DETROIT — The last time the Chicago Bears gathered postgame in the visitors locker room at Ford Field, a sense of shock over the way they had folded against the Detroit Lions permeated the cramped quarters.
The Thanksgiving Day debacle that sent former coach Matt Eberflus packing in November 2024 was the catalyst for ushering in a new era of Bears football under Ben Johnson.
But for as much change that has taken place since the last time the Bears were in this building, much felt the same on Sunday, including the search for answers as Chicago picks up the pieces from its latest Motor City meltdown, a 52-21 blowout loss to the Lions.
“Any time you lose a game like that — man, it’s a kick in the teeth,” said Johnson, who helped build the Lions’ offense into one of the league’s best as their offensive coordinator the previous three seasons. “Nothing about that feels good. Unfortunately, I’ve been through a number of these throughout the course of my career.
“These guys are hurt. It stinks. They fought, they fought the entire game, and when you play a good team on the road and you have turnovers and you don’t convert on fourth down and you give up explosive plays on defense, it can go sideways in a hurry.”
Sunday’s outing marked the third game since the start of the 2024 season that the Lions scored 50-plus points, including identical 52-point onslaughts against the Tennessee Titans and the Jacksonville Jaguars last season.
Meanwhile, the Bears have lost 12 of their last 13 games, dating back to Oct. 27. That was the beginning of the end for Eberflus, who will return to Soldier Field next Sunday (4:25 p.m. ET, Fox) as the defensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys.
The Bears didn’t turn in a defensive collapse like Sunday’s even when things were at their worst under Eberflus, who used to call Chicago’s defense.
Lions quarterback Jared Goff completed 23 of 28 passes for 334 yards and five touchdowns on Sunday and finished just shy of a perfect passer rating at 156.0. His favorite target — Amon-Ra St. Brown — was on the receiving end of three touchdowns (9 catches, 115 yards), including the one that allowed the Lions to surpass the 50-point threshold.
“In the passing game, we just simply didn’t affect the quarterback,” Johnson said. “We tried to mix up the coverages, and they hurt us a little bit in some of our single-high stuff with their speed.
“The explosive plays are an issue. You feel those. I did think the defense did a great job despite the turnovers and the fourth down. They hit the field, they were being resilient, they were fighting their tails off — it just didn’t go our way today.”
It’s been 11 years since the Bears’ defense allowed 52 points, in a Week 10 blowout during the 2014 season when the Green Bay Packers prevailed 55-14.
The 8.8 yards per play allowed by Chicago’s defense was the highest rate they’ve allowed in a game since 1961. And they came on explosive plays in all shapes and size: Chicago allowed 15 plays of 10-plus yards and seven plays that went 20-plus yards. The five plays that generated 30-plus yards are tied for the most they’ve allowed in any game over the past 10 campaigns.
“We can’t allow explosives,” Bears safety Jaquan Brisker said. “We haven’t allowed it all camp. We haven’t allowed any in practice. I was shocked just like everybody else.”
Detroit found windows to unleash its offensive firepower, particularly when Chicago lost cornerback Jaylon Johnson and linebacker T.J. Edwards to injuries during the contest. Johnson left the game in the second quarter after breaking up a third-down pass and was ruled out with a groin injury. Edwards exited in the third with a hamstring injury.
Those are the same injuries that kept both players out for the Bears’ season opening loss to the visiting Minnesota Vikings. While Ben Johnson did not know the extent of either player’s injury postgame, the coach believed they were a “reaggravation” of each player’s previous injury.
“It’s horrible when you see your teammates go down, two guys who fought really, really hard to be up for this week,” Chicago defensive tackle Grady Jarrett said.
Over their last five quarters, the Bears have allowed 73 points, including 21 unanswered to the Vikings in the fourth quarter. Avenging these two losses and turning the tide defensively will be a challenge against a Dallas team that just hung 40 points on the New York Giants for their first win of the season.
“You get up and you keep fighting until that clock hits zero,” Jarrett said. “That’s all you can do.
“And when the game comes to an end, we’re going to regroup. We’re going to find out what we did wrong and how we can get better, and we’re going to move forward.”
