Bears vs Lions live updates: NFL Week 16 game score, highlights
The Chicago Bears return home Sunday for the first time in almost a month, and while they’re well out of the NFL playoff picture, they can play spoilers against an NFC North rival to start a run of two games in five days.
The Detroit Lions come to Soldier Field as the NFC’s No. 1 playoff seed, but the Philadelphia Eagles and Minnesota Vikings also are 12-2. That means a Lions loss, combined with a Eagles and/or Vikings win, could drop them out of the top spot and as low as No. 5.
The Bears (4-10), meanwhile, simply want to stop their season-sinking eight-game losing streak, give much-needed answers to some outstanding questions, and have some positive feelings this holiday season.
The Bears’ previous meeting with the Lions was anything but that, as shaky clock management on the final drive in a 23-20 loss on Nov. 28 in Detroit led to coach Matt Eberflus’ firing. Thomas Brown took over as interim coach and is 0-2 since.
Follow our Bears-Lions blog below for live updates on the score and highlights, along with other news and analysis from the NFL Week 16 game in Chicago. After the game, turn to Marquee Sports Network or the Marquee Sports Network app to watch “The Official Bears Postgame LIVE” with Cole Wright and Coach Dave Wannstedt.
FINAL: Lions 34, Bears 17
Bears’ last red-zone gasp fails; Lions still up by 17
The Lions’ defense decided to finally help the Bears’ offense, but they wouldn’t take it.
Back-to-back penalties – unnecessary roughness and illegal hands to the face – put Chicago in the red zone, but Caleb Williams threw three incomplete passes, and the Bears turned the ball over on downs at the Detroit 11 with 2:30 left.
The Lions will look to run out the clock and improve to 13-2 on the season. The Bears, meanwhile, would suffer their ninth consecutive loss, dropping them to 4-11.
Bears can’t capitalize on fourth-down red-zone stop
The Bears’ defense did its job, but the offense could not, so it’s still a three-score game with 8:13 left.
The Lions decided to go for it on fourth-and-3 from the Bears’ 13-yard line, but Tremaine Edmunds broke up Jared Goff’s pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown, giving Chicago possession.
Four consecutive Caleb Williams passes to Keenan Allen – including a fourth-and-7 conversion – put the Bears at Detroit’s 27 …
… but a false-start penalty and a sack stalled the drive right there, and Chicago had to punt.
END OF THIRD QUARTER: Lions 34, Bears 17
Williams, Bears respond with field goal; Lions lead 34-17
Stay hot, Caleb Williams.
Chicago’s rookie QB continues to look comfortable against the NFC’s top playoff contenders, as this 30-yard pass to Rome Odunze on fourth-and-1 showed.
That play put the Bears at Detroit’s 15, but the drive sputtered from there, and Cairo Santos’ 30-yard field goal with 6:03 remaining in the third quarter cut Chicago’s deficit to 34-17.
Lions open second half with TD drive for 34-14 lead
The Lions picked up in the second half where they left off in the first.
Detroit took the second-half kickoff and drove 79 yards in five plays in just 2:42, with Jared Goff’s 21-yard touchdown pass to tight end Sam LaPorta providing a 34-14 lead. Goff and running back Jahmyr Gibbs appeared to intentionally stumble on the play, leading Chicago’s defense to rush forward and leave LaPorta open.
The Bears will have to respond when they take possession for the first time in the second half, with rookie QB Caleb Williams on a roll.
HALFTIME: Lions 27, Bears 14
Bears strike quickly for TD, cut Lions’ lead to 27-14
The Bears quickly showed they still have some fight left.
Caleb Williams’ right arm took the Bears 70 yards in just 19 seconds and three plays, with his 45-yard touchdown strike to Keenan Allen reducing the Lions’ lead to 27-14 with 39 seconds remaining in the first half.
Detroit will receive the ball to start the second half, so Chicago’s defense will have to hold firm and give Williams and Co. another chance to further trim their deficit.
Lions respond with TD drive, lead Bears 27-7
As the clock ticked to the 2-minute warning, the Lions lined up on fourth-and-1 at the Bears’ 25, seemingly in an attempt to draw Chicago offside and extend the drive.
Bears defensive end Austin Booker took the bait, jumping across the line for a 5-yard penalty that gave Detroit a first down.
Four plays later, Jared Goff hit Amon-Ra St. Brown on an 8-yard touchdown pass for a 27-7 Lions lead with 58 seconds left in the second quarter.
During the drive, the Bears also announced that left tackle Braxton Jones will not return to the game because of an ankle injury.
Williams-to-Kmet TD trims Bears’ deficit to 20-7
The Bears rolled the dice, and it resulted in their first points of Sunday’s game — and their first first-half points in almost a month.
Facing fourth-and-3 at the Lions’ 31, Bears interim coach Thomas Brown eschewed a lengthy field-goal attempt for a Caleb Williams pass to Rome Odunze that went 13 yards for a first down.
DJ Moore’s 14-yard catch brought Chicago to the Detroit 5, and Caleb Williams hit Cole Kmet for a 1-yard touchdown pass that cut the Bears’ deficit to 20-7 with 6:31 left in the second quarter.
However, it wasn’t all good news for the Bears, who appeared to lose left tackle Braxton Jones to an apparent injury on the drive, as he was carted off the field after Odunze’s catch. He missed last week’s loss to the Minnesota Vikings with a concussion.
Lions stretch advantage to 20-0 on Goff-to-Williams dime
Jameson Williams just took the top off the Bears’ defense for a 20-0 Lions lead.
After another Chicago drive sputtered near midfield, Detroit took possession at its own 7-yard line. Two plays in, Jared Goff found Williams streaking through the Bears’ secondary and lofted a perfect ball that the wide receiver hauled in for an 82-yard touchdown with 12:49 left in the second quarter.
The Bears need some points, and fast.
Lions lead 13-0 after first quarter filled with Bears errors
Another Bears fumble, another Lions score.
Chicago wide receiver Rome Odunze lost the football as he fought for extra yardage in Detroit territory, and Jack Campbell recovered for the Lions at their 40. That snuffed out a promising Bears drive that featured three consecutive Caleb Williams complete passes.
Chicago’s defense again held strong, though, limiting Detroit to Jake Bates’ 34-yard field goal that made it 13-0 with two seconds left in the first quarter.
Bears down 10-0 after fumble sparks Lions TD drive
A botched handoff between Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze gifted the Lions seven more points and a 10-0 lead with 5:34 left in the first quarter.
Detroit gained possession at the Chicago 36-yard line after Josh Paschal recovered the fumble, and moved to the 9 on two pass plays. Jahmyr Gibbs appeared to score on the next play, and while the touchdown was reversed on replay, he officially scored on a third consecutive attempt from the 1 against a resilient, determined Bears defense.
Lions grab 3-0 lead on Bates’ short field goal
The Lions didn’t waste much time getting on the scoreboard.
Jared Goff marched the offense 55 yards in nine plays, and after the Bears held firm inside the red zone, Jake Bates kicked a 30-yard field goal with 9:35 left in the first quarter.
Goff’s 28-yard strike to Amon-Ra St. Brown to the Bears’ 19 was the biggest play on the drive, as it helped Detroit dig out of the hole that Jameson Williams created with his 15-yard taunting penalty three plays prior.
Bears’ opening-drive struggles continue
The Bears received the opening kickoff in the north end, but they went three-and-out, as Caleb Williams completed 1 of 3 passes of only 1 yard.
Chicago has scored on its first possession just twice in 15 games this season. Both times, it was a field goal.