Bears quickly turning the page, focusing on Packers after Week 18 loss

The Chicago Bears closed their 2025 regular season on the wrong end, dropping their last two games against the San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions. But they were still able to come away with the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs.

It was a less than ideal end to a marvelous season under first-year head coach Ben Johnson, and as he makes the playoffs in his first season, he had a straightforward message to the team after their 19-16 loss to the Lions on Sunday.

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Johnson said his focus is on turning the page after the loss against the Lions, but he appreciated his team's efforts in their regular-season finale. While other teams were resting players, Johnson said the Bears came to play football and wanted them to play their best version of ball, but ultimately came up short in that goal.

"That we're quickly turning the page here," Johnson said. "Everyone is disappointed. I appreciate, like I said, their effort. Some teams, they rest their starters. We don't. We play football. We felt like it was really important that we were playing our best ball here today, and we didn't get that job done. We're quickly turning that page, and now we've got a home game coming on up, and there's a way to win this game, this next game, and that's what we're going to be solely focused on."

For a franchise that has not made the playoffs since 2020 and has not won the NFC North title since 2018, the Bears have to have a short memory on how they closed out their regular season this year. An opportunity to pick up their first playoff win since 2011, and against the Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field no doubt, is the singular focus for the Bears right now.

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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears quickly turning the page, focusing on Packers after Week 18 loss