Lions go out winners with last-play field goal to clip Bears

Nolan Bianchi, The Detroit News on Jan 4, 2026

Published in Football

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CHICAGO — The Detroit Lions traveled to Chicago as a broken and battered team, hoping to put together one last quality performance before the season was officially over.

But before bidding this 2025 season farewell, they reminded us of the team they could've been.

The Lions controlled Sunday's game against the playoff-bound Chicago Bears from the jump, dominating on both sides of the ball for three quarters before holding off a furious comeback attempt by way of a 42-yard, walk-off field goal from kicker Jake Bates in a 19-16 victory at Soldier Field.

The Lions (9-8) secured their fourth consecutive winning season for the first time since 1969-72.

After allowing the Bears to storm back with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns and 2-point conversions, the Lions got moving on a potential winning drive in the final minutes. They moved into Chicago territory with just over three minutes remaining. But after Goff was flagged for intentional grounding on second-and-10, he tried forcing a ball into a tight window and was intercepted, opening the door for a potential winning drive the other way.

But the Bears also found themselves in a third-and-long because of a grounding penalty, which gave the ball back to Detroit just after the 2-minute warning.

And with nothing but pride on the line, the Lions moved into Chicago territory with a 26-yard completion to Amon-Ra St. Brown and set up Bates for the winner, his first and only walk-off of the season.

Lions quarterback Jared Goff was 27-for-42 for 331 yards, a touchdown and an interception. St. Brown put up 139 receiving yards, including 110 yards in the first half and wide receiver Jameson Williams added 74 yards on six catches. Running back Jahmyr Gibbs totaled 80 rushing yards on 19 carries.

The only thing that kept Chicago in the game was its red-zone defense — the Lions were 1 for 4 in that department, which allowed the Bears to quickly climb back into the game during the fourth quarter.

The Lions moved the ball well on their opening possession but came up short on third-and-5 from the Chicago 16-yard line, settling for a 34-yard field goal off the foot of Bates to go up 3-0 with 8:35 left in the first quarter.

After getting a quick stop on Chicago's opening possession, the Lions put together another long drive that came up short in the red zone. Goff threw three straight incompletions before Detroit settled for a 30-yard field goal from Bates, taking a 6-0 lead with 11:28 to go in the first half.

The Bears went three-and-out on their second possession, opening the door for Detroit to take a multi-score lead before halftime. Detroit finally turned a promising drive into points, taking the ball 76 yards down the field in nine plays before the drive was capped by a 15-yard passing touchdown to Gibbs, giving the Lions a 13-0 advantage with 4:40 left in the first half.

Chicago converted a fourth-and-5 from near midfield to keep their most promising first-half drive alive. Lions linebacker Derrick Barnes, however, brought it to a halt with his fourth-down pass breakup on ex-Michigan star Colston Loveland, forcing a turnover on downs with 30 seconds left in the first half.

The Lions marched the other way quickly and gave Bates a shot at a 53-yard attempt before halftime, but he missed, wide left, keeping the score at 13-0.

The Bears threatened to score midway through the third quarter after converting a fourth down by way of a questionable neutral-zone infraction on Lions defensive tackle Roy Lopez — Lopez moved before the snap but didn't appear to cross into the neutral zone — and took over with a new set of downs at the 43-yard line of Detroit.

But just two plays later, Williams was intercepted by Lions safety Avonte Maddox while trying to throw across his body to the end zone, ending the threat.

Detroit settled for a field goal for a third time with 2:11 left in the third quarter, as an 11-play, 74-yard drive came up short at the 6-yard line of Chicago. Bates added a 25-yard field goal to put the Lions up, 16-0.

The Bears got on the board early in the fourth quarter. Maddox bit on a throw underneath, and cornerback Amik Robertson couldn't stay with wide receiver Jahdae Walker, who hauled in a 25-yard touchdown pass from Williams. After a successful 2-point conversion run by Kyle Monangai, the Bears trailed by just a score, 16-8, with 14:16 left.

The Lions gave it back to Chicago after trying to use running back David Montgomery a passer on a third down; he was sacked, forcing a punt.

The Bears tied the game with 5:25 left. After Loveland finished a 12-play, 88-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown reception, Williams found tight end Cole Kmet in the end zone for a 2-point conversion that knotted the two teams at 16.

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