4 bold predictions for Bears' 2025 season finale vs Lions

The Chicago Bears need a big game to carry momentum into their first playoff berth since 2020.

Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Chicago Bears will play their last regular-season game on Sunday, but for the first time since 2020, they will be dancing in the postseason after clinching the NFC North championship. That doesn't make their Week 18 finale a meaningless affair, however, especially when you consider their opponent.

The embarrassment of Week 2 of the season, when the Detroit Lions crushed Chicago 52-21, surely still lingers for the Bears. They'll be playing for more than just home-field advantage; they'll be playing for pride. But the Lions will never go gently into that good night, not with head coach Dan Campbell at the helm. That said, here are four bold predictions for Sunday's rematch.

1. The Bears will already have the No. 2 seed locked up before the kickoff

The Philadelphia Eagles may have gifted the NFC's No. 2 seed to the Bears before Week 18 even begins. Chicago currently holds the No. 2 seed and will remain there with an Eagles' loss. Head coach Nick Sirianni's decision to rest his starters this week makes that scenario much more likely. Playing in the early slot on Sunday, I predict a loss to the feisty Washington Commanders, which will lock Chicago into the No. 2 seed before their game even begins.

Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

2. The Lions will force the Bears into another shootout

They may be eliminated, but the Lions don't see this game as meaningless. They, too, are playing for pride after taking a shellacking from the Minnesota Vikings on Christmas Day. In that game, the Lions held undrafted rookie quarterback Max Brosmer to just 3 net passing yards, but they lost anyway, thanks in large part to Jared Goff's five turnovers.

Expect Jared Goff to have the offense firing on all cylinders as they exorcise their demons from Week 17 and try to enter the offseason on a positive note. With Chicago's defense still reeling from their shootout loss to the 49ers, they could very well find themselves giving up another 40-point game.

Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

3. Caleb Williams sets two franchise passing records

The best passing season in the Chicago Bears' 106-year history belongs to Erik Kramer, who passed for 3,838 yards and 29 touchdowns in 1995. I'm predicting that both of these marks will fall to Caleb Williams by Sunday evening. Indeed, Williams will blow past 3,838 yards and become Chicago's first 4,000-yard passer.

This would require a monster game of no less than 270 passing yards and five passing touchdowns from Williams. This seems unlikely if you heard Williams' and Ben Johnson's nonchalant attitude towards arbitrary milestones, but I believe that their commitment to winning will lead them to hit those milestones anyway. Remember, Dan Campbell caught some heat from Bears fans for deliberately running up the score back in Week 2. I would bet my bottom dollar that Johnson remembers.

David Banks-Imagn Images

4. Bears win and nearly match Detroit's score from Week 2

I won't go so far as to predict a 52-point day for the Bears. However, this is a completely different team from the one we saw at the start of the season, and they just dropped 38 points on a dominant 49ers team. Given the Lions' porous defense, I could see Chicago putting up 45 or 48 points.

Speaking of porous defenses, there's no way Dennis Allen's unit will hold Detroit to 21, as was Chicago's score in Week 2. I predict Detroit will score 37 points but will still fall to the Bears at Soldier Field. This loss will send Detroit into the offseason with a losing record and a four-game losing streak.

Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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