With the Bears and Lions tied at 16 late in the fourth quarter, Ben Johnson’s offense had an opportunity to take the lead for the first time all game.
Bears safety Kevin Byard III intercepted Lions quarterback Jared Goff and set Chicago's offense up at their own 26-yard line. Quickly after the takeaway, the Bears wasted the extra possession.
It started with a Caleb Williams incomplete pass, then an intentional grounding penalty and a 15-yard completion to Kyle Monangai on third-and-20. Facing a fourth-and-five at their own 31-yard line, Johnson elected to punt the football.
The Detroit Lions took six plays to go 39 yards down the field and kicked the game-winning field goal. Lions 19, Bears 16.
Ben Johnson might be living with some regret for critical mistake
After the game, Johnson said he did consider going for it on fourth down instead of punting. The Bears’ head coach also mentioned that he had three timeouts and felt like the offense would get the ball back.
Clearly, Johnson had confidence that defensive coordinator Dennis Allen's unit could get that job done, but what was the reason for that? Was it because the Bears’ defense held the Lions to just a field goal, two punts, and an interception in the second half before Detroit's final drive?
Potentially.
But the first half still happened. The Lions had 15 first downs and 247 yards of total offense. Goff was 10 of 28 for 200 yards. Amon-Ra St. Brown had nine receptions for 110 yards.
Even though the Bears were backed up in their own territory, it was a surprising decision by Johnson to punt. You would think Johnson would want to control the outcome with his offense, which had scored back-to-back touchdowns and converted two-point plays on the previous drives.
“Those are things we talk about,” Johnson said after the game. “Especially coming off the two-minute warning like that, we've got plenty of time to make those decisions.”
In hindsight, Johnson's decision to trust his defense was one of the many reasons why the Bears dropped their final regular season game.
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Johnson will have to use that moment as a teaching point to better prepare him for the Bears' Wild Card matchup with the Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field.