The Detroit Lions narrowly defeated the Chicago Bears 23-20 on their annual Thanksgiving Day
home game, improving their record to 11-1. It is their first win on Thanksgiving Day since 2016
and sets Detroit up to complete their second season sweep of the Bears in three years when
the two teams meet against Soldier Field in Week 16.
Detroit went into halftime with a 16-0 lead, thanks to a Sam LaPorta three-yard touchdown
reception from Jared Goff and three field goals from Jake Bates. After being stifled by a Detroit
defense that had not allowed a touchdown in 12 straight quarters, Caleb Williams and the
Bears’ offense opened the second half with a nine-play, 74-yard drive, capped off with a 31-yard
touchdown pass from Williams to Keenan Allen to get the Bears on the board. However, Detroit
regained their 16-point advantage on the ensuing drive, thanks to a highlight play by Jameson
Williams and LaPorta’s one-yard touchdown reception, his second of the game.
Williams’ strong play in the second half continued, as his second touchdown pass to Allen and a
failed two-point conversion attempt cut the Detroit lead to ten early in the fourth quarter. After
Bates’ missed field goal of the year, a 31-yard touchdown pass from Williams to DJ Moore cut
the Detroit lead to just three. Chicago then got the ball back late with a chance to tie the game
or win it. Shortly after receiving a first down thanks to a controversial pass interference call on
fourth down, Williams was sacked with 32 seconds remaining in the game. Instead of calling a
timeout with a chance to run another play and get back into field goal range, the Bears could not
get set on time, forcing Williams to throw a hail mary towards the end zone, which ultimately fell
incomplete. The coaching blunder dropped the Bears’ record to 4-7 and likely closed the door
on not only Chicago’s playoff hopes but also head coach Matt Eberfluss’ job. It is the second
week in a row in which the Bears came up short against a division rival, despite a strong
second-half performance by Williams, who completed 20 of his 39 pass attempts with 256 yards
and three passing touchdowns.