DETROIT — The Detroit Lions put an end to their lengthy Thanksgiving losing streak with a 23-20 victory over the Chicago Bears on Thursday at Ford Field.
The Lions hadn’t won on Thanksgiving since a 2016 victory over the Minnesota Vikings. The Bears had beaten them three times during the seven-game losing streak.
But the NFC North-leading Lions (11-1) dominated the first half and held on late against the Bears, who extended their own losing streak to six games this season.
The Bears offense turned in a horrendous first half, totaling just 53 yards and not getting a first down until less than a minute left in the second quarter. It looked much better in the second half as rookie quarterback Caleb Williams led three touchdown drives.
But Williams and the offense failed to come through on the final drive, which began at the Bears 1-yard line.
Williams took a sack for a loss of 6 yards on second-and-20 from the Lions 35. There was still about 30 seconds left on the clock — and the Bears had one timeout remaining — but they got off only one more play, an incomplete pass to Rome Odunze.
Time ran out, and Bears players stood in the middle of the field stunned.
Earlier in the drive on fourth-and-4, Williams hit DJ Moore for a first down, but tight end Cole Kmet was called for offensive pass interference. On the next play on fourth-and-14, Lions cornerback Kindle Vildor was called for a 29-yard pass-interference penalty against Moore.
That brought the Bears to the Lions 25, but left guard Teven Jenkins was called for illegal use of hands to the face, a 10-yard loss. Defensive end Za’Darius Smith then came through with the sack of Williams on the second-to-last play.
The Bears cut it to three with 5 minutes, 42 seconds to play on Williams’ 31-yard touchdown pass to Moore. The defense then forced the Lions to go three and out on the next drive, stopping running back David Montgomery for a loss of 1 on third-and-1.
Williams completed 20 of 39 passes for 256 yards and three touchdowns. Lions quarterback Jared Goff threw for 221 yards. Montgomery rushed for 88 yards and Jahmyr Gibbs for 87.
After falling behind 16-0 at halftime, the Bears scored on their first drive of the third quarter with Williams’ 31-yard pass to Keenan Allen cutting the lead to 16-7. That play came after Williams broke off a 9-yard run and took an ugly hit from linebacker Jack Campbell, with his knees bending awkwardly.
Williams went to the injury tent after the drive but returned to the sideline a short time later.
The Lions responded with an 11-play, 78-yard touchdown drive, capped by Goff’s 1-yard pass to Sam LaPorta. That put them ahead 23-7 with 2:43 to play in the third quarter. Kyler Gordon was called for a personal foul for a horse-collar tackle to help extend the drive.
Williams and Allen connected for their second touchdown on a 9-yard pass early in the fourth quarter. Williams’ 2-point conversion pass to Kmet failed, and the Bears trailed 23-13.
The Lions punted for the first time on their next drive, and Jake Bates missed a 45-yard field goal wide right on the drive after that. The Bears cut it to three on their next drive.
Bears right tackle Darnell Wright went out with a knee injury in the fourth quarter, and Larry Borom took his place. Center Coleman Shelton also left in the fourth quarter but returned to the game.
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Here’s how the game unfolded.
Inactives: Bears will face Lions star Amon-Ra St. Brown
Lions running back David Montgomery and wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown are active Thursday against the Bears at Ford Field.
Montgomery and St. Brown, who are dealing with a shoulder and knee injury, respectively, were listed as questionable to play but are are good to go.
For a short turnaround after Sunday’s loss to the Minnesota Vikings, the Bears are notably healthy going into Thursday’s game. They previously declared out safety Elijah Hicks (ankle) and guard/center Ryan Bates (concussion), the only players on their injury report all week.
Offensive lineman Kiran Amegadjie, wide receiver Tyler Scott, defensive end Dominique Robinson and defensive back Ameer Speed are also inactive.
The Lions previously declared out left tackle Taylor Decker (knee) and cornerback Carlton Davis III (knee/thumb). Cornerback Emmanuel Moseley and offensive linemen Giovanni Manu, Colby Sorsdal and Kayode Awosika also are inactive.
Halftime: Offense can’t get anything going as Bears trail 16-0
The Bears totaled just 53 yards, didn’t get a first down until 55 seconds left in the second quarter and fell behind the Lions 16-0 by halftime Thursday at Ford Field.
The Bears went three-and-out on their first three drives and had just four plays on their fourth drive. The Lions, meanwhile, totaled 279 yards and held an eye-popping advantage in time of possession — 22 minutes, 54 seconds to 7:03.
Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs rushed for 83 yards, and former Bear David Montgomery added 58 yards on the ground.
Lions quarterback Jared Goff threw for 145 yards. He hit tight end Sam LaPorta for a 3-yard touchdown — the only touchdown of the half — for a 10-0 lead on the first play of the second quarter. Gibbs rushed for 52 yards on the drive, including carries of 18 and 13 yards.
