Jake Bates drilled a 42-yard field goal on the final play, giving the Detroit Lions a 19-16 win over the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on January 4, 2026, and closing a disappointing regular season on the only winning note available to a team that had arrived in the fall expecting a Super Bowl run. The Lions led 16-0 entering the fourth quarter before Caleb Williams threw two touchdown passes and Chicago converted both two-point attempts to level the score, before Jared Goff answered with a six-play, 39-yard drive to set Bates up with no time on the clock. Williams finished the year with a Bears franchise-record 3,942 passing yards, breaking Erik Kramer’s 3,838 set in 1995, as Detroit outgained Chicago 433 yards to 270 and held the ball for more than 11 extra minutes across the afternoon.
Table of Contents
Final Score
Team
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Final
Detroit Lions
3
10
3
3
19
Chicago Bears
0
0
0
16
16
Game Information
Date
January 4, 2026
Venue
Soldier Field, Chicago, IL
Attendance
57,036
Broadcast
FOX
Week
NFL Week 18
Detroit Lions Record
9-8
Chicago Bears Record
11-6
Scoring Summary
Qtr
Time
Scoring Play
Drive
Score
1st
8:35
Jake Bates 34-yd FG
11 plays, 55 yds, 6:25
DET 3, CHI 0
2nd
11:28
Jake Bates 30-yd FG
16 plays, 66 yds, 7:11
DET 6, CHI 0
2nd
4:40
Jahmyr Gibbs 15-yd TD pass from Goff; Bates PAT
9 plays, 76 yds, 5:06
DET 13, CHI 0
3rd
2:11
Jake Bates 25-yd FG
11 plays, 74 yds, 5:34
DET 16, CHI 0
4th
14:16
Jahdae Walker 25-yd TD pass from Williams; Monangai 2-pt run
7 plays, 65 yds, 2:55
DET 16, CHI 8
4th
5:25
Colston Loveland 1-yd TD pass from Williams; Williams-to-Kmet 2-pt pass
12 plays, 88 yds, 5:56
DET 16, CHI 16
4th
0:00
Jake Bates 42-yd FG
6 plays, 39 yds, 1:41
DET 19, CHI 16
Team Stats
Stat
Detroit Lions
Chicago Bears
Total Yards
433
270
Net Passing Yards
311
205
Rushing Yards
122
65
Total Plays
72
52
Yards per Play
6.0
5.2
First Downs
26
16
Passing First Downs
17
10
Rushing First Downs
7
4
First Downs via Penalty
2
2
3rd Down Efficiency
6/13 (46.2%)
4/11 (36.4%)
4th Down Efficiency
0/0
1/2
Red Zone (Made/Att)
1/4
1/1
Comp/Att
27/42
20/33
Yards per Pass Attempt
6.9
6.0
Sacks-Yards Lost
3-20
1-7
Yards per Rush
4.5
3.6
Penalties
6-35
4-25
Turnovers
1
1
Fumbles Lost
0
0
Interceptions Thrown
1
1
Time of Possession
35:45
24:15
Total Drives
9
8
Passing
Detroit Lions
Player
C/ATT
YDS
AVG
TD
INT
SACKS
QBR
RTG
Jared Goff
27/42
331
7.9
1
1
2-15
66.4
86.5
David Montgomery
0/0
0
—
0
0
1-5
—
—
Chicago Bears
Player
C/ATT
YDS
AVG
TD
INT
SACKS
QBR
RTG
Caleb Williams
20/33
212
6.4
2
1
1-7
56.6
86.9
Williams’ 212 yards pushed his 2025 regular-season total to 3,942, surpassing Erik Kramer’s Bears franchise record of 3,838 set in 1995. Goff distributed completions to seven different receivers.
Rushing
Detroit Lions
Player
CAR
YDS
AVG
TD
LONG
Jahmyr Gibbs
19
80
4.2
0
14
David Montgomery
8
42
5.3
0
9
Team
27
122
4.5
0
14
Chicago Bears
Player
CAR
YDS
AVG
TD
LONG
D’Andre Swift
10
40
4.0
0
10
Kyle Monangai
6
14
2.3
0
6
Luther Burden III
1
10
10.0
0
10
Caleb Williams
1
1
1.0
0
1
Team
18
65
3.6
0
10
Receiving
Detroit Lions
Player
REC
YDS
AVG
TD
LONG
TGT
Amon-Ra St. Brown
11
139
12.6
0
30
15
Jameson Williams
6
74
12.3
0
23
8
Kalif Raymond
3
52
17.3
0
24
3
Jahmyr Gibbs
3
33
11.0
1
15
5
Isaac TeSlaa
1
18
18.0
0
18
1
David Montgomery
1
13
13.0
0
13
1
Anthony Firkser
2
2
1.0
0
6
3
Team
27
331
12.3
1
30
36
Chicago Bears
Player
REC
YDS
AVG
TD
LONG
TGT
Colston Loveland
10
91
9.1
1
27
13
Jahdae Walker
2
36
18.0
1
25
3
Luther Burden III
3
35
11.7
0
13
4
Cole Kmet
2
16
8.0
0
19
3
Kyle Monangai
1
15
15.0
0
15
1
DJ Moore
1
11
11.0
0
11
3
D’Andre Swift
1
8
8.0
0
8
2
Team
20
212
10.6
2
27
29
Gibbs’ touchdown reception was his 31st game scoring in his first three NFL seasons, tying Barry Sanders and Randy Moss for the most scoring games through three years in league history.
