The Chicago Bears were on their way to their best performance of the season. Justin Fields returned to the lineup and he was quite sharp in his performance and leadership. The Bears built a 26-14 late in the 4th quarter and appeared to have a victory within their grasp. But after holding the Lions in check for 56-plus minutes, the roof fell in on the Bears and the Lions rallied for a 31-26 victory.

Jared Goff and the Detroit offense caught fire and played efficient football, but the Bears deserve plenty of blame. It's very difficult to point at Bears players because Justin Fields, DJ Moore, Roschon Johnson, Cairo Santos and newcomer Montez Sweat all made positive contributions

But the coaching staff did not allow the Bears to finish the job. Head coach Matt Eberflus and offensive coordinator Luke Getsy both deserve their share of the blame for the ridiculous end-of-game collapse that is likely to stick with Chicago for several weeks.

Lions roar back

Here's what made the defeat so galling: The Bears had outscored the Lions 16-0 in the second half when Santos nailed a 39-yard field goal with 4:20 remaining in the 4th quarter. That field goal meant the Lions faced a 12-point deficit and needed to score 2 touchdowns to take the lead.

Chicago had shut down the Lions in the second half and the Bears had taken the ball away from the Lions 4 times in the game. Head coach Dan Campbell's Lions may have taken a 7-2 record into the game and been a 1st place team in the NFC North, but they had given no indication that a comeback was at hand. They had been stifled by the underdog Bears.

But the alarm went off for Detroit in those final minutes. Quarterback Jared Goff led the Lions on a 6-play, 75-yard drive that culminated with a 32-yard TD pass to Jameson Williams. That drive took only 1:16 off the clock.

The Lions had momentum, and the Bears did nothing to change it. Chicago went 3-and-out on its next possession. The Bears tried two unsuccessful running plays before Fields went deep to Tyler Scott. Fields appeared to throw an excellent pass and Scott was open, but the receiver appeared to take one short step towards the end of his route and that allowed the ball to go off his fingers.

The Lions took advantage by driving 73 yards on 11 plays. Goff confidently went 5 of 7 on the drive, and former Bear David Montgomery made it pay off on a 1-yard TD run with just 31 seconds remaining. That gave Detroit a 1-point lead and the Lions extended it to 3 points when Goff hit a wide open Sam LaPorta in the end zone for the 2-point conversion.

On the first play after the kickoff, Lion defensive stud Aidan Hutchinson sacked Fields and forced a fumble that went through the end zone for a safety, giving the Lions the final margin.

The Bears still had a remote chance, but they failed to attempt an onside kick. Instead, the Bears punted the free kick, and when Amon-Ra St. Brown fair caught the ball, the Lions had their victory.

Eberflus and Getsy deserved the Lions' share of the blame

As head coach, Eberflus is responsible for the decisions that are made on the field. He did not stay aggressive in the 4th quarter, and while Getsy made the individual play calls, Eberflus could have given his offensive coordinator different marching instructions.

The problems did not begin after Lions had closed to within 5 points following the Goff to Williams touchdown. It actually started on the Bears' possession prior to that score. On the surface, the Bears did quite well, marching 70 yards on 14 plays before a Santos field goal. They held the ball for 8:45 of possession time.

That should have won the game, but they left a small opening and the Lions pounced. If they had attacked more during that possession and scored a touchdown, it would have turned a 2-score deficit into a 3-score hole.

Much of that is on Getsy, and the rest is on Eberflus. He could have realized he was leaving the door open for an excellent team, but he did not.

Finally, Eberflus did not have Santos go for an onside kick. He opted to punt, hoping the Lions would muff it and give his team a chance. It's difficult to recover an onside kick, but attempting it would have given his team a chance.

Eberflus refused to do that, and the Bears absorbed their most painful loss of the season. They should have beaten an excellent team, but they failed in the game's most crucial moments.