival Detroit Lions is a testament to how much an NFL season changes from the beginning to end.
It’s a demonstration of how teams evolve, get better, or alternatively, get worse, get injured or suffer from bad luck.
Think back to when these two teams met in week two, in September. The Bears were 0-1 and blew a late lead in a primetime game. The Lions were 0-1 and still considered the favorites for the NFC North division.
And after the Lions blew the doors
off the Bears in a 52-21 clowning at Ford Field, it appeared not much had changed since 2024. Ben Johnson had a long season ahead, rebuilding the culture inside of the Bears organization and building the offense into a unit that could compete with the best in the league. Dan Campbell and Detroit had their eyes on a deeper postseason run.
Yet here in the first two days of January and it’s Chicago donning the division champion gear and Detroit missing the playoffs entirely. With a lot of questions to answer this offseason.
Much has changed and yet, it feels like the season has flashed by yet again. Weren’t we just coming out of Labor Day weekend, looking forward to football being back?
What kind of Lions team will the Bears face on Sunday? One set on spoiling Chicago’s seeding or one with eyes on locker room clearouts and exotic warm-weather vacations on the horizon?
And most importantly, what will it take to win?
Sam: Revenge spot. The Vikings absolutely dominated the Lions at the line of scrimmage, something the Bears aren’t equipped to do. Wrap up the RBs and blitz Goff to get him uncomfortable. The Lions’ defense is decimated and the Bears can find passing lanes and running room. Cap off the season for the home fans and get out healthy.
Jack R Salo: The Lions’ lone division win was one Bears fans should all be familiar with. Beyond that atrocity of a game, though, Detroit has really struggled in their losses to division opponents. They’ve won time-of-possession in 3 out of 4 of those losses, but lost by an average of two scores. So for the Bears, do what you did against San Francisco and take the top off things. The Lions should make a mistake or two late, and if the Bears take the ball away, they’ll come away with the two seed.
Lester: I know fans want the 4,000 yards for Caleb, and I’m sure it’s a goal he has for himself, but the last three weeks the Lions have allowed 159, 230, and 158 yards of the ground (182 avg), so the Bears need to play bully ball and run it down Detroit’s throat. It’s cold, the Lions have nothing to play for, so punish them until they tap out. And besides, next year Caleb will hit 4,500 and 30 TDs, so we can wait a year for those franchise records.
Donald: The meta-key to this game is to have no injuries to key players. In that vein, I’m hoping BJ gives strong consideration to sitting key starters – at least in the second half. The Lions defense is again decimated by injuries so a ground and pound, playaction approach is likely to work – even if that wasn’t already BJ’s forte. I think it’s important for the Bears to get out early to force the Lions to be one-dimensional. If you can speed up Goff he has proven he will give the ball away, and a cold day outdoors in Chicago is a bad environment for him to begin with. Turning Goff over is the key to getting the Lions off schedule. On Defense, keeping Gibbs bottled up will go a long way to limiting this explosive Lions offense.
What do you think it will take for Chicago to win on Sunday?
