The Chicago Bears surrendered 474 yards to the Detroit Lions and never got close to the league leaders in a 34-17 loss Sunday at Soldier Field.

It was the third straight week the Bears gave up more than 450 yards and at least 30 points.

Lions quarterback Jared Goff threw for 336 yards and three touchdowns – including an 82-yard TD pass to Jameson Williams in the first half – and running back Jahmyr Gibbs rushed for 109 yards and a score.

The loss was the Bears’ ninth straight and marked the second-longest losing streak in team history. They lost 14 games in the 2022-23 season – including 10 by the end of 2022. General manager Ryan Poles oversaw the teams that completed both record streaks.

Bears quarterback Caleb Williams surpassed 300 yards rushing for the fourth time this season. He completed 26 of 40 passes for 334 yards and two touchdowns. Wide receiver Keenan Allen had nine catches for 141 yards.

But the Bears, who lost two fumbles in the first half and played much of the game without starting left tackle Braxton Jones (ankle) and left guard Teven Jenkins (calf), couldn’t keep up with the league’s highest-scoring offense.

After leading 27-14 at halftime, the Lions scored on the first drive of the third quarter when Goff hit Sam LaPorta for a 21-yard touchdown pass and a 34-14 lead.

Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson was assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the drive after Craig Reynolds’ 5-yard catch. Johnson pushed Reynolds and later knocked the ball to the ground when Reynolds threw it to an official.

The Bears settled for Cairo Santos’ 30-yard field goal on their next drive to cut the score to 34-17.

The Lions reached the Bears’ 13-yard line on the ensuing drive and tried fourth-and-3. Tremaine Edmunds broke up a pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown and the Bears took over.

However, on the next drive, the Bears were unable to score despite reaching the Lions’ 22. A catch by DJ Moore lost one yard, left guard Jake Curhan was warned for a false start and Williams lost 9 yards on a sack on third down.

The Bears again failed to score after reaching the Lions 11 late in the game, with Williams throwing three straight incompletions to turn the ball over on downs.

This is how the game developed.

Inactives: 2 starters are active on the offensive line, but depth is taking a hit

Bears left tackle Braxton Jones and left guard Teven Jenkins will be active Sunday against the Lions after missing during the week with injuries.

Jones missed Monday night’s game against the Minnesota Vikings due to a concussion and was listed as questionable for Sunday as he had to clear the final hurdle in the protocol. But he will return for the Bears’ second-to-last home game at Soldier Field.

Jenkins, who suffered a calf injury during the week, practiced before the game and was allowed to be active. But the depth of the Bears offensive line beyond those two took a few hits.

The Bears placed backup guard/center Doug Kramer on the injury report Saturday with a shoulder injury and he is inactive. Guard/center Ryan Bates is also out after the Bears placed him on injured reserve with a concussion.

Rookie tackle Kiran Amegadjie, who struggled in his first career start last week in place of Jones, is also inactive, which appears to be a distinct advantage in keeping tackle Larry Borom active. The Bears activated offensive lineman Chris Glaser from the practice squad to provide additional depth.

Defensive tackle Gervon Dexter will miss his second straight game with a knee injury. Running back Travis Homer, who has a hamstring injury, is out. Defensive back Ameer Speed ​​​​and linebacker Noah Sewell are also inactive.

Cornerback Jaylon Johnson, who was sick during the week, will play Sunday.

For the Lions, running back David Montgomery, linebacker Kwon Alexander, offensive linemen Giovanni Manu, Graham Glasgow and Colby Sorsdal, and defensive linemen Jonah Williams and Brodric Martin are inactive.

Halftime: Mistakes cost the Bears as the Lions take a 27-14 lead

The Bears lost two fumbles, gave up an 82-yard touchdown pass and saw starting left tackle Braxton Jones go down with what appeared to be a serious left ankle injury in the first half against the Lions on Sunday.

Unsurprisingly, all of these factors resulted in the Lions leading 27-14 at halftime, even though the Bears scored at least in the first half for the first time in four games.

