By Colton Pouncy, Adam Jahns, Kevin Fishbain and RJ Kraft
The Lions had to hold off a furious second-half charge by Chicago’s Caleb Williams and benefitted from questionable clock management to nab a 10th straight victory with a 23-20 win over the Bears. Detroit (11-1) continues to lead the NFC North and hold the top seed in the NFC.
An annual participant in Thanksgiving football, the Lions notched their first win on the holiday in eight years. On the other side, Chicago (4-8) dropped its sixth consecutive game after a 4-2 start to the season.
After a tough first half, Williams rebounded to toss three second-half touchdowns — two to Keenan Allen and one to DJ Moore. With 3:31 left, Chicago got the ball back at its own 1-yard line and Williams drove the team to the Lions’ 25 before the drive stalled. Williams was sacked at the Lions’ 41-yard line with 36 seconds left. The Bears elected not to use their final timeout as time ticked off and Williams got the final play off with six seconds left — an incomplete pass down the field to Rome Odunze.
A wild end to this one. #CHIvsDET pic.twitter.com/zwR7g1Efv9
— NFL (@NFL) November 28, 2024
Lions quarterback Jared Goff threw two touchdowns to tight end Sam LaPorta, while the Detroit ground game — led by David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs ran for 194 yards. Goff completed 21 of 34 pass attempts for 221 yards. Detroit’s defense smothered Chicago’s offense in the first half.
Well, that was a first half to forget.
Lions 16, Bears 0
Lions 18 first downs, Bears 2 first downs
Lions 279 yards, Bears 53 yards
Lions happy, Bears sad
— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain) November 28, 2024
In Week 14, Detroit will host the Green Bay Packers on Dec. 5. Chicago will travel to San Francisco to take on the 49ers on Dec. 8.
GO DEEPER
‘They like to push the boundaries’: The Lions score lots of TDs and love celebrating them
Late-game clock management costs Bears
The Bears keep finding new ways to lose one-score games. They looked like they were going to lose in a rout in Detroit, came all the way back, had the ball in field goal range but a cacophony of errors at the end led to Williams’ pass falling incomplete as time expired. They had one timeout left after Williams was sacked on what appeared to be a broken play.
We’ll have a lot of questions, again, for coach Matt Eberflus about how that happened. It’s another head-scratcher for a team that has had too many this season, and during this six-game losing streak, they’ve never been on the right side of a coin flip game. — Kevin Fishbain, Bears beat writer
Vulnerable Lions let off the hook
The Bears had all the momentum, shrinking a 16-point Lions lead to 3 in the final frame. Detroit had issues in the red zone. Its defense was shorthanded. This was the time to get them. The Bears had every opportunity to hand the Lions their second loss of the season — getting into field goal range on their final possession. Yet, a series of penalties and a decision to go for the end zone with a timeout left thwarted the opportunity.
At the end of the day, the Lions will take it — but this was far from their best performance. They didn’t close out the game like they normally do, but sometimes, that’s just the NFL. They’re fortunate to win the game, improving to 11-1 for the first time in franchise history. They’ve won 10 games in a row, and continue to maintain the NFC’s No. 1 seed. That’s enough for a Happy Thanksgiving. — Colton Pouncy, Lions beat writer
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Despite losses, Williams makes gains
Three straight games against teams in the NFC North have resulted in three wild finishes for the Bears — and three losses. The Bears lost to the Packers on a blocked field goal, to the Vikings in overtime after erasing an 11-point deficit and to the Lions on Thanksgiving on a heave to the end zone as time expired in a three-point game.
If there’s one positive, it’s that Williams can excel against tough opponents. He just needs to prove he can beat them. He’s not there yet, but the rookie quarterback definitely is close. Williams was 20-for-39 passing for 256 yards and three touchdowns for a 97.8 passer rating. The Lions entered the game leading the league in opposing QB passer rating at 72.7. — Adam Jahns, Bears beat writer
Detroit’s defensive injuries piling up
The Lions’ dream season continues, even though it’s hard to feel too good about this one. Injuries continued to pile up, with Levi Onwuzurike, Josh Paschal and Malcolm Rodriguez all leaving this game without returning. Others like DJ Reader, Za’Darius Smith and Mekhi Wingo all left the game before coming back.
It feels like injuries are the only thing that can derail this team right now. They won’t have much time to rest after this one, either, with the Packers coming to town in Week 14 for “Thursday Night Football.” The Lions escaped with a win, but the injury bug continues to bite. — Pouncy
Required reading
(Photo: Gregory Shamus/ Getty Images)
