Lions hold off Bears' comeback bid to end Thanksgiving drought

DETROIT — The Detroit Lions were on their way to a peaceful Thanksgiving Day win over the Chicago Bears.

And then the oven caught on fire.

After taking a 16-0 lead into the half, Detroit saw defensive starters drop like flies as the Bears chipped away at their deficit before a disastrous end-of-game sequence by Chicago’s offense let Detroit off the hook.

With Chicago only needing a field goal to send the game into overtime, Bears quarterback Caleb Williams was sacked by Lions edge rusher Za’Darius Smith with about 25 seconds to go. Instead of using its last timeout to regroup, Chicago rushed back to the line on third-and-26 and didn’t get a play off until six seconds left, at which point an incomplete pass to receiver Rome Odunze ended the game.

And for the first time since 2016, Thanksgiving turkey will be served as dessert. Detroit’s 23-20 victory at Ford Field snapped a seven-game Thanksgiving losing streak and extended the Lions’ (11-1) active win streak to 10 games, tying the longest streak in franchise history.

Detroit’s defense — already without starting cornerback Carlton Davis III— lost defensive linemen Josh Paschal and Levi Onwuzurike to injury in the first half before also losing defensive lineman Mekhi Wingo and linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez in the second half.

As Caleb Williams’ final incompletion hit the turf, several Lions defensive backs collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.

The Bears (4-8) took over from their own 1-yard line in a 23-20 game and 3:31 remaining and overcame a pair of sacks to reach Detroit's side of the field, but after a fourth-down conversion was called back for offensive pass interference, Lions cornerback Kindle Vildor committed a pass-interference penalty of his own on fourth-and-14 to gave Chicago first-and-10 at Detroit's 25-yard line.

Smith’s sack — and a comedy of errors from the Bears and head coach Matt Eberflus — salted away the game.

The Lions ran the ball well but couldn’t sustain drives in the second half after rolling through the Bears defense in the first. Detroit’s first drive of the third quarter resulted in a touchdown, but two of their next three ended in a punt and a third ended in the first missed field goal of kicker Jake Bates’ NFL career.

David Montgomery ran for 88 yards on 21 carries and Jahmyr Gibbs had 87 yards on nine attempts. Gibbs had one of Detroit’s most critical mistakes, however, fumbling the ball away at the 6-yard line with the Lions looking to take a three-score lead entering halftime.

The Lions started three-for-three on third down but were just two-for-11 the rest of the way. Lions quarterback Jared Goff was 21-for-34 passing for 221 yards and two touchdowns, both to tight end Sam LaPorta.

Detroit’s first-half shutout extended its streak without allowing a touchdown 12 quarters, but it was a much different story in the second half. Bears receiver Keenan Allen hauled in a 31-yard touchdown pass at 9:47 in the third and another at 13:40 in the fourth before Bears receiver D.J. Moore got behind Lions safety Brian Branch — a rare occurrence — for a 31-yard touchdown that silenced the home crowd.

Bates had second-quarter field goals of 36 and 48 yards before missing his third attempt (from 45) with 8:47 left in the fourth quarter.

The Lions took a 3-0 lead on a 15-play opening drive after converting three consecutive third downs to reach the red zone, including two to Jameson Williams. At one point, they gave the ball to offensive tackle Penei Sewell on an end-around and were hoping to throw for a touchdown pass, but Sewell lost a yard (and the whole crowd still went wild). After two straight completions in the end zone, Jake Bates converted a 30-yard field goal.

After stymying the Bears for a three-and-out, Gibbs led Detroit down the field for a touchdown drive. He had five carries for 52 yards before Goff found LaPorta in the end zone for a 3-yard touchdown, his fourth of the season, to go up 10-0 on the opening play of the second quarter.

Following a 30-yard completion to Tim Patrick, the Lions found themselves back in the red zone midway through the second quarter. But after a holding penalty to wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, the Bears' red-zone defense shut the door and forced another field goal from Bates, this one from 36 yards.

After three drives apiece, the Bears had 15 yards on nine plays while the Lions had 214 yards on 34 plays. Bates added another field goal on the Lions' fourth drive, a 48-yarder to go up 16-0 with 3:11 left in the first half.

Chicago gave the Lions a gift when they failed a fourth-down conversion from their own 37 with 1:54 left in the half. Detroit was on its way to adding to its lead before Gibbs was hit hard by Bears defender Tyrique Stevenson, leading to a fumble that the Bears recovered at their own 6-yard line.

At halftime, the Lions led in first downs (18-2), total yards (279-53), offensive plays (47-19), and time of possession (22:54-7:06) as Detroit's defense extended its streak of not allowing a touchdown to 12 quarters.

The Bears didn't achieve a first down until 55 seconds left in the first half, but they made it a game right at the start of the third quarter. With the Lions missing Onwuzurike and Paschal, Chicago's run game got going and Caleb Williams threw a dart to Allen for a 31-yard touchdown that cut the Lions' advantage to 16-7.

Detroit's offense caught a break while going back the other way, as Detroit extended the drive with a horse collar penalty on the Bears during a failed third-down conversion. The Lions scored after Jameson Williams hurdled Bears safety Kevin Byard III for a 15-yard gain that put Detroit in the red zone. LaPorta's second touchdown reception of the game made it a 23-17 game with 2:43 to go in the third quarter.

The Bears responded with another touchdown to Allen at 13:40 in the fourth. After Odunze came up with a 19-yard reception to start the drive, former Lions running back D'Andre Swift put Detroit into Lions territory with a 29-yard run on the very next play. Caleb Williams finished the eight-play scoring drive with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Allen; Detroit led 23-13 after a failed two-point conversion.

After the Lions defense finally got a second-half stop, Detroit took over at midfield but missed an opportunity to extend the lead. Jameson Williams set the Lions back 15 yards with a taunting penalty for tossing the ball at a Bears defender on the sideline, leading to a 45-yard field goal try that missed, wide right. It was the first field-goal miss of Bates' NFL career.

Chicago rode the momentum to another touchdown. Moore got loose behind Lions safety Brian Branch and Caleb Williams delivered a perfect ball for a 31-yard touchdown to make it 23-20 with 5:36 left. The Lions went three-and-out on their ensuing possession and punted the ball back to Chicago with under four minutes remaining, but a 61-yard punt from Jack Fox pinned the Bears at their own 1-yard line.