It's the third straight game where Chicago's defense allowed 30-plus points and the offense has dealt with a 20-point deficit. But it was a strong showing from rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, who got to show off for his potential next head coach -- Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.
There was plenty to break down following Chicago's loss against Detroit, including another disappointing outing from the defense, Williams' success despite this organization's dysfunction and the leading head coaching candidate, Ben Johnson. Our Bears Wire staff is sharing their thoughts following the Week 15 loss:
I've had my eye to the future for quite some time at this point, so I'm going to focus on that right now, because I'm surprised, in the slightest, by yesterday's result. This team, now sitting with nine straight losses, gave up a long time ago, and even after getting what they wanted with Matt Eberflus being fired, there's not much fight left.
The most important thing that came out of that game was more proof that Caleb Williams is the guy, and the Bears need to do whatever it takes to maximize his potential. That includes getting the head coach hire right and building a wall in front of him, where Darnell Wright is the only player currently on the roster who should be starting in 2025. Williams might not be getting the same love that Jayden Daniels or Box Nix are getting, but he's proven to be just as good, if not better, than both, and his ceiling is certainly the highest. Williams became the first rookie quarterback in franchise history to eclipse 3,000 passing yards, and he made some impressive throws to his array of weapons including DJ Moore, Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze.
The second most important thing to come out of that game? Ben Johnson should be the Bears' next head coach. Full stop. Whether or not that comes to pass, we'll see, but he should be. Johnson had an informal job interview with Chicago yesterday, and he showed exactly why he would be good for Williams and getting this offense on track. What Johnson has done with Jared Goff in three years has been nothing short of remarkable. And while Johnson won't be a magic cure-all for the offense's woes -- as there are glaring needs along the offensive line -- it's a pretty damn good start to build around your franchise quarterback.
For what it's worth, the Bears' longest losing streaks in franchise history (14 games, 2022-23, and 9 games, 2024) both belong to general manager Ryan Poles. Whether Chicago will actually decide to part ways with him, especially with his lack of attention to the most important positions of need, remains to be seen. But this organization needs to do whatever it takes to get Johnson in the building, including firing Poles, if that's what he wants.
Shame on me for believing the Chicago Bears could win a game against the Detroit Lions. Even though the NFL can get very weird at times, I should have known better than to think these Bears were worthy of the "any given Sunday" mantra. The Lions showed exactly why they're the class of the NFC. They were well prepared for the elements, had a solid plan of attack against the Bears defense, and played together as a team.
That was most evident during their "stumblerooski" play when the entire sideline yelled "fumble" to try and trick the Bears as Jared Goff and Jahmyr Gibbs faked their falls. The Bears, meanwhile, have players talking about putting positive plays on tape and focusing on themselves. They haven't quit on the season, but they quit on each other, and that's not much better.
The lone bright spot, however, was the play of Caleb Williams. He became the seventh Bears quarterback to pass for 3,000 yards in a season and showed improved accuracy on his deep passing, hitting Keenan Allen, Rome Odunze, and DJ Moore with gains of 25 yards or more. It was encouraging to see him bounce back from a couple of rough games, proving that he's mentally and physically tough enough to keep going to finish the season out.
To me, the biggest takeaway from this weekend was that this truly felt like an audition for both Williams and Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. The Bears need a head coach, and Johnson is the consensus top option on the market. Both men showed the other why they would be a good match together, whether it was Johnson dialing up the perfect combination of plays to combat the Bears defense or Williams making big-time plays on fourth down to keep the chains moving.
It's been an extremely frustrating season, and it's still wild to think how we got to this point. Pretty soon, it will all be over as we look towards the offseason. It's sad, though, that the Bears force their fans to wish for the season to end. We're only guaranteed 17 games before we have to wait eight full months for them to play again. So despite the lackluster games, I still look forward to these final two weeks. Sadly, bad Bears football is better than no football.
The Chicago Bears are one of the worst teams in the NFL at this point. On the flip side, the Detroit Lions are one of the best. It's not a matchup that favors the Bears in any way. They have a better offense, defense, and coaching staff.
This game went just as expected on my end. Even with all of the injuries that Detroit is dealing with, they still have a better roster than the Bears. It doesn't help that things are fragile in Chicago as they came in on an eight game losing streak.
Make it 9 with the win for the Lions over the Bears. This was the third week without Matt Eberflus as he was fired the day after Thanksgiving. Things haven't gone well under interim head coach Thomas Brown but this was the best of them. They weren't close to winning but certain players on offense put up some big numbers.
Now, they have to get ready for another game on short rest. They have a Thursday Night Football game the day after Christmas against the Seattle Seahawks. Following this game, a third straight double digit loss, getting up for that one won't be an easy challenge.
Getting to watch the Bears twice in 4 days in December is awesome, because that means the season is almost over. Getting to watch them the day after Christmas is a sign of the holidays coming to a close and a punishment for anyone who got coal for the holiday.
At least they'll have something to play for, a loss to Seattle would match their 10-game losing streak from 2022 and will add to the disappointment of the season. To look at that team compared to this year feels like they should be completely different, instead I'm not sure which is worse.
Braxton Jones' injury was awful but it may force the team to lock their eyes on a left tackle early in the draft or free agency. The only positive? Caleb Williams continues to write his name in history, not just in franchise history, but also in NFL history.