DJ Moore was a tremendous addition to the Chicago Bears offense when he arrived in 2023. He immediately went for over 1300 yards and looked like a true #1 wide receiver they could build around. This season hasn’t been his best statistically, but some huge catches against Cleveland and Green Bay reminded everybody how good he could be. It quieted the rumblings that the team should at least consider moving on from the 28-year-old next spring. His hefty contract and bouts of inconsistency led some to think he wasn’t worth keeping.

Could one play have changed that? During the season finale against the Detroit Lions, the Bears were trailing 13-0 in the 3rd quarter. Caleb Williams had a good drive going. Then, from the Lions’ 37, he fired a pass deep to Moore. Around the two-yard line, Moore appears to slow down and gets easily outmuscled by the defender, leading to an interception. The wide receiver doesn’t even make an effort to prevent the turnover. It wasn’t a good look, and it isn’t the first one where Moore seems to give up on a ball.

DJ Moore has left the door open to get moved.

Here are some inescapable facts. He counts $28.5 million against the salary cap next year. The Bears are projected to be $200,000 in the red. They have to find a way to create space. Trading Moore would net them $16.5 million. That move alone would solve most of their pressing issues. More importantly, this isn’t a situation where the Bears would ruin their passing attack by unloading him. Colston Loveland led the team with 713 yards. Rome Odunze finished just behind Moore’s 682 despite missing five games. Luther Burden had 481 yards over the last eight games of the season. Chicago has lots of young and cheaper options in the passing game who appear just as good.

Nobody can argue that DJ Moore has been a big part of the team’s climb out of the cellar. His catch against the Packers will be immortalized forever. Still, you must keep business and emotion separate. The fact is, he’s no longer their ace wide receiver. His frequent disappearances are making it harder and harder to justify his big contract. Chicago has the necessary safety net to survive the loss of a player of his caliber. It feels like a trade should be expected. That play against Detroit wasn’t the primary reason, but it may have been the spark on the fuse.

The Chicago Bears went 11-6 this year. By any stretch of the imagination, that is a massive success after what happened in 2024. Matt Eberflus is gone. The Ben Johnson era has arrived. It’s a new dawn. However, it’s hard to wash the stink out of a team from the previous regime that quickly. While Eberflus’ direct influence might be gone, the sting of his decisions still lingers. That has been particularly true with the Bears defense. People talk about Eberflus’ coaching. They don’t talk about the influence he had on its construction.

Jaquan Brisker made a fascinating comment about Chicago’s defensive struggles in the loss to Detroit on Sunday.

This is something that wasn’t really touched on this season. Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen inherited a unit that was built to play zone. Eberflus’ scheme is steeped in the classic Tampa-2 style, which is mostly zone-based. As a reminder, his defense in Dallas played zone 73.1% of the time. Why does this matter? The thing about building a zone defense is that one thing is often sacrificed: speed. Zone teams are more focused on guys who play downhill, tackle well, and have the ability to identify turnover opportunities. The problem is that the lack of speed becomes a huge liability once you start playing more man coverage, as the Bears have done this year.

Matt Eberflus left the Bears with one final headache.

If you need clear evidence of why, look no further than the numbers. This season, Bears defenders were targeted in man coverage 111 times. They gave up 12 touchdown passes. They were targeted 309 times in zone coverage, yet allowed only 11 touchdowns. It is a unit built to play zone. Whenever asked to play man, it’s a major risk. For Allen, this is a core issue. His best defenses in New Orleans were man-heavy, allowing him to deploy his most lethal pressure packages.

Right now, he is trying to create good defense with a roster that isn’t built to run his preferred style. This is a Matt Eberflus defense. Allen has done the best he can to run it, but there are certain things he just can’t get away with. GM Ryan Poles will likely have to completely retool the unit starting this offseason. The focus will be on speed, particularly in the back seven. Pass rusher is high on the list, but don’t be surprised if they target a highly athletic cornerback as well.

Something was fishy about the game on Sunday at Soldier Field. The Chicago Bears didn’t resemble the team they’d been for the past few months, playing with an edge and creating havoc for opponents. They appeared sluggish and bland. It wasn’t until the 4th quarter that they finally came to life, erasing a 16-0 deficit to tie the game. Unfortunately, Detroit managed to survive and kicked a game-winning field goal as time expired. Head coach Ben Johnson was not happy after the game, singling out the offense for their poor effort.

Here’s the problem. That entire fiasco may have been intentional.

Several people commented on how unusually vanilla the Bears appeared, not throwing out their usual scheme diversity to create matchups. Johnson even admitted to it after the game, passing it off as a game plan that should’ve been easy to execute.

