The Chicago Bears walked into Week 18 claiming they were playing to win. Head Coach Ben Johnson swore up and down that despite having the playoffs locked up, they weren’t taking their foot off the gas against his former squad, the Detroit Lions. Well, if that performance was the Bears playing to win, I’d hate to see what them playing to lose looks like.
They dropped a lackluster, ugly 19-16 decision to the Lions, a game that felt more like a preseason walkthrough than a tune-up for the postseason. But here is the punchline: It didn’t matter. Thanks to the Philadelphia Eagles falling flat against the Commanders, the Bears backed their way right into the No. 2 seed in the NFC.
Ben Johnson’s Offense Hits the Snooze Button
Did Johnson get a sudden case of the yips? The play-calling against his old boss, Dan Campbell, was uninspiring. Johnson talked a big game about maintaining momentum, but the opening script looked like it was written on a napkin five minutes before kickoff.
After a brilliant throw from Caleb Williams to Colston Loveland, the offense essentially curled up into a ball and took a nap.
Defensive Gaffes and Mental Errors For the Bears
The defense wasn’t much better. C.J. Gardner-Johnson, usually the loudest guy in the room, spent most of the afternoon chasing Lions receivers who had already blown past him. The “stop-gap” signing is looking more like a leaky faucet these days.
And then there was Andrew Billings. Nobody likes to harp on one mistake, but you cannot jump offsides on a 4th-and-2 hard count. It’s the oldest trick in the book. The Lions were practically begging for a free first down, and Billings handed it to them on a silver platter, leading directly to a touchdown. That is the kind of mental error that sends you home early in January.
The Packers Are Coming To Soldier Field
Despite all the ugliness, the stars have aligned for a cinema-worthy Wild Card weekend. The Bears secured the home field, and their opponent? None other than the Green Bay Packers.
Green Bay looked equally sluggish in a loss to the Vikings, but none of that matters now. It is 0-0. It’s Caleb Williams vs. Jordan Love. It’s the oldest rivalry in the sport with the highest stakes possible.
The Bears got lucky on Sunday. They played a dud of a game and got rewarded with a No. 2 seed anyway. But luck runs out eventually. If they show up against Green Bay with the same energy they had against Detroit, they won’t just be losing a rivalry game; they’ll be watching the rest of the playoffs from the couch.
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