CHICAGO — Jared Goff led five scoring drives and Jake Bates hit a 42-yard field goal as time expired as the Detroit Lions regrouped to beat the NFC North champion Chicago Bears 19-16 on Sunday after blowing a 16-point lead in the fourth quarter.
The Lions (9-8) ended a three-game losing streak and finished the season with a win, though coach Dan Campbell said missing the playoffs was “frustrating.”
“It feels good to kind of get back to who we are and see it in live-speed reality,” Goff said.
Chicago (11-6) secured the No. 2 seed in the NFC with Washington beating Philadelphia, though the Bears enter the postseason on a two-game losing streak.
Chicago will host Green Bay in a wild-card game on Saturday night and would have home-field advantage in the divisional round if it beats the Packers.
“We’re going to use this frustration,” quarterback Caleb Williams said. “We’re going to get on a roll here this week, starting this week and that’s the focus.”
Williams threw for 212 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdown passes as the Bears erased a 16-0 deficit. His 212 passing yards gave him 3,942 this season, surpassing Erik Kramer’s franchise single-season passing record of 3,838 set in 1995. Chicago remains the only team without a 4,000-yard passer.
Detroit started the winning drive at its 37 after Chicago punted on fourth-and-5 at the 31.
A 26-yard pass from Goff to Amon-Ra St. Brown helped set up Bates’ game-winner.
Goff finished 27 of 42 for 331 yards with a touchdown and an interception, bouncing back after what the report described as his worst game of the season last week at Minnesota. St. Brown had 139 yards on 11 receptions. Jahmyr Gibbs ran for 80 yards and had a touchdown catch.
Avonte Maddox intercepted Williams in the end zone in the third quarter. Kevin Byard had his league-leading seventh interception, picking off Goff at the Chicago 5 after Jaquan Brisker tipped a pass intended for St. Brown.
In the fourth quarter, Williams hit Jahdae Walker for a 25-yard touchdown and Kyle Monangai ran in the 2-point conversion to make it 16-8.
After a Detroit punt, the Bears drove 88 yards, with Williams finding Colston Loveland for a 1-yard touchdown. Cole Kmet caught the 2-point conversion pass to tie it 16.
Loveland finished with 10 receptions for 91 yards and a touchdown.
Campbell said the Lions would need changes moving forward.
“I still believe the nucleus of this team is right,” Campbell said. “I really do. But we are going to need to make a few changes.”