Rookie wide receiver Rome Odunze was part of two fumbles that led to 10 Lions points in the first quarter.

First, quarterback Caleb Williams and Odunze fumbled a handoff, and defensive lineman Josh Paschal recovered at the Bears 36.

The Lions capitalized on Jahmyr Gibbs’ 1-yard touchdown run to take a 10-0 lead with 5:34 left in the quarter. Gibbs rushed for 23 yards after the fumble. He was stopped by runs twice from the first attempt but made it on the third attempt.

On the Bears’ next drive, Odunze rushed for a 19-yard gain, but Mitchell Agude and Brian Branch forced a fumble and recovered him. Ben Niemann recovered at the Lions 40.

Seven plays later, Lions kicker Jake Bates hit a 34-yard field goal for a 13-0 lead. Bates made a 30-yarder early in the quarter.

The Lions took a 20-0 lead on Jared Goff’s 82-yard touchdown pass to Jameson Williams with 12:49 left to play in the second quarter. Williams fended off cornerback Tyrique Stevenson and safety Jonathan Owens before intercepting the pass and racing into the end zone.

The Bears broke a three-game streak of being shut out in the first half when Williams found Cole Kmet for a 1-yard touchdown pass, cutting the lead to 20-7. Williams hit Odunze with a 13-yard pass on fourth-and-3 during the drive and had a 14-yard pass to DJ Moore to put the Bears at the 5.

The Lions responded with an 11-play, 70-yard touchdown drive, capped by Goff’s 8-yard pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown.

But the Bears came back in the final minute of the half with Williams’ 45-yard touchdown pass to Keenan Allen, cutting the lead to 27-14.

The Bears lost Jones midway through the second quarter to a left ankle injury. The Bears staff placed an air blast on Jones’ leg and sent him off the field after the entire Bears sideline came out to surround him.

Left back Teven Jenkins left early in the half with a calf injury. Jones and Jenkins were replaced by Larry Borom and Jake Curhan, respectively.

Williams completed 13 of 21 passes for 198 yards and the two touchdowns in the half. But the Bears only managed 27 rushing yards.

Goff threw for 254 yards and Gibbs rushed for 79 yards.

Catch up on all of our coverage.

5 things to keep an eye on – plus our predictions

The results of the last two weeks appear to be evidence that the Bears team is completely exhausted and struggling to muster the energy and focus necessary to remain competitive against quality opponents. They suffered a 37-0 scoreline in the first half and suffered, by their own admission, incredibly sloppy execution in all phases.

When was the last time the Bears even had a lead? A long time ago, on November 24th. Whoa.

Interim coach Thomas Brown also took issue with the idea that his team had run out of gas.

“If you look at the tape, our guys fought until the end,” he said. “To say we don’t have much left in the tank alludes to the fact that our guys have given up. And I didn’t see that at all.”

Read more here.

Bears Coaching Search

A candidate with a defensive background would likely have to blow the Bears away with a detailed plan around QB Caleb Williams to bring the organization back to prominence.

One bright opportunity that is sure to catch the attention of the Bears and other teams looking for their next hire in the coming hiring cycle is the position on the opposite sideline Sunday afternoon at Soldier Field – Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. Read more here.

Positive affirmations – and a rematch

Caleb Williams said he’s trying to stay in the moment as he finishes the final three games of his rookie season.

But he also keeps an eye on the future by taking notes on things he wants to improve or topics he wants to explore in the offseason. He started taking notes midway through the season and said he would like to go through five to eight things when he has more time. Read more here.

Around week 15

Not only have the Bears found other ways to squander game-winning chances at crucial time, but they have already been eliminated from the game.

Even though Monday night’s 30-12 loss to the Vikings at US Bank Stadium was a relatively close game score-wise until the end of the third quarter, it never felt like the Bears had much of a chance.

The defense fought hard, but the Bears were a wreck on third down and couldn’t overcome a series of self-inflicted errors, losing for the eighth straight and falling to 4-10. Read more here.

Originally published: December 22, 2024 at 3:22 pm CST