LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson quickly ended any talk about how the team would approach Week 18 in his Monday news conference.

“Yeah, we’re playing to win this week,” he said.

A few weeks ago, it looked like the Bears and Detroit Lions were on a collision course for a Week 18, winner-take-all game for the NFC’s final wild-card spot. Instead, it’s an NFC North champion Bears team hosting a Lions team that isn’t going to the playoffs.

“Good opponent coming to town — another division opponent,” Johnson said Wednesday at Halas Hall. “Hope to finish the regular season the right way. Coming off a loss like that, I know our guys will be hungry to do that.”

Anyone who has followed Johnson shouldn’t be surprised by his approach to the finale. With the Philadelphia Eagles reportedly planning to rest some starters, could his strategy change after halftime? Maybe. But Johnson certainly values what a win in Week 18 at home against a division foe means.

What’s at stake?

A Bears win or an Eagles loss means the Bears are locked into the No. 2 seed in the NFC, and a home playoff game next weekend against the seventh-seeded Packers.

A loss paired with an Eagles win drops the Bears to the No. 3 seed.

While we can overanalyze how the Bears match up with the Green Bay Packers versus the potential No. 6 seeds (Los Angeles Rams or San Francisco 49ers), what truly matters is the opportunity to host as many playoff games as possible.

Let’s say the Bears get the No. 2 seed, and they and the Eagles win their wild-card games. What’s more appealing, hosting the Eagles at Soldier Field in the divisional round or returning to Lincoln Financial Field? The equation is that simple.

And what if the Bears get to the NFC Championship and the No. 1 seed gets toppled? The No. 2 seed would guarantee the opportunity to host that as well.

No ordinary last-place opponent

The Lions are 8-8, well below expectations. Injuries hurt their defense and they had consistency issues on offense.

But they’re also eighth in the league in offensive EPA (expected points added). Jared Goff has the third-best passer rating in football. He’s thrown 33 touchdowns and seven interceptions, and has to like his chances against a Bears defense that gave up 42 points last week.

“Offensively, their skill positions are absolutely loaded,” said Johnson, the former Detroit play caller. “Receiver-wise they’re fast. The quarterback is playing at a super high level. He’s so accurate. You give him a clean pocket he can just pick you apart and then these runners are dangerous, both of them.”

Dan Campbell: "Sometimes you gotta hit rock bottom before you can work your way back up. Relative to where we were at, this is rock bottom."

— Colton Pouncy (@colton_pouncy) December 31, 2025