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Lions vs. Bears: Live score updates, highlights, news, analysis
We’ve got live score updates, highlights and news from the Thanksgiving game between the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions.
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It’s a tradition unlike any other: the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day.
What has long been mocked for decades is now one of the most anticipated moments of the football week. The Lions are 10-1, holding first place in the NFC North, the NFC, and the NFL. It’s their best start since the 1934 season—the exact year that this Thanksgiving Day tradition began with the Lions.
Overall, the Lions have appeared on 84 Thanksgiving Day game, holding an overall record of 37-45-2 in those contests. They have notoriously lost their last seven Thanksgiving Day contests, with their last victory coming in a thrilling comeback victory over the Minnesota Vikings in 2016.
But this is a Lions team unlike any other. They have laid waste to nearly every opponent, and in convincing fashion. They have faced both good teams and bad, and have yet to fall for the “trap” game. The last two opponents they’ve faced with a losing record were the Jaguars and Titans, and they beat those two teams by a combined 84 points.So it’s understandable that the 4-7 Chicago Bears come to town as 9.5-point underdogs for the game.
That said, there are some things working in Chicago’s favor this week. For one, quarterback Caleb Williams has strung together two strong performances after the Bears fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. Additionally, the Lions have two key injuries. Left tackle Taylor Decker and No. 1 cornerback Carlton Davis are both officially out for this game, leaving Detroit vulnerable at two key positions.
Will the Lions pass another test of adversity or will it be another disappointing Thanksgiving?
We’ll be providing live updates from Ford Field. Simply start refreshing after the 12:30 p.m. ET kickoff, and watch as drive-by-drive analysis, highlights, scoring updates, and injury news filters in.
See you all at kickoff and Happy Thanksgiving!
First quarter
The Detroit Lions won the coin toss and opted to receive. The opening drive got off to a promising start with a 10-yard run from David Montgomery. Detroit then converted a third-and-4 after Jared Goff found Jameson Williams after going through all of his progressions. After a 14-yard pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown, the Lions found themselves in another third down, and, again, Williams picked up the conversion down to Bears 24-yard line.
Detroit then tried to get trick with a passing play designed to be thrown by Penei Sewell, but he wisely tucked it and took a 1-yard loss.
Regardless, the drive kept going. But on third-and-9 from the Bears’ 12-yard line, Goff couldn’t find Tim Patrick and the Lions settled for a 30-yard field goal. 3-0 Lions.
The Bears quickly went three-and-out, after a deep shot to DJ Moore was broken up beautifully by Kerby Joseph.
Detroit was deep in their own zone thanks to a good punt, but on third-and-2, Goff found St. Brown for a 29-yard gain. Then it was all Jahmyr Gibbs. He picked up rushes of 18, 13, and 11 yards to move the Lions down to first-and-goal from the 3-yard line.
Second quarter
On the first play of the second quarter, Goff found Sam LaPorta for the easy touchdown and a 10-0 Lions lead.
The Bears quickly went three-and-out again, thanks to an offensive pass interference penalty, and a third-down pressure from Za’Darius Smith and Josh Paschal that forced Caleb Williams to eventually throw it away. Paschal suffered an injury on the play and went to the locker room. He was listed initially as questionable with a knee injury, but eventually downgraded to out.
The Lions moved down field quickly with a pair of plays to David Montgomery—a 13-yard run and a 14-yard catch. A 15-yard crackback block penalty on Jameson Williams pushed them into a second-and-25, but they quickly got out of it with a 30-yard strike to Tim Patrick with a roughing the passer penalty tacked on.
The Lions would have to settle for three, though. Another penalty on the receiver crew—a holding on St. Brown—moved them to a second-and-goal from the 14, and Detroit couldn’t punch it in, with Goff taking a sack on third down. Bates lined up from 36 yards and knocked it through. 13-0 Lions.
Again, the Lions defense forced a three-and-out. Terrion Arnold picked up a nice pass breakup on second down and pressure from Al-Quadin Muhammad forced an inaccurate throw from Williams on third down.
Gibbs kicked off the drive with a huge 28-yard gain right up the gut of the Bears defense.
Detroit then faced a fourth-and-1 from the Bears’ 32-yard line and Montgomery converted with a 2-yard run. But the Lions stalled from there after three straight incompletions, bringing Bates back onto the field. From 48 yards, Bates was good. 16-0 Lions.
With 3:11 left in the half, the Bears would seek their first first down of the game. They would not get it, and a risky fourth-and-3 attempt backfired when Malcolm Rodriguez played the wheel route perfectly.
Initially, Detroit’s offense couldn’t do much with the field position, but a Bears defender jumped offsides on a fourth-and-1 play to keep the drive alive. The Lions ran a beautiful screen to Gibbs, who took it all the way down to the 5-yard line, but the Lions running back coughed it up and the Bears recovered.
With less than a minute left and no timeouts, the Bears went to work to get on the scoreboard. They finally picked up a first down, but not much else and the half ended 16-0 Lions. Levi Onwuzurike suffered an injury late in the first half, he was ruled out with a hamstring injury.
Third quarter
The Bears offense finally showed some life to kick off the third quarter. Williams scrambled and found Keenan Allen for an 18-yard gain on a third-and-14 to move into Lions territory for the first time all game. Then after earning a first down with his legs, Williams threw a strike to Allen for a 31-yard touchdown to make it 16-7 Lions just five minutes into the second half.
The Lions caught a bit of a break on their next drive. Just as it looked like Gibbs was stopped short of a third-down conversion, the Bears were called for a horse-collar tackle to give Detroit an extra 15 yards—a questionable call, at best. A few plays later, Jameson Williams took a reverse and hurdled a defender for an astonishing 15-yard gain.
A few plays later, the Lions dialed up a beauty of a play-action play, and Goff found LaPorta for his second touchdown of the game. 23-7 Lions.
The Bears wouldn’t go away, though. It only took two plays for the Bears to get down to Detroit’s 22-yard line. Williams hit a wide-open Rome Odunze for 19 yards, then D’Andre Swift took a screen for 29.
The Bears would face a key third-and-6 as the game moved to the final quarter.