On their second-to-last drive of the half, the Bears went for it on fourth-and-3 at their 37-yard line, and Caleb Williams’ pass to D’Andre Swift fell incomplete.
The Lions were driving on the ensuing possession, but cornerback Tyrique Stevenson forced Gibbs to fumble and defensive tackle Gervon Dexter recovered at the Bears 6 for the only takeaway of the half.
Williams then hit tight end Cole Kmet for a 14-yard pass for the first Bears first down of the half with less than a minute to play. Williams completed 5 of 15 passes for 34 yards.
Lions kicker Jake Bates made three field goals, including a 48-yarder to put them up 16-0.
The Lions went up 13-0 on Bates’ 36-yard field goal in the second quarter. They had first-and-goal at the 4, but a holding penalty and Dexter’s sack for a loss of 9 yards on third down helped force a field goal.
The Lions put together a 15-play, 58-yard opening drive that lasted 7:54, but they settled for Bates’ 30-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead. Nickel back Kyler Gordon broke up a pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown in the end zone on second down.
Bears running back Roschon Johnson left in the first half to be evaluated for a concussion.
Catch up on the rest of our coverage.
5 things to watch
“Sonic and Knuckles” — a.k.a. Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery — have established themselves as arguably the league’s most dangerous backfield duo. Through 11 games, Gibbs and Montgomery have combined for 2,024 yards from scrimmage and 22 touchdowns. Both have scored within the same game five times this season, helping catalyze an offense that is averaging 394.3 yards per game.
The Bears must be much stingier defending the run than they have been during a five-game losing streak that has seen them surrender 755 rushing yards and a 4.9 yards per attempt average.
But it won’t be easy against a backfield tandem as productive as this one. Gibbs’ 5.8 yards per carry average ranks third in the NFL among qualifying running backs behind only Saquon Barkley (6.2) of the Eagles and Derrick Henry (6.0) of the Ravens. Read more here.
How QB is adjusting on the fly
Adversity comes in unexpected forms during an NFL season, and when Caleb Williams’ rookie year is over and everyone involved has an opportunity to take inventory with a wide-lens view, how the No. 1 draft pick traversed the lows will be every bit as telling as the high points.
It has been arrow up for Williams the last two weeks, and while you can’t get carried away when the Bears are mired in a five-game losing streak, this season was more about developing Williams and laying a foundation for the sustained success that has been so fleeting at Halas Hall than it was about immediately chasing a championship. Read more here.
Gobble gobble
The NFL has scheduled games on Thanksgiving since the league’s inception. Playing on Thanksgiving is nothing new for the Bears, who have done it 37 times — the third most in the NFL — with another game at Detroit’s Ford Field on Nov. 28.
Known as the Decatur and then Chicago Staleys for its first two Thanksgiving games, the Bears competed on the November holiday annually for 19 consecutive years from 1920-38. The venue that has hosted the Bears most on Thanksgiving — 11 times — is Wrigley Field. Here’s a look back at the team’s record on the holiday. Read more here.
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An update from Arlington Heights
As the Bears continue to face massive hurdles in Springfield over plans to build a domed stadium next to Soldier Field, the team has reached an agreement over property taxes for the 326 acres of land it owns in Arlington Heights that has tripped up plans to build a new stadium in the northwest suburb.
Team officials said they had agreed on a memorandum of understanding involving the amount of taxes to be paid for the former site of the Arlington International Racecourse. The village and local school boards still need to approve the agreement, which could happen next month. While it does not guarantee the team will build a stadium in Arlington Heights, the deal does shift some momentum back toward the suburban site and keeps the team’s options more open than before.
“The Chicago Bears remain focused on investing over $2 billion to build a publicly owned enclosed stadium on Chicago’s lakefront while reevaluating the feasibility of a development in Bronzeville,” Bears officials said in a team statement released Monday. Read more here.
About Week 12
A cliche former Patriots coach Bill Belichick consistently turned to at this time of year was the idea that “football season starts after Thanksgiving.” For the Bears, their season is close to being over after losing a fifth consecutive game, falling to the Vikings 30-27 in overtime Sunday at Soldier Field.
The Bears (4-7) are mired in last place in the NFC North. They are twice as close to the No. 1 draft pick — two games ahead of the Jaguars, Raiders and Giants, who are tied for the worst record in the league — than they are to third place in their division. That’s right, the Bears are four games behind the Packers, five back of the Vikings and six behind the Lions.
The Bears won’t wind up with the No. 1 draft pick for the third consecutive year. But it’s impossible to say when this losing streak will end. Read Brad Biggs’ 10 thoughts on the loss here.
