It happened again. Just when you thought the Chicago Bears finally had the Detroit Lions right where they wanted them, the rug got pulled. It’s becoming a bit of a recurring nightmare for folks in the Windy City. Honestly, the Week 18 regular-season finale on January 4, 2026, felt like a microcosm of the entire rivalry lately—hope followed by a very specific kind of heartbreak.
Chicago walked into Soldier Field with a fancy #2 seed in the NFC playoffs already secured, but they left with a 19-16 loss and a lot of questions about their defense.
Basically, the Lions have become the ultimate "trap" for a Bears team that looks great on paper but struggles with the grit Detroit brings to the turf. Jared Goff threw for 331 yards. Amon-Ra St. Brown looked like he was playing against a high school secondary, hauling in 11 catches for 139 yards. And the Bears? They came out flat. Like, zero points through three quarters flat.
The Caleb Williams Record That Nobody Is Celebrating
Caleb Williams is the real deal. You can see it in the way he flicks the ball 25 yards downfield while falling sideways. During that January 4th game, he actually made history, which is kind of hilarious given the outcome.
With a 25-yard touchdown pass to Jahdae Walker in the fourth quarter, Williams officially broke Erik Kramer’s 1995 single-season franchise passing record. He finished the year with 3,942 passing yards. That's a massive deal in Chicago, a city that has historically treated 4,000-yard passers like unicorns or honest politicians.
But if you ask Caleb, he’d probably tell you the record tastes like copper. He finished that game 20-of-33 for 212 yards. Not bad, but not enough to overcome a 16-0 deficit. The "Cardiac Bears" tried to do their thing, scoring 16 points in the fourth quarter to tie it up. But then, Goff happened. A 26-yard strike to St. Brown set up a Jake Bates field goal as time expired.
Game over. Sweep complete.
Why the Lions Own the Modern Rivalry
The history books say the Bears lead the all-time series 105-82-5. That’s great for Grandpa to talk about while he’s wearing his Mike Ditka sweater, but it doesn't mean much right now. The reality is that Detroit has won four straight against Chicago.
Under Dan Campbell, the Lions have developed this weird, stubborn identity. They don't just win; they make you miserable. In their two 2025 matchups, they outmuscled the Bears at the line of scrimmage.
- September 14, 2025: Lions 52, Bears 21. A total bloodbath at Ford Field.
- January 4, 2026: Lions 19, Bears 16. A tactical, defensive grind that the Bears just couldn't solve until it was too late.
The most glaring issue for Chicago? The run game. The Bears entered that January game averaging nearly 150 rushing yards. Detroit’s defense—led by guys like Aidan Hutchinson and Jack Campbell—held them to just 65 yards. You aren't winning divisional games in the black-and-blue division if you can't run the ball. Period.
The "Black and Blue" Identity Crisis
We used to call this the "Black and Blue Division" because games were low-scoring, nasty affairs. Think 1932, when these two met in the first-ever NFL "playoff" game (even though it counted toward the regular season). That game had to be moved indoors to Chicago Stadium because of a blizzard, and the Bears won 9-0 on a dirt floor covered in hay.
That's the DNA of Bears vs Lions.
But in 2026, the roles have flipped. The Lions are the ones playing with that old-school Chicago snarl, while the Bears are trying to find their footing as a high-flying modern offense. Chicago’s defense, which was supposed to be the backbone of this team, got shredded for over 430 yards in back-to-back weeks to close out the 2025 season.
Kevin Byard III is still a ball hawk (he led the NFL with 7 interceptions this year), and Montez Sweat is a nightmare off the edge with 10 sacks, but the "middle" of that defense feels soft when they play Detroit.
Key Stats from the 2025 Season Finale
| Category | Detroit Lions | Chicago Bears |
|---|---|---|
| Total Yards | 430+ | 270 |
| Passing Yards | 331 | 212 |
| Rushing Yards | 100+ | 65 |
| Result | 19 | 16 |
Misconceptions About This Matchup
A lot of national media heads will tell you the Bears lost because Caleb Williams is a rookie (well, second-year now) and he’s still learning. That's lazy.
The Bears lost because they can't handle the Lions' offensive line. Penei Sewell and company are basically a brick wall. When Jared Goff has four seconds to scan the field, he's going to find Amon-Ra St. Brown or Jahmyr Gibbs every single time. It's not a mystery.
Also, people think the Bears are "done" after losing their last two regular-season games. Don't buy it. They still held the #2 seed for a reason. They have a turnover ratio of +22, which is insane. They lead the league in takeaways (33) and have the fewest giveaways (11). They are the first team to do that since the 2011 49ers.
The problem isn't talent. It's the "start." Caleb himself admitted after the Lions game that they came out flat. "We've got to do a better job of having urgency from the jump," he told reporters. That’s been the story of the 2025 Bears—brilliant in the fourth, dormant in the first.
What This Means for the 2026 Season
Looking ahead, the 2026 schedule is already set, and you can bet the Lions vs Bears games are circled in red ink.
If the Bears want to flip the script, they need to fix the interior of their lines. D'Andre Swift had a career year with over 1,000 rushing yards, but he was a non-factor against his former team in January. That tells you the Lions know exactly how to neutralize him.
For Detroit, the goal is staying healthy. They finished 9-8 in 2025, which wasn't enough for the playoffs, but they played spoiler perfectly. They have this "nothing to lose" energy that drives the Bears crazy.
Actionable Insights for the Next Matchup
If you're betting on or just watching the next time these two face off, look for these three things:
- The First 15 Minutes: If Chicago doesn't score on their first two possessions, they usually struggle to catch up. They are a front-runner team right now.
- The St. Brown Shadow: Until Matt Eberflus finds a way to bracket Amon-Ra St. Brown, he will continue to catch 10+ passes. The Bears' zone coverage has a "blind spot" that Goff has mastered.
- Caleb's Legs: In the games where Williams rushes for 40+ yards, the Bears almost always win. When he stays in the pocket against Detroit, he gets sacked (24 times this season).
The Bears are heading into the postseason to face the Packers, but the shadow of the Lions loss looms large. It's a rivalry that has survived 192 meetings, and somehow, it feels more intense now than it did in the 80s.
To prep for the next chapter of this rivalry, keep an eye on the 2026 NFL Draft. Chicago needs more than just Caleb Williams; they need a defensive line that can actually push back against Detroit's "trench warfare" style.
Watch the tape from the January 4th game. Focus on the third-down conversions. Detroit went 15-for-30 on combined 3rd and 4th downs, while Chicago's offense stayed off the field. That is where the game—and the rivalry—is currently being won.