The Detroit Lions showed some pride and grit on Sunday evening, walking off Soldier Field with a well-earned 19-16 victory over the playoff-bound Chicago Bears. It wasn’t the end we were hoping for, but it was a small beacon of light in an otherwise dark season.
The game was a reminder of just how good this team can play when they’re rolling, but also a reminder of how off-kilter they can look late. Still, I believe this was one of the Lions’ best performances in the back half of the schedule, so I will hand out grades accordingly.
Quarterback: B+
For the first three quarters, Jared Goff was dealing. He was side-stepping pressure, delivering balls with great accuracy and great anticipation. He seemed to know where the Bears’ blitz was coming from and would get rid of the ball on time.
But once the Bears’ comeback started, Goff seemed a little more jittery, and he made one of the most uncharacteristic poor decisions I’ve ever seen him make with his third-and-20 interception. That ball should not have been thrown, and Goff had plenty of checkdown options that would’ve resulted in a makeable, go-ahead field goal—including a wide open Isaac TeSlaa that would’ve gotten the Lions down to at least the 25-yard line.
With the game on the line, however, Goff was as cool as a cucumber. His perfect ball to Amon-Ra St. Brown turned into a 26-yard gain and the game-winning play.
Running backs: A-
Detroit didn’t get the explosive running plays we’ve been missing for months now, but it was a very consistent rushing attack from the backs. I thought both David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs ran hard, maximizing the amount of yards available to them, even with a shaky offensive line. Gibbs also added his patented Texas route touchdown that just seems impossible to stop. It was nice to see him get over 100 scrimmage yards again (113), while Montgomery pitched in 55 of his own.
Tight ends: C
Upon initial viewing, the tight ends didn’t do anything particularly offensive or inoffensive. Anthony Firkser had two catches—one an absolute disaster that wasn’t his fault.
Wide receivers: A-
Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams both had critical drops in this game, but that’s the only reason this isn’t a straight A. St. Brown was absolutely unguardable for the majority of the game, making C.J. Gardner-Johnson look silly at times. Williams came up big in some big moments, as well. And this was the kind of game that made me appreciate Kalif Raymond as a solid depth option. Facing a lot of man coverage from the Bears, Raymond reminded a lot of people that he’s one of the toughest guards on the team one-on-one, and he’s still got plenty of speed in the tank at 31 years old.
Offensive line: C
Against a defensive line that doesn’t produce a lot of pressure or sacks, the Lions’ pass protection was disappointingly rough. They allowed three sacks, seven QB hits, and countless other pressures.
That said, they did control the line of scrimmage when it came to the running game. The Lions posted a 59.3% success rate rushing the football—the third-best mark of Week 18 and Detroit’s second-best performance of the year.
With a (fifth?) string right tackle, that’ll earn you an average performance on the day.
Defensive line: A-
My goodness, where was this all season?
Detroit was able to absolutely stuff one of the best rushing attacks in football on Sunday. Sure, they played keep-away for a long time, forcing the Bears to throw the ball more than they wanted. Chicago’s 18 rushing attempts were their fewest this season, and their 65 rushing yards also marked a season-low. Their 33.3% success rate was second-lowest of the season, and their average of 0.57 yards before contact was third-worst.
Credit to Tyleik Williams for tallying a tackle for loss and a pass breakup in a slightly increased role. Aidan Hutchinson was fantastic on the day, giving hell in both the run game and pass rush to a backup left tackle and a borderline Pro Bowl right tackle. Oddly, Roy Lopez and DJ Reader didn’t make the box score, but their presences were felt. Even Mekhi Wingo notched a pressure or two!
Linebackers: C+
It was a very up-and-down performance for the Lions’ linebackers. It was a tough outing for Derrick Barnes, yet he delivered one of the most important plays of the game with a perfect pass breakup on fourth down. Malcolm Rodriguez also struggled mightily as a replacement for Alex Anzalone, but he also notched a key tackle for loss.
Jack Campbell? You’re perfect. Don’t change anything.
But I was a bit disappointed in two facets of the linebacking corps: their blitzing and coverage. While the Lions turned up the aggressiveness with the blitzing, I thought they got more production out of their defensive backs than their linebackers—who often got caught up in traffic. Chicago also took advantage of any time one of their talented tight ends was lined up with a Lions linebacker. Colston Loveland and Cole Kmet finished with 12 catches for 107 yards, a touchdown, and a two-point conversion.
Secondary: B+
Caleb Williams didn’t test the Lions deep much, throwing the ball 20+ air yards twice in this game, and both passes represented the best and worst plays from the Lions’ secondary—particularly Avonte Maddox. The first was a perfectly-played interception where Maddox didn’t get fooled by Williams’ eyes and showed incredible ball skills by boxing out the receiver and intercepting the ball. The other was a 25-yard touchdown pass in which Maddox got greedy and tried to jump an underneath route.
Otherwise, though, the Lions’ defensive backs kept everything in front of them, logged a couple of pass deflections, helped prevent the Bears from gaining more than 10 yards on any rushing attempt, and even pitched in with the pass rush (Rock Ya-sin had half of the team’s four QB hits). It wasn’t quite the Legion of Whom out there, but I think a lot of those depth players made strong cases for a return in 2026.
Special teams: C
Kalif Raymond showed some nice spark and patience in his three punt returns for 33 yards—including a nice 14-yard gain that helped set up the game-winning score.
Then there’s Jake Bates. It was a disappointing season for the Lions’ second-year kicker, and this game showed both why he’s been frustrating and why he’s going nowhere. His missed 53-yard kick (pushed left… again) ruined what was a strong finish to the first half. But his poised, never-in-doubt game-winner as time expired shows how clutch he has been his entire career. Hopefully, an offseason of self-scout can clean up what was a pretty inaccurate season.
Coaching: D+
Jeez, where do I start?
This game shouldn’t have been close, but some very questionable decisions/play-calls in critical moments nearly cost the Lions the game. There was the odd, poorly-designed screen to Firkser that turned a very good situation (second-and-1 from the Bears’ 12) into a field goal. The Lions then threw the ball three straight times in their next trip into the red zone (all incomplete).
Then there was the disastrous fourth quarter. Detroit squandered another very good situation (third-and-1 from the Bears’ 41-yard line) by getting cute with an attempted Montgomery pass. He was sacked, the Lions punted, and the Bears would tie the game on the ensuing drive. If that wasn’t bad enough, the next time the Lions got the ball, they drove into the field goal range, had an opportunity to drain the Bears’ timeouts, and kick the game-winning field goal… but Campbell dialed up three straight passes instead: incomplete, incomplete, interception.
Now, that’s a lot of really, really bad in-game management. But it’s also worth noting that the Lions’ game plan this week was fantastic. They clearly caught the Bears’ offense off guard with the amount of zone that they played, and it took them three full quarters to find answers. Dan Campbell was an excellent play-caller between the 30-yard lines and had the Bears’ defenders swimming for most of the day.
Campbell also deserves credit for rallying the troops in a “meaningless” game. And when it seemed like everything was going the Bears’ way in the fourth quarter, the team was disciplined enough to put the struggles behind them and deliver a game-winning drive on both sides of the ball.
I tend to grade tougher on the tangible side of coaching, and Campbell will need to do some serious thinking about whether he’s the right play-caller for the future after more questionable choices in high-leverage moments. But this game also displays what Campbell does best: motivate, navigate through adversity, and build a culture that is second to none.
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