The Chicago Bears 34-17 loss to the Detroit Lions marks the team's ninth straight defeat. If that doesn't make you start to think about the upcoming offseason, I don't know what will.
In the 14 seasons since George McCaskey took over as Chairman of the Board, the Bears have endured 19 different losing streaks of three games or more. If you push that to losing streaks of four games, the count only drops to ten. They have seven different losing streaks of 5 and four different streaks of 6. With losing streaks like that, some would say everything is a problem.
Ben Johnson, Future Bears Head Coach?
Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is a hot commodity , and he showed off against the Bears on Sunday. The Lions offense accumulated 475 yards at a clip of 7.3 yards per play. Jared Goff threw for 336 yards and three touchdowns, while Jahmyr Gibbs added 109 rushing yards.
"Ben Johnson does a great job of calling plays and dialing things up and he did a great job of switching up the run, the play action with the screens together, that kind of kept the defense on its heels." - Bears DE DeMarcus Walker
Johnson was in his element all game, keeping the Bears' defense off balance. He put on a show for a potential future employer, capping it off with a trick play that showed no respect for the Bears' defense. Let's hope the Bears were not embarrassing enough to keep him away.
Caleb Williams Makes History
Caleb Williams threw for 334 yards and two touchdowns, hitting Keenan Allen for 141 yards. He spread the football to others, including Rome Odunze (77 yards) and DJ Moore (68 yards). He added another 36 yards on the ground, totaling more than 350 yards overall.
This marked the fourth time this season that Williams exceeded 300 passing yards. That tied the Bears record for most games with 300+ passing yards in a single season. Additionally, Williams extended his lead on the NFL record for most consecutive passes without an interception by a rookie, having thrown 326 consecutive passes without a pick.
Offensive Line Injuries
The Bears offensive line suffered two key injuries on Sunday. Left guard Teven Jenkins was doubtful to return with a calf injury. He was replaced by Jake Curhan. Another injury to Jenkins is not a good sign for the final two games.
Additionally, left tackle Braxton Jones was carted off the field with a foot injury and replaced by Larry Borom. While no official injury has been reported for Jones, the early speculation is not good.
Losing Jones to such a severe injury could ripple into off-season plans and the 2025 campaign. The Bears will be hard-pressed to trust a rehabbing left tackle and a developmental project (Kiran Amegadjie) to be stalwarts at the left tackle position entering 2025. This injury could change free agency and draft plans significantly.