It doesn’t end there. Safety Jaquan Brisker also had an interesting comment, stating the Bears defense played a lot of man coverage in the game, seemingly more than usual. As a result, it allowed Detroit to constantly gash them with pick and rub routes. They outschemed Chicago a lot, which is not something you usually hear about a Dennis Allen defense.

Why would the Chicago Bears do this?

The simplest explanation is that Johnson didn’t want to give away any of his scheming plans for the playoffs. It would’ve given the Green Bay Packers, their likely opponent, time to create solutions. Yet by doing this, it made life easier for the Lions. They were able to take advantage of the simple game plan and keep the Bears under control for most of the game. If this was always what Johnson aimed to do, why would he even bother playing the starters? The answer might be a little more devious than you think.

Hall of Fame basketball head coach Chuck Daly was put in charge of the iconic 1992 Olympic Dream Team, featuring players like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird. The problem he had wasn’t coaching the guys up. They were all the best of the best. His job was keeping them focused. So he hatched a nasty surprise. During a scrimmage against a team of top NCAA players, Daly limited Jordan’s playing time and made some puzzling substitutions. As a result, the college players won 62-54.

The point of this became clear to assistant coaches later.

Daly was able to use that loss as a reminder to NBA superstars that they were capable of losing, so they’d better stay focused. It is possible Ben Johnson wanted to use a similar tactic. Rather than having a team bursting with overconfidence, he wanted the Bears agitated and hungry coming off two frustrating losses. There is a precedent for this. Chicago has won a playoff game in three of the past four years following a loss to end the regular season (2010, 2006, and 1994).

Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback of all time. That is unlikely to change. However, his reputation as an owner isn’t off to a great start. He was given significant say in the team’s restructuring last offseason after claiming a minority stake in the Las Vegas Raiders. His biggest decisions involved hiring GM John Spytek and head coach Pete Carroll. That isn’t looking so great at the moment. Spytek’s first draft has looked shaky outside of 1st round pick Ashton Jeanty. Carroll did nothing to improve the team from last year. In fact, they got even worse, sitting at 2-14 with one game left.

Most insiders agree there is a strong likelihood Carroll will be fired after the season ends. Then the Raiders will begin searching for a replacement to help turn the ship around. According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, Brady is the one calling the shots on this. He apparently already has a name in mind.

There’s a rumor currently making the rounds that, once Brady rolls up his sleeves (while also wearing one glove and an expensive-ass watch), he’ll make the case for bringing in Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores.

As the chatter goes, Flores would be the head coach, and former Giants coach Brian Daboll would be the offensive coordinator. Like Flores, Daboll has extensive experience with the Patriot Way. Daboll was there for the first three Super Bowl wins of the Brady/Belichick era, and for two of the second trio of championships.

Brady and Flores are believed to have a good relationship. Flores was among those in Miami who wanted to bring Brady to town after his time in Tampa.

This isn’t a surprise.

Brady already tried the prove route with Carroll. That flopped. Now he aims to find somebody who coaches a similar style to Bill Belichick, with whom the quarterback won six Super Bowls. Flores spent 15 years in the Patriots organization. He saw how the process worked during its peak. There is no doubt he’d bring that no-nonsense approach Belichick was notorious for.

Tom Brady would be doing the Bears a huge favor.

Nobody can argue that the best coaching addition of the past few years was the Minnesota Vikings adding Flores as their defensive coordinator. His defense has been a terror since his arrival, showcasing a level of diversity and aggression that leaves many quarterbacks befuddled. He is the primary reason Minnesota will avoid a losing season this year. So, try to imagine what will happen to them if he leaves. Replacing great coaches is almost impossible. The Vikings are almost sure to become weaker.

That would only give the Bears a greater chance to maintain their grip on the NFC North moving forward. Flores is one of the few coaches in the league who can give Ben Johnson trouble. Departing for the AFC would be such a blessing. It would be a tremendous assist from Tom Brady, and make up for his efforts to lure Johnson away from the Bears last offseason. Time will tell if the former QB can convince Raiders owner Mark Davis of the idea or if they get sidetracked by someone else.

Everybody knows that Ben Johnson is an intense individual on game days. His players have learned to steer clear of him unless absolutely necessary. If you play well, you should be fine. Heaven help you if you don’t meet his standards. Well, the Chicago Bears endured their second straight loss in as many weeks, falling to the Detroit Lions 19-16 at Soldier Field. The primary theme of the night was a slow start from the offense. They didn’t score until the start of the 4th quarter. Three drives ended in punts, and two others ended in turnovers.

After putting up 31 points last week in San Francisco, this was an undeniable dud from the offense despite their 16-point run in the 4th quarter. Nobody was less happy about it than Johnson. The Bears’ head coach is usually good about keeping his composure after games. He seemed to experience a rare slip after this game, giving clipped answers and looking visibly frustrated. There was no mistaking which direction his anger was pointed. He was not happy with the offense.

