DETROIT -- New year, same Bears.
Well, maybe not the same.
The Bears opened 2023 at Ford Field against a Detroit Lions team that needed to win to keep their playoff hopes alive. Head coach Matt Eberflus and his staff hoped the playoff-like atmosphere would bring the best out of the young Bears and help them snap a losing streak that dates back to late October.
None of that happened.
The Lions racked up 504 yards, sacked Justin Fields seven times, and rolled to a 41-10 win over the Bears.
The one constant during the Bears' nine-game losing streak has been consistent, hard effort. There was no quit.
On Sunday, the effort levels dipped as the Lions rushed for 265 yards, sending the Bears into the new year with an embarrassing defeat.
NFL
Here's the first report card for 2023. It can only go up from here.
Passing offense
Yuck.
The return of wide receivers Chase Claypool and Equanimeous St. Brown and guards Cody Whitehair and Teven Jenkins didn't provide a boost to the Bears' scuffling aerial attack.
Jenkins aggravated his neck injury early in the game and didn't return. Jenkins' replacement, Michael Schofield, suffered a knee injury in the second quarter and was carted off.
The Lions' defensive line consistently collapsed the pocket, harassed and hit Fields. Left tackle Braxton Jones and right tackle Riley Reiff struggled all day with Aidan Hutchinson and Josh Paschal.
Fields finished the day going 7-for-21 for 75 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. He rarely had time to sit in the pocket and deliver. When he did, there was often no one open.
It was a pitiful day for the passing attack.
Grade: F
Rushing offense
Fields continues to be an elite playmaker with his legs. The Bears quarterback rushed 10 times for 132 yards Sunday, putting him 64 yards away from setting the NFL single-season record for rushing yards by a quarterback.
But the blowout nature of the game effectively neutralized the Bears' run game.
David Montgomery only rushed six times for 24 yards, while Khalil Herbert picked up 31 yards on five carries.
The Bears' offense remains one-dimensional. When they can't rely on the ground game, either due to score or ineffectiveness, they struggle to score points.
I'll give offensive coordinator Luke Getsy some points for the Cole Kmet-Fields pitch play that picked up 31, but one play doesn't mean much in a 31-point loss.
Grade: D
Pass defense
In a season filled with bad defensive performances by the Bears, this one might take the cake.
Lions quarterback Jared Goff did whatever he wanted to the Bears' defense Sunday. Goff probably could have played in shorts and a t-shirt if he wanted to, given how ineffective the Bears' pass rush was at Ford Field.
Goff went 21-for-29 for 255 yards and three touchdowns. Tight end Brock Wright caught two touchdown passes, Amon-Ra St. Brown grabbed four passes for 62 yards, and D.J. Chark snagged two balls for 56 yards.
The Bears only sacked Goff once and registered just three quarterback hits.
Woof.
Grade: F
Run defense
Talk about embarrassing.
The Bears put up little resistance against the Lions' ground game Sunday.
Detroit rushed for 265 yards on 39 carries, good for 6.8 yards per rush. If you take out the end-of-game kneel downs by backup quarterback Nate Sudfeld, the Lions averaged over 7 yards per carry.
RELATED: Why Bears kept playing Fields in blowout loss vs. Lions
The Bears' defensive line was dominated, and they got little help from a linebacking corps and secondary that seemed to lose its desire to tackle as the game went on.
Grade: F
Special teams
Velus Jones Jr. had a brilliant 63-yard kickoff return, and Trenton Gill had three punts downed inside the 20.
Of all the issues the Bears had Sunday at Ford Field, special teams wasn't one of them.
Grade: B-minus