Rick Osentoski/AP
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The Bears’ final game of the regular season will be Sunday at 3:25 p.m. against the Lions at Soldier Field, the NFL announced Sunday.
The Week 18 matchups are set when the rest of the schedule comes out, but date and times are left open until the week before in order to maximize the standalone broadcast windows on Saturday and Sunday with game that have playoff implications. The league has games Saturday at 3:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. and “Sunday Night Football” at 7:20 p.m.
The Bears-Lions game has minimal stakes with the Lions already eliminated from the playoff race.