The Chicago Bears, riding high at 11-5 under first-year head coach Ben Johnson, face the Detroit Lions on Sunday with a chance to clinch the NFC's No. 2 playoff seed. A win would set up a third matchup against the Green Bay Packers in the Super Wild Card Weekend. The Lions, eliminated from contention, aim to play spoiler under Dan Campbell.
The NFC North has belonged to the Detroit Lions for the past two years, but the Chicago Bears claimed the division crown in 2025 with Ben Johnson, their former Lions offensive coordinator, at the helm. Entering Week 18 with an 11-5 record, the Bears can secure the No. 2 spot in the NFC playoffs with a victory over Detroit at Soldier Field. This would guarantee a home rematch with the Green Bay Packers, having already faced them twice this season.
The Lions were knocked out of playoff contention last week, finishing below .500. However, head coach Dan Campbell has a track record of motivating his team to spoil opponents' plans in the season finale. Detroit dominated their earlier meeting, winning 52-21 in Week 2, but the Bears have surged since, going 10-5-1 against the spread compared to the Lions' 7-9 ATS mark.
Kickoff is scheduled for Sunday, January 4, at 4:25 p.m. ET, airing on FOX and streamable via Fubo. Betting odds list the Bears as 3-point favorites with a total of 50.5 points at DraftKings. The Lions have hit the over in 10 of 16 games, while the Bears are even at 8-8.
The SportsLine Projection Model, which simulates every NFL game 10,000 times, favors the Lions to cover the spread in 51% of simulations and win outright in 47%. It projects a high-scoring affair, with the over hitting in nearly 60% of runs. Final prediction: Bears 28, Lions 27.
This matchup underscores the Bears' turnaround under Johnson and the Lions' resilience despite their setbacks.