Defense
Detroit Lions
Player
TOT
SOLO
SACKS
TFL
PD
QB HTS
Jack Campbell
11
4
0
1
1
0
Daniel Thomas
7
2
0
0
0
0
Aidan Hutchinson
6
4
1.0
1
0
2
Malcolm Rodriguez
4
4
0
1
0
0
Avonte Maddox
4
3
0
0
1
0
Rock Ya-Sin
4
2
0
0
1
2
Derrick Barnes
3
3
0
0
1
0
Jalen Mills
2
2
0
0
0
0
D.J. Reed
2
1
0
0
0
0
Tyler Lacy
2
1
0
0
0
0
Mekhi Wingo
2
1
0
0
0
0
Tyleik Williams
1
1
0
1
1
0
Tyrus Wheat
1
1
0
0
0
0
Trevor Nowaske
1
1
0
0
0
0
Chris Hubbard
1
0
0
0
0
0
Amik Robertson
1
0
0
0
0
0
Grant Stuard
1
0
0
0
0
0
Hogan Hatten
1
0
0
0
0
0
Sione Vaki
1
0
0
0
0
0
Isaac TeSlaa
1
0
0
0
0
0
Team
56
30
1.0
3
5
4
Chicago Bears
Player
TOT
SOLO
SACKS
TFL
PD
QB HTS
Tremaine Edmunds
8
7
0
0
0
0
Jaquan Brisker
8
5
0
0
2
0
Kevin Byard
8
2
0
0
1
0
C.J. Gardner-Johnson
6
5
0
0
0
0
Nahshon Wright
6
5
0
0
0
0
Jaylon Johnson
5
5
0
0
0
0
Andrew Billings
4
3
1.0
1
0
2
Gervon Dexter Sr.
4
2
1.0
1
0
3
T.J. Edwards
4
2
0
0
1
0
Montez Sweat
4
2
0.5
0
0
2
Grady Jarrett
3
2
0.5
0
1
1
Jaylon Jones
3
2
0
0
0
0
Austin Booker
3
0
0
0
1
0
Dominique Robinson
2
2
0
1
0
0
Durham Smythe
1
1
0
0
0
0
Chris Williams
1
1
0
0
0
0
Travis Homer
1
1
0
0
0
0
D’Marco Jackson
1
1
0
0
0
0
Scott Daly
1
0
0
0
0
0
Daniel Hardy
1
0
0
0
0
0
Nikola Kalinic
1
0
0
0
0
0
Team
75
48
3.0
3
6
8
Interceptions
Player
Team
INT
YDS
TD
Avonte Maddox
Detroit
1
0
0
Kevin Byard
Chicago
1
21
0
Byard’s interception, a 21-yard return after Jaquan Brisker tipped a Goff pass at the Chicago 35, was his seventh of the 2025 regular season and the most by any player in the NFL that year. Maddox picked off Williams in the end zone in the third quarter, keeping the Bears off the board at the time.
Kicking
Player
Team
FG
PCT
LONG
XP
PTS
Jake Bates
Detroit
4/5
80.0%
42
1/1
13
Bates made field goals of 34, 30, 25 and 42 yards. He missed from 53 yards at the end of the second quarter, wide left. Chicago did not attempt a field goal.
Punting
Player
Team
NO
YDS
AVG
TB
In 20
LONG
Jack Fox
Detroit
2
93
46.5
0
1
59
Tory Taylor
Chicago
4
178
44.5
0
0
54
Kick Returns
Player
Team
NO
YDS
AVG
LONG
TD
Tom Kennedy
Detroit
2
40
20.0
23
0
Devin Duvernay
Chicago
3
76
25.3
27
0
Josh Blackwell
Chicago
1
30
30.0
30
0
Punt Returns
Player
Team
NO
YDS
AVG
LONG
TD
Kalif Raymond
Detroit
3
33
11.0
14
0
Devin Duvernay
Chicago
1
15
15.0
15
0
Fumbles
Player
Team
FUM
LOST
REC
Caleb Williams
Chicago
1
0
1
Officiating
Role
Official
Referee
Brad Rogers
Umpire
Bryan Neale
Down Judge
Patrick Turner
Line Judge
Kevin Codey
Field Judge
Joe Blubaugh
Side Judge
David Meslow
Back Judge
Greg Yette
Detroit finished the 2025 regular season at 9-8, missing the playoffs entirely after a year that had opened with the Lions positioned as one of the NFC’s genuine Super Bowl contenders under Dan Campbell. Chicago closed at 11-6 as NFC North champions, secured the conference’s No. 2 seed when Washington beat Philadelphia the same afternoon, and returned to the postseason for the first time since 2020 in Ben Johnson’s first season as head coach, though the Bears arrived at the wild-card round having lost their final two regular-season games.
I'm Sean L. Garcia, a Swedish-born American journalist based in Washington with over six years of experience reporting across local publications and digital media. I hold a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and have spent the better part of my career covering the full spectrum of news, from breaking world affairs and domestic politics to sports analysis, consumer technology, automotive industry developments, the business of entertainment, celebrity culture, gaming, health, and the cultural moments that define how people actually live. I launched Daily Info Magazine on April 05, 2026, because I wanted to build one publication where readers never have to go elsewhere, a destination backed by real reporting, proper sourcing, and an editorial team that takes accuracy seriously across every beat we cover. I serve as Editor-in-Chief and continue to report, write, and publish alongside our team of writers, researchers, and editors every single day.
