In a season that has seen the Bears lose seemingly in every way possible, they found a new and devastating way to lose to the Detroit Lions today. The Bears found a way to blow a 12-point lead with less than 4 minutes left in the game to drop a heart shattering loss 31-26. The loss dropped the Bears to 3-8 and any delusional hopes of them being ‘in the hunt’ for a wild card ended in disgusting fashion.

For 3.5 quarters the Bears were in control of this game and when Cairo Santos drilled a 39-yard FG after an 8 minute, 45 second 70 yard drive the game seemed to be in the bag. The Bears were up 26-14 with 4:15 left in the game. The Lions finally woke up and sprinted 75 yards in 1 minute, 16 seconds to cut the lead to 26-21. On the next possession, with the Lions stacking 8 & 9 in the box, the Bears ran two straight run plays up the middle and then on 3rd & 10 Justin Fields narrowly missed Tyler Scott on what would have been a back-breaking, game sealing catch. That drive took all of 26 seconds. The Lions would start their next drive at their own 27 and proceeded to march 73 yards to take the lead. The drive was capped off by former Bear David Montgomery punching it in to give the Lions a 27-26 lead. The Lions would add a 2-pt conversion to make it 29-26.

The Bears would get one last chance with :29 seconds left but on the first play Lions DE Aidan Hutchinson bulldozed Darnell Wright into Fields which allowed Hutchinson to strip Fields. Wright couldn’t get to the ball so he kicked the ball through the end zone & out of bounds to give the Lions a safety and a 31-26 lead. Game. Set. Match.

The game got off to an excellent start as Fields led the Bears on a 10 play, 75-yard drive that took over 5.5 minutes and capped off by a D’Onta Foreman 1-yard TD run. For 3 quarters Jared Goff & the Lions did everything they could to give the game away – literally. Goff threw 3 INTs and the Bears got another turnover on a fumble recovery on a kickoff. That turnover eventually led to a 39-yard TD strike from Fields to DJ Moore to give the Bears a 20-14 lead. Despite winning the turnover battle 4 to 1 and having the ball for over 40 minutes, the Bears couldn’t hold it as the defense gave up 148 yards & 2 TDs in less than 4 minutes.

Even before the Bears meltdown they had chances to blow the game wide open. On the Lions 1st TD drive Goff threw a pass at the Bears 2-yard line that Jaylon Johnson had in his hands & dropped it. That should have been a pick-6. Despite the 4 turnovers the Bears got they could only produce 10 points from those turnovers. The play calling turned quite conservative after the Bears got a 20-14 and there was no better example than the 2nd to last possession the Bears had. Up 20-14 and deep in Lions territory the Bears had a 4th & 1 at the Lions’ 23 and instead of going for it they chose to kick the FG. That was a play where I felt they should’ve gone for it.

Grading The Bears

Offense: Justin Fields balled out. He finished 16 of 23 for 169 yards & 1 TD while also adding 18 rushes for 104 yards. He found 6 different receivers and for 3.5 quarters was in complete control. The team rushed 46 times for 183 yards and held the ball for over 40 minutes. There were some costly penalties and ultimately the play calling late in the game stifled the offense. Grade: B+ for 1st 3 qtrs/D for final 5 minutes

Defense: For 3.5 quarters the Bears defense held the Lions at bay. The Bears held the Lions to 14 points & 190 yards of offense. The defense had 2 sacks & 8 QB hits and forced 3 INTs. The last 5 minutes of the game though is an indictment on this defense. They allowed 148 yards and 2 TDs in the final 4 minutes as bad tackling and an inability to get off the field doomed them. When the game was on the line the defense couldn’t hold. Grade: B+ for 1st 3 qtrs./F for final 5 minutes

Special Teams: Cairo Santos went 4 for 4 in FGs and the special teams caused a turnover that led to a Bears TD. It was a good day for the special teams. Grade: A

Coaching: The game plan the Bears had in place for 3 quarters was working to perfection. The conservative play calling and decision making in the 4th quarter is inexcusable and a dereliction of duty. The coaching decisions late in the game should be a fireable offense. Grade: B for 1st 3 qtrs./F for final 5 minutes

Matt Eberflus & Justin Fields took to the podium to answer questions:

Final Thoughts: This loss hurts… and I didn’t even pick the Bears to win today. Everything about today should have pointed to a Bears upset win yet the coaching staff pissed this game away with their awful decisions down the stretch. On the 2nd to last possession it was clear Getsy wanted to be conservative instead of putting the ball in Justin Fields’ hands to give him a chance to put the game away. Not being able to score more than 10 points off of 4 Lions’ turnovers is also unforgivable. The defense not being able to hold a 2-score lead with less than 4 minutes left in the game is the ultimate kick in the groin.

This loss can’t be on Justin Fields. This loss fully goes on Matt Eberflus & Luke Getsy for their imbecilic play calling. How these two men are being allowed on the team bus to head back home is beyond me. This coaching staff remains unserious and unfit to coach a professional football team.

Up Next: The Bears travel to the land of 1000 lakes to take on the Vikings on Monday Night Football. Another national TV game to be a national embarrassment.

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