The Detroit Lions have lost their fifth Thanksgiving game in a row, falling 16-14 to the Chicago Bears in Thursday’s early game. That improved the Bears’ record to 4-7 this season, and dropped the Lions’ record to 0-10-1. The Lions haven’t won a game on Thanksgiving since 2016 (a 16-13 win over the Minnesota Vikings), and they haven’t won a game at all since beating the Bears 34-30 on December 6, 2020 under interim coach Darrell Bevel. Dan Campbell, who took over as Detroit’s head coach this season, hasn’t recorded a win there.
The Lions got off to a good start in this one, with Jared Goff finding Josh Reynolds (who Detroit only claimed on waivers earlier this month, but who had played in Los Angeles with Goff from 2017-20) on a 39-yard-touchdown pass. However, most of the rest of the game didn’t go as well for them, including the loss of running back D’Andre Swift to a shoulder injury. They recorded another touchdown in the third quarter, with Goff finding tight end T.J. Hockenson on an end-zone pass, but that was most of their offense on the day; Goff completed 21 of 25 passing attempts with two touchdowns and no interceptions, but threw for just 171 yards, and they only added 76 more yards on the ground (on 19 carries: 15 from Jamaal Williams, one from Godwin Igwebuike, and three from Swift before his injury). And the Bears finished them off with a clock-killing fourth-quarter drive, setting up this game-winning 28-yard field goal from Cairo Santos:
The @ChicagoBears WIN on the last-second FG. #CHIvsDET #DaBears pic.twitter.com/UUC1QX8Q8c
— NFL (@NFL) November 25, 2021
On the day, Bears’ quarterback Andy Dalton completed 24 of 39 passes for 317 yards and a touchdown. The Chicago ground game wasn’t as strong, with the Bears needing 29 carries to amass 68 yards, but they did well enough there, especially on that final drive. And they came out with a win, which should make things interesting around head coach Matt “I’m not fired” Nagy and Dalton (as injured quarterback Justin Fields may be available soon, setting up some decisions (again) on who they’ll start). But a win’s certainly better than a loss, and the Bears will be happy not to have given the Lions their first win in forever.
[The Athletic; photo from David Reginek/USA Today Sports]
