Lions are 37-44-2 on Thanksgiving, including 6-17 since 2000. But Detroit will look to continue their winning ways after collecting their 9th victory in a row, allowing only 6 points for the second time in 2 games. The Bears are coming off yet another demoralizing loss after falling to the Minnesota Vikings, in a hard fought overtime game. Chicago has fallen completely out of contention of the Division Title but a win against Detroit certainly would be a nice consolation to a disappointing start to the season.

Turnover Differential

The first key is winning the turnover battle. The Bears are a plus 9 in turnover differential which is tied for 3rd with Detroit. Although the Bears defense overall is middle of the pack, they have remained competitive on that side of the ball due to their takeaways most notably forcing fumbles.

3rd Downs/Red Zone

The next key will be converting on 3rd down and in the red zone. The statistics show the Bears will allow yards but when it comes to getting off the field and locking in, in the red zone Chicago is top 5. Being able to convert red zone opportunities into touchdowns will make things difficult for a Chicago offense that has been inconsistent all year. The Lions have converted 68% of red zone visits into touchdowns, which is good for 3rd in the NFL.

Caleb Williams

The final key will be keeping Caleb Williams under duress. The Offensive Line situation has been a disaster for Chicago, but on the rare occasion that they have been able to protect, the rookie QB has been excelled in getting the ball to the number of weapons they possess. Despite being sacked 44 times, Caleb has managed to throw 11 touchdowns with only 4 interceptions, which is good for a QB rating of 85. Caleb is also a dual threat option. He has ran for 339 yards which is 5th in the entire NFL. The Lions pressured Anthony Richardson on 56% of his drop-backs, and they will look to continue that trend against yet another young dual threat QB.

My MVPs of the Detroit #Lions win over the Colts (other than Aaron Glenn)

– Alim McNeill, he was everywhere blowing plays up and putting pressure on AR5

– Jack Campbell, man stepped up without Anzalone out there

– Josh Paschal, I task you with finding a better DE at containing… pic.twitter.com/5xLH3Zejr8

— Spencer Raxter (@Spenmorax) November 24, 2024

The Bears don’t have much to play for but they can certainly hang their hat on the fact they played the Lions very well last year. Pushing them to the max in Detroit, and controlling the game and winning convincingly 28-13 in Chicago. Detroit has motivations of their own, Minnesota and Green Bay continue to keep pace in the NFC North. Stacking divisional wins will go a long way towards obtaining home-field advantage, as they continue their road to the Super Bowl. Side bar the Lions will undoubtedly have the weather the storm of another week filled with pesky injuries. The early report had notable players such as St. Brown, Decker, and Carlton Davis amongst others missing in action in practice.