Lions make franchise history moving to 11-1 after staving off Bears on Thanksgiving
The Detroit Lions were enjoying some turkey after taking down their NFC North-rival Chicago Bears, 23-20, on Thanksgiving Day.
Detroit made some history in the process, going 11-1 for the first time in the franchise’s history. The Bears fell to 4-8 on the season.
Another milestone was reached for this great Lions team, as their defensive efforts kept the Bears scoreless in the first half. It was the first time this season the Lions had shut out a team in the first half.
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Meanwhile, quarterback Jared Goff and the Lions’ electric offense put up 16 points, though they were limited in the red zone by their standards as kicker Jake Bates notched three field goals in the first half to account for nine of the 16 points.
Tight end Sam LaPorta, who scored two touchdowns for the Lions, collected his first in the second quarter as Goff threw a laser to him from three yards out to make it 10-0 at the time.
In the second half, though, Bears quarterback Caleb Williams and his offense turned things around, as their opening drive resulted in a Keenan Allen touchdown from 31 yards out, as the rookie signal caller put it right on the wide receiver's numbers and Allen ran it into the end zone.
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But the Lions quickly responded, using over seven minutes of clock for LaPorta to find the end zone once more after Goff ran a perfect play-action pass that left the tight end wide open for the score.
Williams and the Bears didn’t back down, however, as they marched 70 yards for Allen to get into the end zone again to keep the Lions’ lead at 10 after a failed two-point conversion.
Then, after Bates missed his first field goal of the game, the Bears took advantage of the great field position as Williams threw a dime to wide receiver D.J. Moore for a touchdown down the left sideline from 31 yards out to make it a three-point game.
The Bears were able to get the ball back again with three minutes left, but a perfect punt left Chicago at the one-yard line to make it as hard as possible to get a chance to at least tie the game.
But one of the weirdest endings to a game in recent memory came when Williams was sacked to make it third-and-26, leaving 30-plus seconds on the clock. Williams lost track of time, however, and took way too long to get the play off, ultimately launching a prayer to wide receiver Rome Odunze that fell incomplete to end the game.
Even more weird was head coach Matt Eberflus still having a timeout in his pocket. Knowing his quarterback was taking too long, he could have used it to preserve time — but the Bears found yet another improbable way to lose.
In the box score, the "Sonic & Knuckles" backfield of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs put in work against the Bears’ defense to once again lead the way for the Lions' offense.
Gibbs needed only nine carries to tally 87 yards on the ground, while Montgomery had 21 carries for 88 yards.
Goff went 21-of-34 for 221 yards, with wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown leading the pack with 73 yards on five receptions.
Meanwhile, Williams turned up in the second half, finishing with 256 yards with his three touchdown passes. Allen had 73 yards, while Moore finished with 97.
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