Chicago Bears fans left the 19-16 loss to the Detroit Lions in Week 18 frustrated that the offense and defense did not look particularly significant in the contest.
The Bears' defense surrendered over 400 yards to the Lions, and Chicago's offense didn't score a single point until the fourth quarter. It's become a common theme of the season: the Bears can't get off to fast starts, so they have to play catch-up at the end, but it's not enough.
Bears head coach Ben Johnson has been very critical of his offense and how they played in the loss to the Lions, and fans would agree. Where the disagreement might come is in Johnson giving credit to the defense.
"We got a number of areas we can play better," Johnson said via CHGO. "At the same time, the number one thing is we are trying to limit the amount of points. I thought our defense played well enough to win the (Detroit) game."
Bears' defense must play better than what happened against Lions
Sure, it's fair to say that the defense did its job by holding the Lions' offense to 19 points. The Kevin Byard interception late in the fourth quarter was huge for the Bears as well, but as Johnson also said, there are several areas to improve on.
Chicago's most significant problem on defense is the number of yards they allow per game. The Bears are ranked 29th in the NFL in total defense, allowing a staggering 361.8 yards per game. That's the most yards allowed by any of the playoff teams.
The saving grace for this defense is that they have created the most turnovers in the NFL, with 33. Without that, this Bears defense would be in bigger trouble than some think.
Chicago has a problem with getting to the quarterback, as they are weak in their pass rush outside of Montez Sweat and Gervon Dexter. Against the Lions, the Bears' defense struggled with tackling and missed multiple opportunities throughout the game.
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The Bears are really going to need their top defenders ready to go against a Green Bay Packers team that has beaten them before and lost another time. This is the playoffs, and the defense can't afford to keep playing the way it has during the regular season, as it could mean an early exit from the postseason.