What are the Chicago Bears talking about ahead of this week's regular season finale against the Detroit Lions at Soldier Field in Chicago?
Let's find out:
1. A win Sunday against the Lions can secure Chicago the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs and guarantee at least two home games at Soldier Field should Chicago advance past next weekend's Wild Card round. With the difference between the No. 2 and No. 3 seed in the playoffs on the line for Chicago, Bears head coach Ben Johnson said his team is 'playing to win this week.'
Chicago can also earn the No. 2 seed with a loss, if Philadelphia loses to Washington.
View photos of the starters for the Chicago Bears.
Head Coach: Ben Johnson
Offensive Coordinator: Declan Doyle
Defensive Coordinator: Dennis Allen
Special Teams Coordinator: Richard Hightower
(AP Photo/Nam Huh)
WR DJ Moore
Backed up by Olamide Zaccheaus and Devin Duvernay
(AP Photo/Kareem Elgazzar)
LT Theo Benedet
Backed up by Ozzy Trapilo
(AP Photo/Kamil Krzaczynski)
LG Joe Thuney
Backed up by Ryan Bates
(AP Photo/Kamil Krzaczynski)
C Drew Dalman
Backed up by Ryan Bates
(AP Photo/Kamil Krzaczynski)
RG Jonah Jackson
Backed up by Ryan Bates
(AP Photo/Kamil Krzaczynski)
RT Darnell Wright
Backed up by Ozzy Trapilo
(AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
TE Cole Kmet
Backed up by Durham Smythe
(AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
TE Colston Loveland
(AP Photo/Kamil Krzaczynski)
WR Rome Odunze
Backed up by Luther Burden III and Jahdae Walker
(AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
QB Caleb Williams
Backed up by Tyson Bagent and Case Keenum
(AP Photo/Eakin Howard)
RB D'Andre Swift
Backed up by Kyle Monangai and Travis Homer
(AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
DL Montez Sweat
Backed up by Dominique Robinson
(AP Photo/Kamil Krzaczynski)
DL Grady Jarrett
Backed up by Chris Williams
(AP Photo/Terrance Williams)
DL Gervon Dexter Sr.
Backed up by Andrew Billings
(AP Photo/Jeff Lewis)
DL Austin Booker
Backed up by Joe Tryon-Shoyinka and Daniel Hardy
(AP Photo/Kamil Krzaczynski)
LB T.J. Edwards
Backed up by D'Marco Jackson
(AP Photo/Kamil Krzaczynski)
LB Noah Sewell
Backed up by Ruben Hyppolite II and Amen Ogbongbemiga
(AP Photo/Stacy Bengs)
S Jaquan Brisker
Backed up by Elijah Hicks
(AP Photo/Melissa Tamez)
S Kevin Byard III
Backed up by Jonathan Owens
(AP Photo/Terrance Williams)
DB Kyler Gordon
Backed up by C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Nick McCloud
(AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.)
CB Tyrique Stevenson
Backed up by Jaylon Jones
(AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)
CB Jaylon Johnson
Backed up by Nahshon Wright and Josh Blackwell
(AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.)
K/KO Cairo Santos
(AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
P/H Tory Taylor
(AP Photo/Kamil Krzaczynski)
LS Scott Daly
(AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
KR Devin Duvernay
Backed up by Josh Blackwell
(AP Photo/Kamil Krzaczynski)
PR Devin Duvernay
Backed up by Luther Burden III
(AP Photo/Jeff Lewis)
2. How did the Bears win the NFC North after winning just five games last season?
Winning six games when trailing in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime certainly helps. Their offense taking huge strides under Johnson has been big too.
Quarterback Caleb Williams pointed to two statistics that best explain why Chicago is going for win No. 12 on the season Sunday vs. Detroit: The Bears are No. 1 in giveaways (10) and No. 1 in takeaways (32).
"You put those two together and at the end of the day, you're winning a bunch of ball games like we have this year," he said.
3. Detroit beat Chicago 52-21 back in Week 2 in Detroit. Both clubs are very different teams three and a half months later, but Johnson and his players haven't forgot that beatdown the Lions put on them.
"It's early in the season and you're still trying to get to know your team a little bit," Johnson said this week of that loss in Detroit early in the season. "Being in that locker room after the game and how that felt. I don't remember exactly what was said or anything like that, but you always remember how you felt in those moments and I know our players do too. It's never a good taste when you get beat like that so handily. Fourth quarter wasn't even close."
4. Williams is sitting at 3,730 passing yards on the season. He's 109 yards away from setting the franchise single season Bears record of 3,838 set by Erik Kramer in 1995. Williams needs 270 yards to become the first Bears quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards in a season.
Johnson said the No. 1 objective Sunday is to get the win by whatever means necessary and getting Williams to 4,000 is secondary to winning the football game. Williams did acknowledge the history of the moment if he's able to get to 4,000.
"For me, it would be cool just in the sense of there's never been one here and I was brought here for those types of things and types of moments that haven't been done here," he said.
5. What is Johnson expecting from the Lions and head coach Dan Campbell Sunday?
"They are going to come out here and fight. It's what they do," he said. "It's going to be a good challenge for us. It's a very good team. This group has talent all over the place.
"Offensively, their skill positions are absolutely loaded. Receiver-wise they are fast. The quarterback (Jared Goff) is playing at a super high level, he's so accurate. You give him a clean pocket, and he can just pick you apart. These runners are dangerous, both of them. I think defensively we have a tall task at hand."
Johnson acknowledged that Detroit has given up some big plays defensively but said the tape shows several of them coming with defenders in position to make plays and for whatever reason just haven't made enough of them. He thinks defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard has done a nice job orchestrating Detroit's defense and Detroit's defenders play hard for him.
View photos from Detroit Lions practice on Wednesday, December 31, 2025.
Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams (1) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center on Dec. 31, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions offensive lineman Miles Frazier (71) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center on Dec. 31, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions tackle Dan Skipper (70) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center on Dec. 31, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions defensive lineman DJ Reader (98) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center on Dec. 31, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions tight end Shane Zylstra (84) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center on Dec. 31, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell during practice at the Meijer Performance Center on Dec. 31, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions defensive lineman Tyleik Williams (91) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center on Dec. 31, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions cornerback D.J. Reed (4) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center on Dec. 31, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions cornerback D.J. Reed (4) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center on Dec. 31, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions safety Daniel Thomas (2) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center on Dec. 31, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions cornerback Amik Robertson (21) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center on Dec. 31, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions cornerback Amik Robertson (21) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center on Dec. 31, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center on Dec. 31, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) and Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs (0) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center on Dec. 31, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery (5) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center on Dec. 31, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs (0) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center on Dec. 31, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions linebacker Jack Campbell (46) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center on Dec. 31, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions linebacker Derrick Barnes (55) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center on Dec. 31, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson (97) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center on Dec. 31, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa (18) during practice at the Meijer Performance Center on Dec. 31, 2025 in Allen Park, Mich. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
6. It's important for Chicago to bounce back Sunday and get a win after a Week 17 loss in San Francisco, Johnson said. He'd like nothing better than going into the playoffs with a win vs. ending the regular season with two straight losses and feeling like they don't have a ton of momentum going into their first playoff matchup.
It's a sentiment linebacker T.J. Edwards echoed this week.
"I think for us the goal since Ben (Johnson) has kind of got here was to be playing our best ball around this time," Edwards said this week. "I still think that's the goal. For us, that's where our focus is. Just playing our best ball, do what we've been doing all year, and sticking together in that way."
