CHICAGO — After losing eight straight games and absorbing all the frustration that comes with it, the Chicago Bears were desperate to finish a game on a positive note. A win over the Detroit Lions wouldn’t have offered anything more than that, with the Bears mathematically eliminated last week.

Still, though, a win after all that losing would’ve provided a huge lift to the team’s mindset. That desire didn’t help the Bears enough.

Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions followed a similar script to most games this season, with the Bears starting slow offensively while the team fell behind multiple scores. Production picked up as the game progressed, but not enough to overcome an early deficit.

Sound familiar? It should.

[Live updates from throughout Bears-Lions showdown]

That’s why the Bears have now lost nine straight games following a 34-17 result against the Lions at Soldier Field.

Let’s take a closer look at the important moments and stats from this Week 16 contest:

Bair’s breakdown

The Lions score tons of points, regardless of competition level. Ben Johnson’s offense is as efficient, explosive and innovative as any in this league.

[MORE: Ben Johnson reportedly ‘intrigued’ by Bears gig]

All that said, the Bears defense couldn’t slow the Lions down at all. Same could be said against the Vikings and 49ers before that.

We’ve reached a point where we can say that unit just isn’t good anymore. They can’t stop the run. They give up tons of yards overall. Their red-zone efficiency has gotten worse. They have given up at least 30 points in four of the past five games.

A unit that was this team’s bedrock is now an unstable foundation, with weaknesses in coverage and no push up front. They’ve lost two key components in Andrew Billings and Jaquan Brisker, and Montez Sweat is clearly banged up but this relatively talented collection isn’t playing well with what they’ve got.

That will make it difficult to win a game this season, with the offensive output lessened by characteristic slow starts. There are two tough opponents coming up in Seattle and Green Bay, who employ Kenneth Walker and Josh Jacobs at running back, respectively. That’s poison for the way this defense has played against the run, and a troubling trend for an organization that prides itself on playing tough defense.  

Key stat

80-14

That’s how much the Bears have been outscored by in the first half over their last 4 games (stretching back to the Thanksgiving Day matchup in Detroit).

That number was at 73-0 before the Bears put together a touchdown drive in the middle of the 2nd quarter Sunday against the Lions. Caleb Williams hit Cole Kmet for a 1-yard touchdown to end the scoreless drought.

It was the first TD pass thrown by Williams in the first half since Week 6 against the Jaguars.

Williams later hit Keenan Allen on another TD strike with 39 seconds before halftime.

That made it 27-14 at halftime Sunday.

The last time the Bears went 4 straight first halves without a point was back in 1932 – the same year Babe Ruth was calling his shot at Wrigley Field (to give you an idea of how long ago it was).

The offense is just one aspect of that first-half disparity, however.

Defensively, the Bears have not been much better before halftime over the last month.

Last week, they trailed 13-0 to the Vikings after the first half. Two weeks ago, it was a 24-0 halftime deficit in San Francisco. On Thanksgiving, it was 16-0 after the first half before the Bears mounted a comeback and nearly pulled off an upset.

Sunday, the Bears defense had no answer for Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs (119 first-half yards, TD) and surrendered an 82-yard touchdown to Jameson Williams as well.

In total, Chicago allowed 327 yards and 27 points in the first half Sunday.

The Bears defense actually held up well in the second half, allowing just 7 points. But the rough first half proved to be too much for Williams and Co. to overcome.

Pivot point

Early in this losing streak, the Bears were hardly turning the ball over at all, but that has since turned on a dime.

Caleb Williams has now lost a fumble in 3 straight games, though Sunday against the Lions could have gone either way. He and Rome Odunze botched a handoff on the Bears’ 2nd drive of the game and the Lions recovered.

That set up Detroit’s first touchdown of the game and stretched their lead to 10-0.

On the very next drive, Odunze fumbled again – just when the Bears offense started to move the ball and pick up some momentum.

Williams hit Odunze, who weaved through the Lions defense for a 19-yard game but the ball came loose just before he hit the ground.

Detroit recovered again and marched 44 yards for another field goal – this time running the score to 13-0.

What’s next

The Bears have a short turnaround for a second straight week, with a Thursday night home game against Seattle. They’ll certainly get the Seahawks’ best, considering they’re in a tight race to win the NFC West.