Not everything that came out of the Bears’ Week 18 loss to the Lions was negative. While the defeat itself was disappointing, it may end up serving as a necessary wake-up call heading into their playoff matchup with the Packers.

As has been said countless times, there’s no such thing as a moral win in the NFL. Even though Chicago still walked away with the No. 2 seed thanks to the Eagles essentially handing the Commanders a win, the Bears have little reason to feel satisfied after a 19–16 loss to Detroit. The outcome — and the way it happened — wasn’t encouraging.
The Bad
The Good

A deliberately simple approach
Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson all but admitted it when he called this one of the simplest game plans he’s put together all season. The Bears clearly weren’t interested in revealing much, instead focusing on basic execution and limiting what future opponents could learn on film.

In many ways, it felt closer to a preseason-style evaluation than a must-win regular-season game.
That approach does raise some concern, since the Bears didn’t execute the basics particularly well.

Still, it was obvious they were holding back, especially when looking at how Luther Burden III was used compared to earlier in the year and how often the defense leaned on man coverage. It wouldn’t be surprising if Chicago had already shifted its attention toward Green Bay and decided to keep its more creative wrinkles under wraps — or at least that’s the hope.

Escaping without major damage
This may be the most important positive to come out of the loss. C.J. Gardner-Johnson’s injury is the lone concern, and while it didn’t look great, his rough performance before exiting makes it hard to gauge how big of a blow it truly is — particularly if Kyler Gordon isn’t able to return.
Beyond that, the Bears avoided serious injuries.

DJ Moore briefly exited with a leg issue but was able to return quickly, suggesting it’s nothing serious. Chicago also chose to sit left tackle Ozzy Trapilo, who has played well since stepping into the starting role, along with rookie receiver Rome Odunze, purely as precautionary measures. Both should be good to go for the postseason.

At this point, Gordon’s status looms large. If he can’t suit up, the specific replacement may not make much of a difference — the impact will be felt regardless.