Football players live by the 24-hour rule — you celebrate a win or lament a loss for one day, and it’s on to the next game. But Bears safety Eddie Jackson acknowledged that the loss to the Lions three weeks ago at Ford Field still is sticking with him.
“This is probably the worst feeling after a loss that we’ve had,” Jackson said. “It’s a division opponent. They’re plus-two wins to us. To go the way it did, it sucks. And I feel like everyone has that taste in their mouth. Now that we get a chance to get it back, at home, it’s a good feeling.”
The loss to the Lions on Nov. 19 sticks with the Bears because it came with so much hope. The Bears were in control — on offense, defense and special teams — against a Super Bowl-hopeful team playing at home, and with their starting quarterback.
The Bears led 26-14 with 4:15 left in the fourth quarter before the Lions rallied for two long touchdown drives around a Bears three-and-out to win 31-26. It was the Bears’ best and worst moment of the season, a sign of actual progress undone by a harsh reality: When it became a battle of wills, the Bears crumbled like a team that doesn’t know how to win.
On Sunday at Soldier Field, the Bears have a chance to prove the late collapse was the fluke and not the first 55:45 — that they can finish what they started.
“I feel like everyone in here feels that way,” Jackson said in the Bears’ locker room. “We know how that game went; we let it slip away from us. So it’s definitely in the back of our minds. We’ve got to go out and dominate all four quarters. We’re ready to get this thing going and end the game how it should have ended.”
One game will not make the season, but this is the Bears’ best chance to make their biggest statement about the direction they’re headed. Their four victories this season have come against teams in some state of distress — the Commanders (fired defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio), the Raiders (fired head coach Josh McDaniels), the Panthers (fired head coach Frank Reich) and the Vikings (without Kirk Cousins and Justin -Jefferson).
The Lions’ slip has been showing in recent weeks against the Chargers, Bears, Packers and Saints, but in the big picture, they’re still a team on the rise, still in first place in the NFC North. Still with their starting quarterback and best receiver. Enough to make this a statement game.
“[Not] just because it’s this team, but it’s a chance for us to get back-to-back division wins,” Jackson said. “That’s the main goal. We got one [against the Vikings]. Now we’ve got to get another one.
“Everyone knows it’s do-or-die. Our playoffs started last week. We’ve got these last five [games]; we’ve got to give everything we’ve got. Lay it all on the line. That’s what we plan on doing.”
At 4-8, the Bears are not playoff contenders, but they’ve earned the right to dream. They’re 4-4 after starting 0-4. Their defense is trending up with the addition of defensive end Montez Sweat and with their seven takeaways in the last two games.
But if they want to change the public narrative that change is due, they have to start Sunday and prove they can start and finish against a playoff-bound team.
