Detroit survive Bears comeback to make it 10 wins in a row
The opening game of a trio of Thanksgiving Day clashes went down to the wire but Chicago made a mess of their final possession, allowing Detroit to move to 11-1 on the season for the first time in franchise history.
The Lions had led 16-0 at half time after three field goals and a three-yard touchdown pass from Jared Goff to Sam LaPorta.
But the Bears fought back strongly with three touchdowns in the second half -- two of them on the connection between quarterback Caleb Williams and receiver Keenan Allen.
When Williams found D.J. Moore with a superb 31-yard touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter, the Lions' advantage was reduced to three points.
Chicago forced Detroit to punt on the next possession, leaving Williams with the ball and the chance to take the game to overtime or win it.
A pair of penalties hampered the Bears' final drive but despite Williams taking a sack with 36 seconds left in the game, a field goal opportunity remained well within reach.
But instead of taking a timeout, the Bears offense tried to set up to gain some more yards for kicker Cairo Santos losing precious time.
The ball was snapped with just six seconds left and Williams threw an incomplete pass as the clock ran out.
The Bears, who suffered their sixth straight loss, looked confused and frustrated.
"All of a sudden I see everybody come on the field and the game's over. So I was kind of like, 'What the... had just happened?'," said Bears tight-end Cole Kmet.
"I'm sure the thought process was then to be able to get some yardage and then take the timeout and then kick the field goal. But we were just a little too late on that. And then that ended up being the final play," he added.
There was evident relief among the Lions after they flirted with what would have been a surprise loss.
"It was a crazy ending and we fought hard to the end to get it done. It was scary," admitted Goff.
"Our defense held strong. Our defense, they'll bend not break and they made those plays at the end there and we win," he added.
Goff went 21-for-34 for 221 yards and two touchdowns, while on the ground the running back pair Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery put up 175 yards between them.
Cowboys down Giants
The traditional NFC East rivalry between the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants was a meeting of two teams enduring losing seasons.
Dallas emerged with the win, their first at home this season.
The 27-20 victory was their eighth straight against the Giants and it came with both teams featuring back-up quarterbacks.
Cooper Rush earned back-to-back victories as stand-in for the injured Dak Prescott for the Cowboys while for the Giants Drew Lock replaced Tommy DeVito, who has an arm injury.
The Cowboys opened up a 13-7 lead when DeMarvion Overshown picked off a Lock pass and rushed 23 yards for a touchdown.
Dallas took control of the game in the third quarter when Rush found Brandin Cooks with a two-yard pass and then Rico Dowdle rushed in from four yards to build a 17-point advantage.
Lock, who was sacked six times, showed good mobility to run in an eight-yard score with 2:18 left but Dallas were able to run down the clock.
Later on Thursday, the Green Bay Packers host the Miami Dolphins.