The Chicago Bears (4-7) will kick off Thanksgiving Day NFL football when they travel to the Motor City to take on the Detroit Lions (10-1) at 12:30 PM EST on CBS.
The Bears are enduring a challenging season with a 4-7 record, but the emergence of rookie quarterback Caleb Williams has provided a bright spot. Williams, the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, has shown flashes of brilliance, particularly in recent weeks, with consecutive 230+ yard passing performances.
In his first year in the league, Williams has thrown 2,356 yards, accounting for 11 touchdowns and five interceptions, roughly 200 yards away from Field’s career-high passing yards in a season, and Chicago still has six games to play.
While Williams has played relatively well compared to his predecessors, the Bears have struggled in and out of divisional play. Since the Bears fell to the Commanders 18-15 in Washington on a 52-yard hail mary from rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, Chicago’s 4-2 record went down the drain.
JAYDEN DANIELS WITH A HAIL MARY TO BEAT THE BEARS AS TIME EXPIRES 🤯
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 27, 2024
WHAT HAVE WE JUST WITNESSED?!?!?!
(via @NFL) pic.twitter.com/xuSQsWlODR
Five of the Bears' seven losses have come in one-score games, including their overtime loss to Minnesota in Week 12. This shows that Chicago has stayed competitive despite its losses this season. In fact, at times, a singular play has changed the trajectory of the Bears' wins or losses, and those plays have cost them dearly.
In the past five weeks, Chicago has lost its last five games to the Commanders, Cardinals, Patriots, Packers, and Vikings, dropping to last place in the NFC North and six games behind the NFC North leaders, the Detroit Lions.
The Lions come into this matchup as one of the NFL's most dominant teams, boasting a 10-1 record and riding a nine-game winning streak. With Jared Goff at the helm, Detroit's offense has been electric, leading the league with an average of 32.7 points per game.
Detroit’s dynamic running back duo Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery – AKA Sonic and Knuckles – have gone stride for stride and dominated opponents each week.
Gibbs has recorded just nine more carries (154) than his counterpart (145) and has rushed for 886 yards and 10 touchdowns as the Lions leading rusher. However, Montgomery has made up for his lack of yards (632) in touchdowns (11), capturing one more than Gibbs, and the two have combined for all 21 of Detroit’s rushing scores.
The Lions are fourth in the league in rushing yards per game (150.8) and third in passing yards (259.1), compared to the Bears, who are 22nd (111.8) and 25th (214.2) in those categories, respectively.
While this game means everything in the NFC North for each team, the Bears are looking to snap a five-game losing streak and regain momentum as the postseason approaches in six weeks.
The Lions' nearly undefeated record suggests they have clinched a playoff spot; however, adding another win to the win column won't hurt Campbell's group.
