ALLEN PARK — The Detroit Lions have one game left on the regular season after being eliminated from the playoffs with their loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
And while the once-enticing Week 18 trip to face Ben Johnson and the Chicago Bears has lost its muster and national appeal. The NFL has scheduled that game to take place at 4:25 p.m. on Sunday on Fox from Soldier Field, still giving it a solid national spotlight.
Detroit will finish the season without playing a single road game in the early slate with this scheduling. The NFL releases the schedule for Week 18 once most games from the previous week are finished. It’s a chance for the league to spotlight the games that mean the most to end the season with flexibility.
The Lions are already done, with no path to the postseason. Chicago has already won the NFC North title, and after its loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday Night Football, can’t reach the No. 1 seed.
Detroit beat the Bears 52-21 way back in Week 2 in its home opener from Ford Field. Those two have reversed course ever since that game. The Bears have improved throughout the year under Ben Johnson as the Lions have dropped three straight to miss the playoffs after winning back-to-back division titles.
For the Lions (8-8), a loss would secure them the fourth-place schedule for next season and better draft positioning. The 49ers capitalized on that fourth-place schedule this season, and look at them now, right back on top gladly taking the break.
Dan Campbell isn’t the type to do anything resembling tanking, though. And with a chance to sweep old friend Johnson and the rival Bears (11-5) in Year 1 of these matchups, expect the Lions coach to try and find a way to end the year on a high note.
“Well, we got one game to go, man, and you know, I expect everybody to be ready to go when we get back in a couple of days, be locked in and be ready when we get on a plane to go to Chicago,, to be locked in one more time,” Campbell said on Christmas. “That’s what I expect. And then we’ll go from there … ”
The 49ers will play the Seattle Seahawks with the NFC West crown and top seed up for grabs on Saturday night. The only other Saturday game is for the NFC South title, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers battling for the conference’s lone remaining playoff spot.
Back here in Detroit, it’s a reminder of what could have been with this game set to end the year. Johnson and the Bears are going to the playoffs as division champs, no matter what happens on Sunday. And that’s enough motivation for Campbell’s Lions.