▶ Kickoff: 4:25 p.m. Sunday, Soldier Field, Chicago

▶ TV/radio: Fox/97.1-FM

▶ Line: Bears by 2½

▶ Series: Bears lead 105-81-5 (Last meeting: Sept. 14, 2025 — (at) Lions 52, Bears 21)

Richard Silva of The Detroit News breaks down the Lions’ Week 18 matchup against the Chicago Bears.

Key matchup

DETROIT’S RUN DEFENSE VS. CHICAGO’S RUSHING OFFENSE

The Lions tightened things up against the Minnesota Vikings on Christmas, but they’ve recently shown struggles in stopping the run, allowing the Los Angeles Rams (Week 15) and Pittsburgh Steelers (Week 16) to combine for 389 rushing yards on 56 attempts. That’s an average of 6.9 yards allowed per rush, far from what’s become expected of Detroit’s run defense in recent years. The Rams and Steelers used ample amounts of 13 personnel (three tight ends) to beat the Lions. The Bears don’t run a ton of 13 personnel, but you better believe Ben Johnson has watched the film from those contests in an effort to formulate a game plan.

Johnson’s offense is running the ball as consistently as any team in the NFL this season. The Bears lead the league in rushing success rate (49.1%), according to NFL Pro, and their Expected Points Added (EPA) per rush (+0.05) ranks fourth. Running backs D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai form a highly productive tandem in the backfield, combining for 1,816 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground. It’s not as dominating as Detroit’s duo was in 2024 — Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery had 2,187 rushing yards and 28 touchdowns — but the Swift-Monangai pairing has been plenty effective.

Important to Chicago’s rushing success has been its offensive line, comprised of left tackle Ozzy Trapilo, left guard Joe Thuney, center Drew Dalman, right guard Jonah Jackson and right tackle Darnell Wright. Only one of those players (Trapilo) has played fewer than 1,000 snaps this season, as the Bears have stayed mostly healthy along the offensive line; left tackle has been the only position in flux, with Trapilo, Braxton Jones and Theo Benedet each getting notable reps at the position.

Bears to watch

▶ Caleb Williams, quarterback: Only two players in franchise history have thrown for more yards in a single season than Williams, who is up to 3,730 across 16 starts in 2025. He’s 109 yards away from passing Erik Kramer (1995) for the top spot, and he’s 270 yards away from becoming Chicago’s first 4,000-yard passer. Williams has made 27 big-time throws this season, according to Pro Football Focus. That’s tied for the fifth-most in the NFL. He ranks near the middle of the pack in turnover-worthy plays (16) and sacks taken (23).

▶ Colston Loveland, tight end: It took until about the midway point of his rookie season, but Loveland has become a legitimate weapon in Chicago’s offense. Since Week 9, only three tight ends — Arizona’s Trey McBride (753), San Francisco’s George Kittle (531) and Atlanta’s Kyle Pitts (526) — have more receiving yards than Loveland (506), who is third on the Bears with 69 targets this season, behind receivers Rome Odunze (90) and D.J. Moore (82). Loveland was picked 10th overall in April’s draft after three seasons at Michigan.

▶ Nahshon Wright, cornerback: Wright, with five interceptions, three fumbles recovered and two fumbles forced in 2025, has a nose for the football. The 99th overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft, Wright started his career with the Dallas Cowboys (2021-23) and made a pitstop with the Vikings (2024) before signing with the Bears on a one-year deal in April. He has 14 run stops this season, second-most for all cornerbacks in the NFL. Houston’s Kamari Lassiter (20) is the only cornerback with more.

Facts and figures

▶ Opposing offenses have scored only 10 total points on opening drives against the Bears this season, the lowest amount in the NFL. The only first-possession touchdown scored on Chicago’s defense came via the Lions in Week 2, when Gibbs found the end zone from 6 yards out. The Cincinnati Bengals (Week 9) account for the other three points, connecting on a 41-yard field goal. The Bears have forced five punts and nine turnovers (five interceptions, two fumbles and two turnovers on downs) on opening drives in every other game this season.

▶ Ben Johnson is the first rookie head coach to win the NFC North since Matt Nagy did it in 2018, also with the Bears. Johnson helped the Lions to a 36-15 record during his three-year stretch as the team’s offensive coordinator. He’s 11-5 with the Bears, orchestrating an offense that enters Week 18 ranking third in yards (375.4) and 10th in points (26.6). The Bears have scored 30 or more points five times this season. They’ve been held under 20 points twice.

rsilva@detroitnews.com

@rich_silva18