Ben Johnson won’t tolerate poor efforts.

That is what the Bears gave on Sunday. Detroit operated like the more interested team for 75% of that game. The offense didn’t have its usual juice, looking flat. While the defense had its own problems in the game, it still managed to allow only 19 points. That should be enough to win a football game with how this offense has played for the past two months. That is why Johnson was so angry and had every right to be. If this is how the unit plans to play next week against Green Bay, they can book their Cancun tickets now.

This is another reminder that Ben Johnson will not tolerate second-rate performance. He expects excellence from everybody, including himself. If he doesn’t get it, he will let people hear about it. If the Bears’ offense had done its job from the start, Detroit doesn’t win that game. Championship teams don’t have cold starts like that to games, especially at home against division rivals. Johnson wasn’t going to let that slide. You can bet they’ll keep hearing about it in what will probably be some spirited practices this week.

The Chicago Bears defense didn’t bring their best on Sunday against the Detroit Lions. They very much looked like a unit that lacked urgency for most of the game, knowing they were already in the playoffs and didn’t have much to play for. It was true across the roster. Sure, the #2 seed is valuable, but some may have felt the risk of injury wasn’t worth it. Whatever the case, the Lions built a big early lead and managed to do just enough after surrendering it to escape Soldier Field with the 19-16 win.

It was proof again that head coach Ben Johnson could not put trust in his defense to get a stop when they needed it. The unit still has no pass rush and has also demonstrated an overall lack of explosiveness. Fixing this mess won’t be easy. Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen and GM Ryan Poles have some tough decisions ahead. One thing is clear. The changes are coming, and they may go deeper than we think.

Players on Chicago Bears defense likely out because of age:

• Andrew Billings
• Kevin Byard
• T.J. Edwards

This may seem crazy, but you have to remember that turnovers can’t hide the real issues. Billings isn’t the force in the middle he was a couple of years ago. The Bears run defense is terrible. Byard doesn’t have the range he used to. His turnovers have been coming from his outstanding intelligence and anticipation. As for Edwards, teams are picking on him a lot in coverage. All three will be in their 30s at the start of next season.

Cost:

• Tremaine Edmunds

Edmunds was playing great earlier in the season. His ability to take away the football was electric. However, he still too often doesn’t seem to be in the right position, and that magic has left him since his return from injury. He will command over $17 million against the salary cap next year. That isn’t worth what he’s given the Chicago Bears over the past month. If there is a true cap casualty, it will be him.

Speed:

• Jaquan Brisker

Versatility has been a big part of Brisker’s selling point since being drafted in 2022. However, his lack of speed has kept costing the team at times all year. Faster players constantly expose him in the open field. San Francisco exposed that repeatedly. He will be a free agent this offseason. Unless he’s willing to take a team-friendly discount, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s gone.

Untouchable (for now):

• Montez Sweat – the only good pass rusher
• Jaylon Johnson – still their best cornerback
• Dayo Odeyingbo – cutting him won’t help the cap
• Grady Jarrett – cutting him won’t help the cap

The truth is, the team can’t cut or trade anybody of the Chicago Bears defense listed here. Some guys will stick around next year. The team doesn’t have the resources to replace them all. That means they must be careful about who they keep. Sweat and Johnson are still their best players. They could cut Dayo and Jarrett, but it would result in a mountain of dead money for little return. Next year will be focused on two goals.

Find another pass rusher and improve the overall team speed. Maybe they can score some unexpected bargains in free agency, but these changes need to happen.

CHICAGO — First of all, Happy New Year to everyone! Hope you had a safe and restful holiday season as we gear up to do it all again now in 2026. And today is the final day of the NFL regular season.

Usually, by this time, those who cover or support the Chicago Bears are knee-deep in draft prospects and coaching searches. Instead, this year, the Bears are NFC North champions and looking ahead to next week’s Wild Card Round.

What a difference a year — and the correct coaching decisions — can make.

Last Sunday night, the Bears played in an epic playoff preview in Santa Clara, going toe-to-toe with Kyle Shanahan and the San Francisco 49ers. The Bears lost a thriller on the doorstep of the goal line, just running out of time. But it served as another strong reminder that their head coach and quarterback pairing have achieved incredible things in Year 1.

The Bears came into today’s finale against the Detroit Lions to lock up the #2 seed. A win (or a Philadelphia loss) would seal the deal. The #2 seed would schedule Round 3 against the Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field next weekend, whereas the #3 seed would have them host the Los Angeles Rams.

Fun times ahead.

The Bears sleep-walked through the first three quarters before turning it on again in the fourth quarter. But they couldn’t capitalize on a final break and lost on the last snap to the Lions. Ben Johnson is now 0-2 against the Lions to open his career as a head coach.

