Bears look to regroup for playoffs after closing regular season with 2 straight losses

CHICAGO (AP) — Caleb Williams was frustrated.

Coach Ben Johnson was, too.

The Chicago Bears finished the regular season with a whimper rather than a roar. But with the team set to make its first playoff appearance since 2020, it's time to put that in the past.

“We’ll make our corrections and we’ll quickly turn the page," Johnson said on Monday. "We don’t have to sulk on what happened yesterday and they understand that. We talked about that at the end of the game. I think we’re going to be good turning the page, but the things that need to get cleaned up, we’re going to clean up.”

The Bears (11-6) closed the regular season with back-to-back losses after falling to Detroit 19-16 on a last-second field goal. The NFC North champions still secured the No. 2 seed in the NFC with Philadelphia losing to Washington and will host Green Bay in the wild-card round on Saturday, a rare playoff game in the NFL's longest-running rivalry.

The Bears and Packers played two down-to-the-wire games in December, with the home team winning each time.

Against Detroit, Chicago hardly resembled the team that went from finishing last in the division a year ago to winning it in Johnson's first season. The Bears were shut out for three quarters and matched a season low by scoring 16 points after putting up their second-highest total in a 42-38 loss at San Francisco.

The bend-but-don't break defense gave up 433 yards after the 49ers went off for 496. That unit finished 29th in the league at 361.8 yards per game.

Detroit never went three-and-out and all but one of its nine possessions ended in Bears territory. The Lions scored on four of their first six drives and might have broken the game open in the early going had they not settled for field goals on three of them. They also had a missed field goal in that span.

It all added up to a frustrating day for the Bears.

Based on the game alone, it's hard to put anything in this category. But for the season, it's hard to ignore the jump the Bears' offense made in Johnson's first season. Chicago went from last in the league in yards per game a year ago to sixth, and from tying for 28th in scoring to ninth.

The Bears had little working for them for three quarters. And even after they got going in the fourth, erasing a 16-0 deficit, they still came up short in the end.

With the game tied and just over two minutes remaining, Kevin Byard made a big play when he picked off a pass at the Chicago 5 for his league-leading seventh interception. The Bears took over at their 26 and immediately went three-and-out. The defense then allowed Detroit to drive to the 24 before Jake Bates kicked a 42-yard field goal as time expired.

TE Colston Loveland. The first-round pick from Michigan finished as the Bears' leading receiver, with team highs in receptions (58) and yards (713). He also tied DJ Moore and Rome Odunze for the team lead with six touchdown catches, and he's peaking in time for the playoffs.

Loveland is coming off two of his best games. He had 10 receptions for 91 yards and a touchdown against Detroit after catching six passes for 94 yards and a score against San Francisco.

Moore. Moore has gone from a starring role against Green Bay in Week 16 to being a nonfactor the past two games, with a combined two receptions for 18 yards. He was targeted three times against Detroit and had one 11-yard reception, after catching one 7-yard pass against San Francisco. Moore came up huge against the Packers in Week 16 with five receptions for 97 yards, including a spectacular 46-yard TD catch in tight coverage for the overtime win.

Johnson said the Bears hope to have slot CB Kyler Gordon (groin) return to practice this week. They could use him with S C.J. Gardner-Johnson (concussion) after getting hurt on the final drive against Detroit. Gordon has been limited to three games this season and hasn't played since Week 13. ... Odunze (foot) missed the final five regular-season games.

2 — The Bears ended the regular season the way they opened it — with two straight losses — and wound up with the No. 2 seed.

Chicago and Green Bay are meeting for the third time in the postseason. The Packers beat the Bears in the NFC championship game at Soldier Field at the end of the 2010 season on the way to winning the Super Bowl. Chicago beat Green Bay in the 1941 playoffs en route to the championship.

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Chicago Bears tight end Colston Loveland (84) is tackled by Detroit Lions cornerback Avonte Maddox (29) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson watches from the sideline during the second half of an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) runs from Detroit Lions linebacker al-Quadin Muhammad (96) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

DENVER (AP) — A Frontier Airlines plane hit and killed a pedestrian on the runway of the Denver International Airport during takeoff, airport authorities said, sparking an engine fire and forcing passengers to evacuate.

The plane, on route from Denver to Los Angeles International Airport, “reported striking a pedestrian during takeoff at DEN at approximately 11:19 p.m. on Friday," the airport's official X account wrote.

A spokesperson for the airport said the pedestrian, who jumped a perimeter fence, has died. They said the unidentified person was hit two minutes after entering the airport. The person is not believed to be an airport employee.

“We're stopping on the runway,” the pilot tells the control tower according to the site ATC.com. “We just hit somebody. We have an engine fire.”

The pilot tells the air traffic controller they have “231 souls” on board and that an “individual was walking across the runway.”

The air traffic controller responds that they are “rolling the trucks now" before the pilot tells the tower they “have smoke in the aircraft. We are going to evacuate on the runway.”

Frontier Airlines said in a statement flight 4345 was the one involved in the collision and that “smoke was reported in the cabin and the pilots aborted takeoff.” It was not clear whether the smoke was linked to the crash with the pedestrian.

“The Airbus A321 was carrying 224 passengers and seven crew members,” the airline said. “We are investigating this incident and gathering more information in coordination with the airport and other safety authorities.”

Passengers were then evacuated via slides and the emergency crew bused them to the terminal. The airport spokesperson said 12 passengers suffered minor injuries and five were taken to local hospitals.

Denver Airport said the National Transportation Safety Board had been notified and that runway 17L, where the incident took place, will remain closed while an investigation is conducted. It is expected to open later today.

The pedestrian death came a day after a Delta Air Lines employee was killed while on the job at the Orlando International Airport. In a statement, the airline said the employee was killed Thursday night without providing details of the incident nor the name of the employee.

“We are focused on extending our full support to family and taking care of our Orlando team during this difficult time,” the airline said. "We are working with local authorities as a full investigation gets underway to determine what occurred.”

FILE - A Frontier Airlines jetliner taxis down a runway for take off from Denver International airport on Nov. 25, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)