The Bears–Lions rivalry is a National Football League (NFL) rivalry between the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions. The franchises first met in 1930 when the Lions were known as the Portsmouth Spartans and based in Portsmouth, Ohio. They moved to Detroit for the 1934 season. The Bears and Lions have been division rivals since 1933 and have usually met twice a season since the Lions franchise began. The two teams play in the two largest metropolitan areas in the Midwest. Chicago and Detroit's home stadiums, Soldier Field and Ford Field, are 280 miles apart and both are easily accessible from I-94.
This rivalry is the longest-running annual series in the NFL as both teams have met at least once a season since 1930.[1] (Due to the 1982 strike, the Bears–Packers rivalry, which began in 1921, was not played that season.)
The Bears dominated the rivalry in the early days from the 1930s to the 1950s, when they were a perenniel powerhouse team under head coach George "Papa Bear" Halas. However, since 1966, the first year the Super Bowl was played, the series has been subsequently more even, with Chicago going 55-52-1 since that time. This is despite the fact that the Bears have been far more successful than the Lions since that season, reaching the NFC Divisional Playoffs twelve times (winning five of those playoff games, two NFC titles, and a Super Bowl) while the Lions have only reached the Divisional Playoffs three times, winning just one of those games, and have not won an NFC title. The Bears won the only playoff meeting between the two teams, the 1932 NFL Championship Game, 9–0. Chicago leads the overall series 104–75–5.
The 1932 regular season ended with the Spartans (6–1–4) and Bears (6–1–6) tied atop the NFL standings (at the time, ties were not considered in a team's win percentage). There were no playoffs at the time and the champion was simply the team with the better win percentage with head-to-head results serving as the only tiebreaker. As both teams had the same record and they tied both of their meetings during the season, the NFL staged its first ever playoff game. The teams were set to meet at Wrigley Field, but the game was instead moved to the indoor Chicago Stadium due to severe weather, and modified rules were used because the stadium was smaller than regulation size. The Bears won the game, 9–0, to claim the NFL title. The championship game proved to be popular, so the league split into two divisions beginning in 1933 and staged a championship game between the two division winners at the end of the season. To date, this is the two teams' only playoff meeting (although the game officially counted in the regular season standings).
The Lions, having just moved to Detroit, decided to schedule an annual game on Thanksgiving in an attempt to draw fans. This idea proved to work as the game was played in front of a sellout crowd. The Bears entered the game with a perfect 11–0 record, while the Lions were 10–1. The Lions built a 16–7 lead at halftime, but the Bears would score 12 unanswered points in the second half to come away with the 19–16 to clinch the NFL Western Division title. The Bears and Lions have met a total of 18 times on Thanksgiving, all in Detroit, with the Bears holding a 10–8 record in the Thanksgiving meetings.
Lions WR Chuck Hughes collapsed on the field and was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. He remains the only player in NFL history to have died on the field.
The Bears come back from 14 points down in the fourth quarter to force overtime. Bears' RB Dave Williams returned the opening kickoff of overtime 95 yards for a touchdown as the Bears left Detroit with a stunning 23–17 win. At the time, it was the shortest overtime in NFL history.
The Lions entered Week 17 needing one final win over a last-place Bears team to clinch a playoff spot. Despite building a 10–0 lead in the first quarter, the Lions found themselves trailing 20–17 in the fourth. The Lions tied the game at 20 with under two minutes to go, but the Bears' rookie kicker Paul Edinger secured the win for Chicago with a 54-yard field goal with two seconds left, all but eliminating the Lions from playoff contention. This proved to be a franchise-altering moment for Detroit, who hired Matt Millen in the offseason to rebuild the team.[2]
September 30, 2007
It was a defensive slugfest for the first three quarters, with the score 13-3 in favor of Chicago. However, starting with a Shaun McDonald touchdown pass for Detroit in the early moments of the fourth quarter, the Lions' offense caught fire, scoring an additional 27 points in the fourth quarter, while still allowing two Bears touchdowns, to stun the Bears 37-27. The fourth quarter saw an NFL-record 48-points scored.[3]
September 12, 2010
Lions WR Calvin Johnson appeared to catch a touchdown pass late in the game that would have given the Lions the lead, but it was controversially ruled to not be a catch after Johnson was ruled to not have completed the process of catching the ball. Johnson had the ball in both hands, got both feet down, rolled over on his backside and put his hand with the ball in it on the ground. The call was reviewed on the instant replay review, but the "no catch" ruling was upheld. The rule for what defines a catch was updated in 2015, with this play (along with other similar plays) being a large reason for the change.
