Lions Finish 2025 Season With 19-16 Victory Against Bears

Key takeaways from Lions win against Chicago Bears in regular season finale.

Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs (0) celebrates with teammates after scoring a touchdown against Bears | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

The Detroit Lions played their final regular season game of the 2025 season against a rival that was able to quickly climb to become NFC North division champions this year.

Everything that could go wrong eventually caught up to the Lions, who were unable to secure a spot in the playoffs for the first time since 2022.

Even though the finale did not have playoff implications for Dan Campbell's squad, young players may have an opportunity to showcase to the coaching staff why they should be given more of an opportunity next season.

“Well, they are playing for a lot. They are," Campbell said. "I’ve asked this the last two years, I’ve sat up there with different players that got an opportunity and I said, ‘Did you give everything you had? Because you had an opportunity to play.’ They played on the last game of the year. ‘And knowing that, knowing that this probably is your last game, did you give everything you had? Was all your focus in it? Was it really?

"Because there’s no guarantee that you’re going to get a chance to play again or start again.’ You’re just not, every year is different. There are very few players you could say, ‘That guy, I know, is going to start next year.’ Penei Sewell is probably going to start. I mean yeah, we know that," Campbell explained further. "But, it doesn’t go that way with everybody. We’re going to have to reload and go back to the basics of some of the things we do and get back to what we were in ’21, ’22 a little bit.”

Chicago was able to fight back back and make it a game with consecutive scores in the fourth-quarter.

But after 60 minutes of action, the Lions were able to finish a disappointing season on a positive note.

Here are several key takeaways from the Lions' 19-16 victory against the Bears.

Lions dominate time of possession in first quarter

After securing the opening kickoff, the Lions went on an 11-play drive that ate up nearly seven minutes of the first-quarter.

Jared Goff got the offense into rhythm quickly, especially with the Bears playing in zone coverage.

Kicker Jake Bates, who has had an up and down sophomore campaign, was able to give the Lions an early 3-0 lead, by connecting on a 34-yard field goal.

The Bears first offensive drive stalled. Campbell's squad possessed the football for just a little over 10 minutes in the opening quarter.

Bates connected again early in the second-quarter on a 30-yarder, as the Bears held the Lions out of the end zone again after reaching the red zone.

Goff side-arms it to Gibbs for the score❗ pic.twitter.com/dppOXUtrQr

— Detroit Lions (@Lions) January 4, 2026

Lions defense clamps down in first half

Detroit was able to get on the scoreboard on their third offensive possession. Goff found Jahmyr Gibbs on a 15-yard touchdown reception that extended the lead to 13-0.

Even though the defense struggled the last month of the season, Kelvin Sheppard's unit was able to shut out the Bears' offense in the first half.

Aidan Hutchinson recorded a sack, hitting 14.5 on the 2025 season. Playing more zone defense, Williams was largely contained.

On a key 4th-and-3 late in the half, the second-year quarterback found tight end Colston Loveland for what would have been a first-down, but linebacker Derrick Barnes battled, forcing the incompletion and the turnover on downs.

Detroit was not able to capitalize with points, though, as Bates was unable to connect from 53-yards out to end the first half.

Veteran safety Avonte Maddox was able to pick off Williams in the third-quarter, keeping the Bears off the scoreboard.

Detroit's defense was able to shut out Ben Johnson's offense through the first three quarters on the road.

St. Brown fuels offense early

A big reason for the Lions' success offensively was the performance of fifth-year wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown. Despite dealing with injuries over the last month, the reliable wideout has continued to show up for the offense in a big way.

In the first half, St. Brown was targeted on just under half of Jared Goff's 28 pass attempts, as he logged 11 passes in his direction. Of those, he hauled in nine passes for 110 yards. On third downs alone, St. Brown had four catches for 58 yards in the first half.

Jameson Williams also had a strong start, with four catches for 42 yards in the first two quarters.

Bears' offense awakens in fourth quarter

After being held scoreless, the Bears tied the game with two fourth-quarter touchdown drives.

Williams connected with wideout Jahdae Walker for a 25-yard score early in the final quarter. On their next possession, the second-year quarterback led his team on a 12-play, 88-yard drive that was capped off by a Colston Loveland one-yard touchdown.

Chicago was able to convert on two 2-point conversions, one via the ground and one on a pass to tight end Cole Kmet.

After Goff threw his only interception, the Bears were not able to capitalize.

Detroit marched down the field late in the game and Bates ended it with a game-winning 42-yard field-goal.