One of the best aspects of the holiday season is whenever the NFL schedule aligns with Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Any game that is played on either day is instantly more memorable due to the specialness that makes up those days. Back in 2000, the Chicago Bears recorded one of the biggest upset victories in franchise history against the Lions in Detroit. On Christmas Eve, Chicago knocked Detroit out of the playoffs, which served as a prelude to the Lions’ current demise.

The Detroit Lions Were Once A Respected Franchise

For the last 19 years, the Detroit Lions have been regarded as one of the worst franchises in all of professional sports. They have made the playoffs in just three of the last 20 seasons and have not won a division title or playoff game since 1991. Many fans forget that before the 2001 NFL season, The Detroit Lions were consistently one of the NFL’s better and more exciting teams.

From 1990 to 1999, The Detroit Lions made it to the playoffs six times and featured some of the best and exciting players in the league. Legendary running back Barry Sanders led the Lions as he rushed for over 13,000 yards from 1990 to 1998. Detroit also featured one of the most underrated wide receiver duos in NFL history in Herman Moore and Brett Perriman. The two recorded two seasons in which both had 1,000 receiving yards. In 1995, Moore and Perriman combined for 231 receptions.

The Christmas Eve Game That Changed It All

Heading into the final game of the 2000 season, The Lions, with a win at home, would lock up the sixth and final seed in the NFC Playoffs that season. It seemed all but assured as they were set to take on a four-win Chicago Bears team that was historically embarrassed the week before in San Francisco. Chicago’s defense allowed receiver Terrell Owens to catch 20 passes in a 17-0 loss. The Bears’ offense never crossed mid-field during the entire game.

The Lions seemed poised to put the game out of reach early as they scored 10 points in the first quarter. Detroit’s chances of winning were further increased when Bears’ starting quarterback Shane Matthews was knocked out towards the end of the first half with a broken thumb. Backup Cade McNown would come in to finish the game, even though many of his teammates requested that he be benched due to his lack of preparation for the San Francisco game the week before.

With everything going against them, the Bears defense led by rookie linebacker Brian Urlacher continued to play tough. Right after Matthews was knocked out of the game, Urlacher sacked Lions’ quarterback Charlie Batch knocking him out of the game with a shoulder injury.

Down 17-13 with less than seven minutes left in the game, Chicago’s defense took over as cornerback R.W. McQuarters returned a Stoney Case interception 61-yards for a touchdown to give Chicago a 20-17 lead. Detroit would tie the game at 20-20, but with less than a minute to go, the Bears would sack Case again, causing a fumble, which was recovered by McQuarters, giving Chicago the ball around mid-field.

The embattled and controversial McNown would connect to with running back James Allen on a 10-yard pass on a crucial fourth and one that would put the Bears in field goal range. Rookie kicker Paul Edinger would come on to kick a 54-yard game-winning field goal with two seconds left to give the Bears a 23-20 lead and victory.

The Lions’ loss coupled with a St. Louis Rams’ win allowed the Rams to move into and secure the sixth seed in the NFC Playoffs. It was a feel-good win for the Bears and their fans, as many did not expect the team to win. Many Bears players credit the Christmas Eve win as the springboard that led to the team’s 13-win season in 2001.

The Lions Haven’t Been The Same Since

For the rest of the 00’s decade, the Lions would go on to be the worst team in the NFL. Although a majority of the Lions’ roster returned for the 2001 season, they would finish 2-14 and wouldn’t win their first game of the season until week 14. From 2001 to 2010, Detroit would win a total of just 39 games, including the NFL’s first winless season since 1976 as they went 0-16 in 2008.

Although the Christmas Eve loss to the Bears in 2000 isn’t the root cause for the Lions’ futility, it does serve as an unofficial beginning. Since 2000, the Lions have yet to return to the respectability and competitive consistency that the team had during the 1990s. The win for the Bears helped bring them back from obscurity as they would have one of their best decades during the 2000s.