Despite a furious 16-point rally, the Chicago Bears were unable to complete their latest comeback attempt as they fell to the Detroit Lions in a 19-16 loss on January 4 at Soldier Field.
Chicago was looking at a shutout until early in the fourth quarter, when a Caleb Williams 25-yard touchdown pass to Jahdae Walker sparked the Bears’ offensive surge. For a minute, it appeared as though Chicago’s slow offensive start would be rendered mute as the ‘Cardiac Bears’ seemed like they would once again pull off another fourth-quarter comeback win.
Tied 16-16 with two minutes and eleven seconds on the clock, Chicago had an opportunity to drive the field, run out the clock, and score. But two straight incomplete passes and a grounding penalty pushed the Bears into third and long. Their series ended in a punt, which allowed the Lions to set up their own game-winning opportunity, and they capitalized on it. Jake Bates’ 39-yard field goal sent Detroit into the offseason on a victory and completed their NFC North divisional sweep of Chicago.
After the game, quarterback Caleb Williams shared his thoughts on the Bears’ second straight loss.
“Not good enough,” Williams told reporters postgame. “Not good enough to win this game, not good enough to win the upcoming games. We’ve gotta get better, (on) all sides of the ball. But speaking on offense, whatever happens on the other side of the ball is not something that we can control, so we have to control what we can. We’ve gotta come out starting fast and being better, and you know we’ll do that here coming up.”
Caleb Williams Remains Confident Heading Into Playoffs
GettyThe Chicago Bears lost their first matchup to the to the Green Bay Packers 28-21 in Week 14, and won their second in Week 16, 22-16.
Despite the loss to Detroit, the Bears were still able to secure the number two seed in the NFC conference due to the Philadelphia Eagles’ falling to the Washington Commanders. The Bears were fortunate that Philadelphia decided to rest key starters that could have prevented the loss. Regardless, Chicago is now set for a third tilt against the Green Bay Packers back in Soldier Field on Saturday night.
When asked about how he feels about facing their familiar foe, Williams answered confidently, stating, “I feel good. I feel good about anybody. Whoever, whatever position we were gonna be in, whatever position we are in now. I feel good about us versus anybody.”
Trust and belief have been big pillars of the Ben Johnson era so far, and the team will need to rely on each other even more as they head into the postseason for the first time since 2020. The ice gets even thinner come January, and Williams knows it. He addressed the team’s mentality as they prepare to adjust to the higher stakes.
“We’ve gotta find ways to be better. The focus has to level up, the urgency has to level up, the play has to level up. The mindset, mentality on the field has to level up because that’s what playoff football is.”
Cleaning Up Mistakes Will Be Crucial
Chicago is first in fourth-quarter comeback victories and turnover differential, while having the third most rushing yards as a team (2,456 yards). Those are playoff-winning traits that the team will need to rely on as they attempt to go on a Super Bowl run.
In the playoffs, mistakes will get you beaten, and one area Chicago must improve in is penalties. They are the sixth most penalized team this season, with 120 flags being thrown on them, costing the team nearly 1,000 yards.
However, many of the mistakes are fixable. Chicago is tied for the second-most amount of pre-snap penalties with 36. False starts, delay of games, and illegal motions are all drive killers. Locking in to avoid simple setbacks, such as formations and timing, will not only loosen the margin of error for the team but also keep the offense on the field, which can help avoid the slow starts they have struggled with.
Caleb Williams expressed the team’s emphasis on managing the controllables. If they can accomplish that, then they really can take on any opponent.
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