Bears

Although the Bears lost 28-21 to the Packers in Week 14, they put up 18 of their points in the second half. Chicago QB Caleb Williams credits their late surge to focusing on the small details and getting in a rhythm. 

“I think it just comes down to small details from me,” Williams said, via Courtney Cronin of ESPN. “I think it comes down to footwork. Getting a rhythm faster. And then small details for us in the passing game, making sure everybody is where they need to be and communicating that properly, and just create the right mindset on those drives and going into the drives.”

Williams’ 57.8 completion percentage currently ranks No. 33 of 34 qualifying quarterbacks. Bears HC Ben Johnson points out that there are some areas Williams can improve, but is confident about his development. 

“There’s certainly some [throws] that you can talk about each week where you feel like guys are open and we can certainly give them a ball on time and give them a chance to run after catch and all that,” Johnson said. “And that’s something we’re striving to do is combine both of those worlds to where we think we’re going to have a really good quarterback in this league, a really dangerous quarterback in this league, a really dangerous offense, a really good team for a long time when we’re really able to combine both of those thought processes. We’re not quite there yet. We’re working diligently every day. I’ve said it every week, that you see growth in so many other areas that when that last little bit comes along, I think we’re going to be really pleased with where we are.”

Lions

• Detroit could opt to take its time re-signing DB Brian Branch and TE Sam LaPorta to extensions after both have suffered season-ending injuries, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
• On the other hand, Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs is in line for a massive extension and the team could prioritize locking him in for the long-term future while waiting to see Branch and LaPorta back on the field before committing long-term money to them.
• Lions OL coach Hank Fraley said OL Frank Ragnow (hamstring) got “nicked up” as he was training for his comeback, but he wouldn’t rule Ragnow out for 2026 if he still wants to return: “If he wanted to be back, that door’s open.” (Colton Pouncy)

Packers

• Packers RB Josh Jacobs said he underwent another MRI on Monday just to make sure he didn’t make his existing knee injury worse, and it came back clean. He just continues to deal with swelling, and it kicked in again vs. the Bears. He’s not making any declarations for Sunday yet. (Rob Demovsky)