Game results[]
Chicago Bears vs. Detroit Lions Season-by-Season Results
Portsmoth Spartans began play in 1930. Spartans win the inaugural meeting to take a 1–0 series lead, the only time the Spartans/Lions would ever lead the series.
First ever NFL playoff game necessitated by the Bears and Spartans finishing with identical records and tying both regular season meetings. Game moved indoors to Chicago Stadium, which had smaller-than-regulation dimensions.
Bears win in Detroit combined with Rams win eliminates Lions from playoff contention.
2001
Bears 2–0
Bears 13–0
Bears 24–0
Bears 81–58–5
Bears first season sweep since 1988.
2002
Tie 1–1
Bears 20–17(OT)
Lions 23–20(OT)
Bears 82–59–5
Lions open Ford Field in Detroit. In Chicago, Lions win the coin toss in overtime, but elect to take the wind and not possession. The Bears score on the first possession in overtime and the Lions never get the ball back.
An NFL-record 48 points were scored in the fourth quarter in game in Detroit; Chicago led 13–3 after three quarters.
2008
Bears 2–0
Bears 27–23
Bears 34–7
Bears 89–64–5
Lions complete first 0–16 season in NFL history.
2009
Bears 2–0
Bears 48–24
Bears 37–23
Bears 91–64–5
2010s (Tie, 10–10)
Season
Season series
at Chicago Bears
at Detroit Lions
Overall series
Notes
2010
Bears 2–0
Bears 19–14
Bears 24–20
Bears 93–64–5
Lions WR Calvin Johnson appears to catch a game-winning touchdown in Chicago, but it is controversially ruled a no-catch.
2011
Tie 1–1
Bears 37–13
Lions 24–13
Bears 94–65–5
2012
Bears 2–0
Bears 13–7
Bears 26–24
Bears 96–65–5
2013
Lions 2–0
Lions 21–19
Lions 40–32
Bears 96–67–5
2014
Lions 2–0
Lions 20–14
Lions 34–17
Bears 96–69–5
2015
Lions 2–0
Lions 24–20
Lions 37–34(OT)
Bears 96–71–5
2016
Tie 1–1
Bears 17–14
Lions 20–17
Bears 97–72–5
2017
Lions 2–0
Lions 27–24
Lions 20–10
Bears 97–74–5
2018
Bears 2–0
Bears 34–22
Bears 23–16
Bears 99–74–5
2019
Bears 2–0
Bears 20–13
Bears 24–20
Bears 101–74–5
Bears record their 100th win in the rivalry, becoming the third team to record 100 wins over a single opponent (joining the Green Bay Packers who have 100 wins over the Lions and the New York Giants who have 100 wins over Washington Football Team). Thus, the Lions became the first team to record 100 losses to two different opponents.
2020s (Bears, 3–1)
Season
Season series
at Chicago Bears
at Detroit Lions
Overall series
Notes
2020
Tie 1–1
Lions 34–30
Bears 27–23
Bears 102–75–5
Bears come back from down 23–6 in the fourth quarter to win in Detroit. Conversely, Lions overcome 30–20 deficit with three minutes left to win in Chicago. Both games ended on game-winning stop. First time since 2000 that the road team wins both meetings.
