The Lions spent the first half playing keep away Sunday, grinding away at a Bears defense that looks only slightly less porous than it did a week ago. The result is a 13-0 Lions lead at halftime in the season finale at Soldier Field.
The Bears entered the game as the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs. They can stay there with a win against the Lions or an Eagles loss to the Commanders. If not, they’ll be the No. 3 seed. Either way, they’ll host a playoff game next week.
Quarterback Caleb Williams entered the game needed 109 passing yards to set the Bears’ single-season record and 270 to become the first Bears passer to reach 4,000.
The Bears made little headway on either endeavor in the first half. Williams went 6-for-10 for 45 yards and a passer rating of 70.8.
Th Bears’ best drive ended at the Lions’ 30 with 21 seconds left in the first half. The Bears went for it on fourth-and-two, only for tight end Colston Loveland to drop Williams’ pass over the middle.
When the Lions scored on a 15-yard pass to running back Jahmyr Gibbs to take a 13-0 lead with 4:40 left in the first half, the Bears had held the ball for only a quarter of the time and Williams had thrown just four passes.
On the Lions’ first two drives, the Bears defense did what they couldn’t a week earlier — force a field goal. The Lions have yet to punt.
Quarterback Jared Goff is torturing the Bears defense, going 19-for-28 for 205 yards and a 101 passer rating.
Quarterback Caleb Williams will face three quarterbacks from his draft class: Drake Maye, Michael Penix and J.J. McCarthy.
Johnson wore No. 12 for the A.C. Reynolds High School Rockets in Ashville, N.C., where he was an all-conference player as a junior and senior and conference player of the year as a senior.
About the Author
Discover more from USA NEWS
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
