Slow Start Costs the Bears

In the final week of the NFL 2025 regular season, the Chicago Bears were defeated by the Detroit Lions with the score of 19-16 at Soldier Field. Despite getting a place in the playoffs and securing the No. 2 seed in the NFC, all the focus post-game was on the Bears’ erratic display, particularly their attack.

Coach Ben Johnson, who in his first year managed to achieve a significant turnaround for Chicago, was very straightforward in his post-game remarks. Even though the Bears finished the season strongly compared to last year, Johnson said he was “not pleased with the offense today,” signaling the team’s slow start and poor execution throughout the game.

The offensive group could not score for the initial three quarters, a pattern that haunted them the whole second half of the season. The Bears only managed to have 107 total yards and six first downs in that period, which resulted in a 16-0 disadvantage before they had the chance to score one.

Johnson shared his annoyance that the team let itself get into a position of such a big deficit so early. “We can’t get into a hole like that,” he said, and went on to explain that he had conveyed his disappointment directly to the players.

Execution Problems and Flat Performance

Quarterback Caleb Williams, who had a breakout season, set a new league record for passing yards in a season, and so on, acknowledged the same thing the offense. However, Williams said that it was the "flat" unit that came out and he insisted on a strong improvement during the playoffs. 

The offensive inconsistency was one of the issues that could be noticed game after game. The Bears, on the other hand, managed to constitute one of the highest-scoring offenses in the NFL and finished among the top 10 in points per game, but they still had trouble finding their groove at the beginning of the games. Analysts observed that Chicago went nine games without scoring in their opening drive.

The offense against the Lions did not give up. The Bears who were 16 points down, managed to score twice in the last quarter to level the game. But then a picked ball by Kevin Byard, who is a safety, changed the game as the Lions were able to get a field goal to win when the game clock was running out without Chicago making a counter offensive.

Looking Ahead to the Playoffs

Even though they lost the match, the Bears will still be playing against the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Wild Card round at their ground. The fact that Chicago is top seed grants them a significant advantage of playing at home, yet Johnson insisted that if the team is to go places in the playoffs, it must improve its offensive execution.

At the same time, the Bears’ defense encountered problems as it allowed more than 1,300 yards during the last three games, 433 of which were allowed in Week 18. Johnson emphasized that the success of the playoffs depends on the contribution of all three phases — offense, defense, and special teams — for Chicago.