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’ active win streak to 10 games, tying the longest streak in franchise history and capturing the best start (11-1) in franchise history.

"It's kind of a bucket list for me was to win on Thanksgiving," Lions quarterback Jared Goff said. "And now we can start a new streak of winning."

Lions coach Dan Campbell said this Thanksgiving is off to a "much better" start than his previous iterations since becoming Lions coach in 2021. The Lions were 0-3 on Thanksgiving entering Thursday. Detroit is also off to a 3-0 start in NFC North games.

"I will take a 'W.' That's division win No. 3, which is huge ... especially in the race we're in right now, and then that's win 11, and it's another conference win," Campbell said. "So listen, I feel good and I'm going to take that 'W' and enjoy this Thanksgiving."

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.

"To get the 'W' in the way we did and to end that skid that we've been on and kind of put that to rest, it's another check off our list that we've been working on for four years and it feels good," Lions quarterback Jared Goff said.

With a perfect punt from Jack Fox, 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. Smith had 1.5 sacks, DJ Reader had two and Al-Quadin Muhammad added another for Detroit.

"Our guys up front, I thought, played their tails off," Campbell said. "Za'Darius did some really good things. DJ Reader, man, I thought was outstanding. (Alim McNeill), (Josh) Paschal before he had the injury. I thought Al Muhammad played big for us, man. It's good to get him back in the lineup. He's a relentless player, he gives you all he's got."

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, including five for 52 on Detroit's second drive. 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.

Prior to Gibbs' fumble, the Lions stopped Chicago on fourth down in Bears territory and had a big opportunity to put the game on ice early. Instead, the Bears cut into the deficit, making it 16-7 with Allen's first touchdown to begin the third quarter.

"That hurts," Campbell said.

The Lions started 3-for-3 on third down, but were just 2-for-11 the rest of the way. Goff was 21-for-34 passing for 221 yards and two touchdowns, both to tight end Sam LaPorta.

After stymying the Bears for a three-and-out on their second drive, 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. LaPorta's second touchdown reception gave Detroit a 23-7 lead with 2:43 left in the third quarter.

Campbell said LaPorta is the healthiest he's been in "a while" and Goff said he's "finally getting back to (the old version of) himself."

"He’s in good shape," Campbell said. "Sometimes, I don’t want to say you take it for granted, but you forget, you forget all that he does for us. And man, he really helps us in the run game, as well as what you see in the pass game. ... Honestly, he makes the offense better."

LaPorta added, "It's pretty sweet. To be part of this early game, knowing that people are sitting down early afternoon, eating their meals and appreciating their families and friends, watching the Lions play and win, it's just really cool to be a part of this."

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. 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 first miss of his NFL career. Bates' 18 consecutive field goals to start his career was the second-longest streak in NFL history.

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, Bates converted a 30-yard field goal.

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.

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 added 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, forcing the road team to be perfect on the final drive.

"Ultimately, that’s a good win against an opponent that has fought every week, and this was the third game in a row, division game, that those guys have brought it over there. So we did what we had to do to win," Campbell said.

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