4 duds from Bears' humiliating Week 18 loss to the Lions

If that was a playoff tune-up, then fans can expect a quick exit for the Chicago Bears.

David Banks-Imagn Images

Earlier in the week, Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson said that the Bears would be playing to win in their regular-season finale, despite already having a playoff spot and the NFC North crown wrapped up. Bears fans better hope that Johnson was lying when he said that because the Bears dropped a pathetic first-half performance that doomed them to failure, despite a furious comeback attempt.

The Bears looked like a team that knew this game was ultimately meaningless, and that's frustrating because their track record is not nearly good enough to justify shrugging their shoulders in what could have been a momentum boost ahead of the playoffs. Instead of shaking off that heartbreaking loss to the 49ers in Week 17, the Bears compounded their errors on defense, and the offense didn't show a flicker of life until it was too late.

The entire team gets an 'F' grade from me, but some guys stood out for their particularly awful day at the office.

1. Ben Johnson

I'm not sure if Ben Johnson gets a bad case of the yips when facing his former boss, but his two worst games of the season both came against Dan Campbell, and I hope that's just a coincidence. The opening drive script showed absolutely no urgency, as Johnson called six consecutive run plays after a brilliant pass from Caleb Williams to Colston Loveland, leading to a punt.

As aforementioned, Bears fans have to hope that he was lying about playing to win this week because I don't know how Johnson could have expected that gameplan to beat anyone.

David Banks-Imagn Images

2. C.J. Gardner-Johnson

Every time the Lions had a chunk play on offense, it was a good bet that Gardner-Johnson had gotten burned on coverage. He had a hot start with the Bears, but over the past few weeks, it's been mostly bad for the journeyman defensive back. With so many injuries to the secondary this season, the Gardner-Johnson signing was a good stop-gap measure from GM Ryan Poles, but I don't think they should try too hard to bring him back for 2026.

Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images

3. Dennis Allen

I'm not a defensive coordinator, so I can't say for sure what was going wrong for Chicago's pass defense on Sunday, but the Bears were getting absolutely cooked in man-to-man coverage and didn't seem to make any adjustments. This unit doesn't have enough pass-rush juice to play this much man coverage, and it becomes unsustainable when they're not taking the ball away multiple times.

Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

4. Andrew Billings

I hate to include a player for only one real mistake in a game, but it was a costly one. Early in the game, the Lions were nursing a 6-0 lead, and lined up to go for it on 4th-and-2 in their own territory. This seemed aggressive, even for Dan Campbell, and it sure looked like they were just trying to draw a defender offsides for a free first down.

Unfortunately, Billings obliged them and the Lions ended up posting a touchdown on that drive. Jumping offsides when you're right in front of the center is inexcusable for an NFL player, especially in that situation.

Peter Casey-Imagn Images

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