Lions make franchise history by defeating Bears on Thanksgiving with 11 wins and 1 loss

The Detroit Lions were enjoying turkey after defeating their NFC North rival Chicago Bears 23-20 on Thanksgiving Day.

Detroit made history in the process, going 11-1 for the first time in franchise history. The Bears fell to 4-8 on the season.

A defensive effort kept the Bears scoreless in the first half, marking another milestone for this great Lions team. It was the first time this season that the Lions shut out a team in the first half.

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Meanwhile, quarterback Jared Goff and the Lions' blitz offense scored 16 points, but kicker Jake Bates made three field goals in the first half to account for nine of the 16 points, and by standards they were in the red zone. was limited to.

Tight end Sam LaPorta, who scored two touchdowns for the Lions, hit a laser from 3 yards out from Goff in the second quarter to make it 10-0 at the time.

But Bears quarterback Caleb Williams and his offense turned things around in the second half, with Keenan Allen scoring a touchdown from 31 yards left on the first drive and rookie signal-caller hitting wide receiver numbers. Allen made the right decision and ran it. To the end zone.

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However, the Lions responded quickly, with LaPorta finding the end zone again with over seven minutes to play after Goff ran a perfect play-action pass that left the tight end wide open leading to the score.

But Williams and the Bears didn't back down, and Allen drove 70 yards into the end zone again, keeping the Lions' lead at 10 points even after a failed two-point conversion.

Then, after Bates missed his first field goal of the game, the Bears took advantage of excellent field position when Williams threw a dime to wide receiver DJ Moore from 31 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown. It was set as 3 points. game.

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams tries to throw a pass during a game against the Detroit Lions on Thursday at Ford Field in Detroit. (Ron Howedel Iman Images)

The Bears were able to get the ball back with three minutes left, but a perfect punt left Chicago at the 1-yard line with no chance of at least tying the game.

But one of the strangest endings to a game in recent memory was when Williams was sacked to make it 3-26 with over 30 seconds left. However, Williams lost track of time and took too long to make the playoffs, eventually giving wide receiver Roman Odunze a prayer that fell incomplete to end the game.

What was even weirder was that head coach Matt Eberflus still pocketed the timeout. They knew the quarterback was taking too much time and could have used that to save time, but the Bears found another impossible way to lose.

In the box score, the “Sonic and Knuckles” backfield of David Montgomery and Jahmil Gibbs played well against the Bears' defense and once again led the Lions' offense.

Gibbs needed only nine carries for 87 yards on the ground, while Montgomery had 21 carries for 88 yards.

Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta catches a touchdown pass during Thursday's game against the Chicago Bears at Ford Field in Detroit. (Ron Howedel Iman Images)

Goff completed 21-of-34 for 221 yards, and wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown led the team with five receptions for 73 yards.

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Meanwhile, Williams improved in the second half, gaining 256 yards with three touchdown passes. Allen gained 73 yards and Moore gained 97 yards.

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