What we learned from the Thanksgiving tripleheader

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Bobby Kownack’s insights:

1. Untypical Lions are lucky. Detroit delivered a losing effort everywhere in the first half except on the scoreboard Jahmyr Gibbs And David Montgomery There were 141 total rushing yards, with the offense moving at will and covering 279 yards. However, the Lions’ offense, which was ranked first in scoring entering the day, consistently stalled in the red zone, with four first-half drives resulting in a field goal, a touchdown, a field goal and a fumble. That fumble, a Gibbs mishap at the end of what looked like a possible six-run run in the final minute of the second quarter, proved to be a turning point. Chicago gained some momentum on the ensuing possession and trailed by just 16-0 in the second half despite being thoroughly outplayed. Meanwhile, the Lions completely lost their mojo outside of a TD in the third quarter. Gibbs and Monty contributed just 34 more rushing yards on the other side of the half, Jared Goff only managed 76 passing yards and the defense allowed significantly more (248). Detroit, being completely lackluster, would normally cancel games like this early. The Lions still held on to win, as good teams do, but that was as much a credit to the Bears for being a bad team and sabotaging themselves.
2. The Bears do a disastrous U-turn and start losing the self-inflicted heartbreaker. Despite all odds, Chicago found another way to destroy their fans. Caleb Williams overcame a disastrous start by flipping a switch in the second half, rushing for 256 yards and three touchdowns. Most of the time he looked spectacular Keenan Allen With two of these goals, he provided a late-season boost. And the defense held firm despite the losses of over 400 yards. Things got tighter in the red zone in the first half before getting tighter overall in the fourth half, giving Detroit just 48 total yards in the final frame. Those silver linings that gave Chicago a chance to complete a potential 16-point comeback won’t mean much after what happened. Trailing by three points, the Bears pushed into Detroit territory from their 1-yard line, but after a sack near midfield with 32 seconds left, they inexplicably failed to snap the ball again until six seconds remained were. Then Williams sailed to the ground in desperation near the end zone and it was over. They had a timeout either before or after this game which they could take advantage of if they had shown appropriate urgency. The Bears had already committed three bad penalties while in possession of the ball. Chicago has now lost six straight. That series includes a failed Hail Mary defense against the Commanders, a blocked game-winning field goal attempt against the Packers, an overtime loss against the Vikings and now this.
3. Detroit can barely get the monkey (turkey?) off his game. It had been seven long years since the Lions had a victory on Thanksgiving. That’s a losing streak that already existed before the arrival of Dan Campbell and Jared Goff, but the coach-QB duo still contributed by going 0-3 in previous attempts. They finally got out of trouble on Thursday, which gave them a reason to celebrate, even if they will be far happier with the result than the process. Despite leading from one end to the other, Campbell’s team was strangely sloppy on offense, allowing 9 points in the second half for the first time in week (20). Nonetheless, the Lions have now won their 10th straight game while surpassing another painful losing statistic. They were far from their best, but the storied run dating back to last season continues as Detroit tries to convert its new narrative into one that ultimately wins the Super Bowl.

Insight into Bears-Lions next generation stats (via NFL Pro): Caleb Williams completed 15 of 24 passes for 222 yards and three touchdowns in the second half, all under pressure.

NFL Research: The Lions’ 11-1 start is their best in team history, fueled by their first 10-game winning streak in a season since 1934.