Maintaining the second seed in the NFC Playoffs. Revenge for the 31-point loss in Week 2. And good, old NFC North hatred.
That will be the Chicago Bears’ motivation in Sunday’s regular-season finale at Soldier Field. The Detroit Lions are eliminated from the postseason, but that may not be apparent in their motivation.
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While the Bears try to shake off the sting of last weekend’s heart-breaking loss to the San Francisco 49ers and build momentum for their looming Wild Card round playoff game, Lions’ head coach Dan Campbell says his team will also be playing to win in Week 18.
The 8-8 Lions were officially eliminated with the loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Christmas, but most of their starters – including quarterback Jared Goff – will play Sunday at Soldier Field. As of now the Lions are slated to have the 15th pick in the 2026 NFL Draft and next season will play a fourth-place schedule.
“I think if it’s — we’re sitting there borderline, and the player, it could be hard (to play) or we think they’re setting themselves up for a long-term risk, then no, it’s not worth it,” Campbell said. “But if it’s the, stuff doesn’t feel good, it’s bumps and burises, then no, it’s like the next game up.”
On the short list of Lions potentially missing the finale is star receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, who has battled knee and ankle injuries the last three weeks.
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The Bears, meanwhile, will attempt to go 7-1 at home and 12-5 overall in Ben Johnson’s first year after finishing 5-12 in 2024. Quarterback Caleb Williams needs 270 yards passing to reach Johnson’s preseason goal of 4,000.
The Lions throttled the Bears, 52-21, back in September in Johnson’s return to Detroit.
Ben Johnson-Dan Campbell | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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