The Chicago Bears were in the process of turning their season around. They had beaten the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions in back-to-back games, and their defense had improved dramatically from a poor early-season performance. They had a 17-7 lead over the Cleveland Browns in the 4th quarter in Week 15, but they were unable to hold onto that double-digit lead and dropped a 20-17 decision.
The Bears have lost three games this season where they had a 10+ point lead in the 4th Qtr.
That's tied for the most in a season in NFL history. pic.twitter.com/18AcNhfITY
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) December 17, 2023
If that result sounds familiar, it's because the Bears have made a habit of giving up leads of 10 points or more in the fourth quarter. They also failed to record victories when they had those kind of advantages over the Denver Broncos in Week 4 and the Detroit Lions in Week 11.
The Bears tied a record by losing their third game of the season in which they led by 10 or more in the final quarter. That's clearly a mark they wanted no part of.
Chicago fell to 5-9 with the defeat, but if they had been able to hold the advantage they had in each of those games, they would be taking an 8-6 record into their final three games of the season against the Cardinals, Falcons and Packers.
All of those games seem winnable, but the Bears do not seem to understand how to finish games in the NFL.
After falling behind with 36 seconds to go on a Dustin Hopkins field goal, the Bears nearly pulled off a miracle on the final play. Quarterback Justin Fields rolled to his left, launched a Hail Mary and his desperation throw reached the end zone. The ball rebounded to wide receiver Darnell Mooney and hit him in the midsection.
He was unable to control the rebound and the ball was intercepted as Chicago lost again.
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