I shared my in-game reactions, thoughts and observations from the game below. Follow me on X @DhruvKoul to continue the conversation.

Thoughts and Observations

1. The Lions lead at halftime 13-0 and it should’ve been 16-0 (at minimum), but Jake Bates sailed an attempt wide left just before halftime.

A thorough domination in the first half for the Lions. Some stats:

• 15-4 edge for Detroit on first downs
• 237-69 on total yards
• 6.1-3.4 in yards per play
• 19:12-10:48 in TOP

Unacceptable stuff from a team at home trying to lock up the #2 seed.

2. The pass rush is known to be an issue. I think the biggest concern is how bad they’ve been getting off the field if they can’t turn the ball over anymore. Dennis Allen’s trying a bunch of things but a little too min-max on the spectrum to really fool an offense in the last three games.

Also, the defensive rebuild project seems much bigger than anticipated — pass rush needs at least 1 new DE, probably 1-2 new DTs, and also 1-2 linebackers.

Realistically, no one should be safe this offseason when molding this defense in the shape of Dennis Allen.

3. Colston Loveland‘s dropped two passes — one before halftime on 4th down and one to open the second half to go 3 and out while down 13-0.

When it’s not your day, it’s really not your day.

At this point, I’m not sure the rest of these reps down what should be 20-0 soon will be valuable. Just get the starters out and healthy and rest them for next week.

4. The Bears finally got a stop on the next possession when Gervon Dexter cleaned up a sack that Austin Booker started. Dexter’s another guy whose stats might read better than the down-to-down impact he provides. I wouldn’t mind a move to DE for him to see what he can do there.

One thing that bothered me on that drive was Jaylon Johnson‘s effort on Jahmyr Gibbs’ drive-opening run. Didn’t even pretend to try to tackle.

You can’t have that from your #1 corner. I get wanting to be healthy for the playoffs, but if you’re on the field… play football.

5. The Bears’ offensive game plan seems very vanilla through three quarters. A lot of static shotgun formations — which is weird for a typical Ben Johnson offense. I wonder if they’re wanting to put that on tape for practice reasons? Maybe the real game plan is being concealed for next week?

…That said, the Bears opened the fourth quarter and scored quickly, on a nice post route by Jahdae Walker for a touchdown to get it to 16-8 after the two-point conversion.

6. Dan Campbell is a great CEO head coach but man, he has some work to do on the play-calling side. The 3rd and 1 trick play to have David Montgomery throw the ball got swallowed up for a big loss, leading to a punt. This was as they were cruising with ease otherwise.

The Lions have a hell of a roster, but they have to revamp their offensive coaching side in the offseason.

7. Colston Loveland is George Kittle. Seriously. He absolutely took over on that drive — both with key blocks on Luther Burden’s screen and several clutch catches to convert the touchdown. And then Cole Kmet with an insane catch — holding on after a huge hit — to tie the game at 16.

8. Man, this Bears team. An intentional grounding on Jared Goff — what seemed like a miscommunication — set up 3rd and 20 near field goal range near the two-minute warning. And then Goff fired into major coverage and Brisker tipped it — with Byard picking it off.

Huge, right?

But the Bears gave it right back with a bad intentional grounding on Caleb Williams. The Bears decided to punt on 4th and 5. Given the defense’s issues today, not sure it was the right decision, but I get it from a field position perspective. I would’ve gone for it, though.

9. Amon-Ra St. Brown with an all-time revenge game, going 11 for 139, including setting up the game-winning field position for Jake Bates’ game winner. Lions win 19-16 to put the Bears at 11-6.

A tough result after a nice comeback. I think the Bears should be concerned going into next week with how their defense played. Their lack of speed showed up in man coverage all game — with Jaylon Johnson getting burned repeatedly. The linebackers are also not playing well. It’s rough all around.

With the kinds of offenses that exist in the NFC, it’s tough sledding.

10. The Bears’ issue is their offense is very explosive, but not yet consistent enough down-to-down. So when teams beat them up in TOP, it’s very difficult for them to get going. That’s why holding Detroit to only 19 points is still a tough score for Chicago to overcome.

That’s shown up the last three weeks.

11. The Commanders beat Philly, so the Bears locked up the 2 seed and will host the Packers next weekend at Soldier Field. Let the rivalry nonsense commence!

12. Thank you all for following along for yet another regular season. For the first time in a while, we get a playoff game to cover next week. I think the Packers are a very bad matchup for Chicago the way they’re built right now, and it’s tough that’s how the playoffs open up. Let’s see what happens. It’s nice to be relevant in Year 1, though.

Early prediction: Packers 24, Bears 20.