Lions Defense Hasn’t Allowed a Touchdown in Ten Quarters
Three Keys to a Chicago Bears Thanksgiving Upset of the Lions
This news is crucial if the Bears are to have any chance of defeating the Detroit Lions at Ford Field on Thanksgiving Day.
Gene Chamberlain | 1 Hour Ago
To beat Detroit, it’s going to take both passing and running to generate enough offense and establish control of the ball.
To defeat Detroit, the Bears will need to rely on both the passing and running game to produce enough offense and control the clock.
In this story:
Chicago Bears
In the past two seasons, the Detroit Lions have only lost once to a team with a losing record.
Dan Campbell’s squad has elevated to a level where they are now contenders for the Super Bowl.
This is the challenge the Bears face on Thanksgiving, just four days after suffering their third devastating defeat of the season and second in two weeks—a 30-27 overtime loss following a miraculous comeback against Minnesota.
“We’ve just got to be professionals right now,” wide receiver DJ Moore said. “Can’t dwell on this loss because we’ve got Detroit and they’re going to bring their A-game, so we’ve got to be ready to bring ours on a short week.”
Even with their “C” game, the Lions are capable of beating many teams, and they are especially motivated by their Thanksgiving Day losing streak, which stretches back to 2016.
Overcoming the emotional shock of a game they almost won, only to lose it in overtime, may not be as severe as a Hail Mary pass or blocked field goal defeat, but it is still heavy on the Bears.
So, the Bears head into their Thanksgiving match-up with emotional weight as they face the Lions at Ford Field.
Can they do it?
The only losing team to beat the Lions in the past two years is the Chicago Bears, so they have done it before. However, they have never done so after three heartbreaking losses.
“You could be frustrated, but you’ve still got to play the next week, and it’s any given Sunday and I feel our Sundays lately have been in favor of the other team, which we need to turn around on this short week,” Moore said. “So that’s all I’m looking forward to.”
In this case, it’s any given Thursday.
Here are the three keys to a Thanksgiving Day victory over the NFC’s top team.
3. The “T” in HITS
Turnovers and ball security will be crucial for the Bears. It seems unlikely they could even compete with the Lions without it. Simply breaking even won’t be enough.
Cornerback Jaylon Johnson recalled taking the ball away three times from the Lions in the Bears’ 28-13 win at Soldier Field, as well as the four takeaways at Ford Field in the 31-26 loss where they gave up 17 points in the final 4 1/2 minutes. They intercepted Jared Goff five times across those two games.
“So I mean that’s what we did good,” Johnson said. “We got him to turn the ball over.”
It won’t be easy. It will require a heavy pass rush, one like the Bears had last week, and then some, to force mistakes from Goff.
THOMAS BROWN CONNECTION WHAT CALEB WILLIAMS HAS NEEDED ALL ALONG
SHORT WORK WEEK ALREADY TAXING FOR CALEB WILLIAMS
WHAT DJ MOORE SEES AHEAD FOR BEARS PASSING ATTACK
BEARS DEFENSE SEARCHING FOR ANSWERS AFTER COLLAPSE IN KEY MOMENTS
The Bears’ chances depend on stopping the run first, which may be their most difficult task.
The Lions’ lone loss came when they lost the turnover battle (2-1).
2. Welcome Back
The Bears will need a big performance from former Lions running back D’Andre Swift. It’s a must.
Swift had a string of seven straight games with at least 51 yards rushing, but the Vikings limited him to just 30 yards on 13 carries.
There is reason for optimism. Although Detroit’s defense has improved, they still give up more rushing yards per attempt around left end than all but four other teams. They allow 7.14 yards per carry around left end. They also give up 6.25 yards per carry over left guard, the highest average in the NFL. Swift has had some of his best runs off left guard and around left end.
In the Bears’ victory over Detroit at Soldier Field last season, and their near victory at Ford Field, they rushed for 142 and 183 yards, respectively.
If they can’t control the clock with the running game or short passing, they’ll be at risk of a blowout loss.
1. It’s a Bird. It’s a Plane…
“Superman” needs to make another appearance, as he did in the last two Bears games.
Quarterback Williams needs to replicate his pinpoint passing from the closing minutes of last Sunday’s game to force overtime. A “Superman” style effort is required for the Bears to win.
They won’t beat Detroit with a mundane 10 of 21 performance for 142 yards. Williams needs to throw for 200-250 yards, including one or two touchdown passes.
Leave a Reply