Bears 26, Lions 24
Jay Cutler passed for 257 yards and a touchdown and the defense forced four turnovers as visiting Chicago ended its season on a winning note but missed out on a playoff spot.
Matt Forte rushed for a touchdown and totaled 124 yards from scrimmage while Earl Bennett caught five passes for 109 yards and a score for the Bears (10-6), who fell out of postseason contention when Minnesota defeated Green Bay 37-34 later Sunday.
Calvin Johnson made five catches for 72 yards to finish 36 yards shy of 2,000 on the season. Matthew Stafford passed for 272 yards and three touchdowns but was intercepted once and lost two fumbles for the Lions (4-12).
Chicago jumped out to a 20-3 lead in the second quarter but allowed Detroit to march 80 yards in 1:37 and cut it to 20-10 on Stafford’s 25-yard touchdown pass to Kris Durham with 17 seconds left in the half.
The Lions pulled to within 26-24 on Stafford’s 9-yard touchdown to Brian Robiske with 6:59 left but the Bears’ defense held on the next drive and the offense put together one final series to eat the rest of the clock. Cutler scrambled for a key first down at midfield to help seal the win.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Bears LB Brian Urlacher (hamstring) missed his fourth straight game. … Chicago’s win knocked the New York Giants out of playoff contention. … Bears S Chris Conte (hamstring) was inactive for the game. Conte was injured in the win at Arizona last week.