The Detroit Lions are back home for their annual Thanksgiving Day Classic as they host the Chicago Bears for the first of their two meetings this season. The Lions are looking to extend their win streak to 10 games and stay atop the NFC standings.
Here are five things to watch out for in today’s matchup:
1. Containing Caleb Williams
Detroit pressured Colts QB Anthony Richardson to the tune of 11 hurries and six quarterback hits last week. They sped up his clock and did a nice job disguising coverages behind it. It led to Richardson completing just 11-of-28 passes for 172 yards. Detroit will look to do another good job marrying their rush and coverage this week against another young signal caller in Williams, who is playing better ball of late after the Bears made a change at offensive coordinator earlier this month.
Williams threw for 340 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions for a 103.1 passer rating in an overtime loss to the Vikings last week. Like Richardson, Williams can also make plays with his feet. Detroit did a pretty good job containing Richardson in the run game last week and will need a similar effort against Williams in both the pass and run games today.
Lions vs Bears: Week 13 Gameday Trailer
2. Injuries
A Thursday game means a short week and a quick turnaround with less time for players to recover from injury. That’s an issue for both Detroit and Chicago this week, but the Lions in particular are dealing with a number of injuries.
The Lions will be without starting cornerback Carlton Davis III (knee), left tackle Taylor Decker (knee) and wide receiver Kalif Raymond (foot). Davis and Decker are ruled out today, and Raymond was placed on injured reserve on Wednesday, meaning he’ll be out for at least the next four games. The Lions signed wide receiver Maurice Alexander from the practice squad. He could handle punt return duties today in Raymond’s absence.
Rookie cornerback Terrion Arnold is back after missing last week’s game with a groin injury. It will be interesting to see what the Lions do to replace Davis. They could use Kindle Vildor again like they did Sunday in Indianapolis or play veteran Khalil Dorsey there, but Campbell also said moving Amik Robertson outside and playing Emmanuel Moseley in the nickel could be an option too.
Detroit listed running back David Montgomery and wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown as questionable to play today, but there is optimism for both players.
3. Red zone
The records between these two aren’t the same but the red zone stats for Detroit and Chicago are very similar. It’s been a strength for both clubs all season. Detroit is No. 2 in red-zone defense (40.0 percent) with Chicago coming in at No. 4 (41.0). Both are tied for second with four red-zone interceptions.
Offensively, the Lions are No. 4 converting red zone trips to touchdowns (68.9), while the Bears are No. 5 (65.4). Which team can win in the red zone today? The big difference in Detroit’s win last week vs. Indianapolis was the Lions going 3-for-4 in the red zone and Indy going 0-for-2.
4. Thanksgiving streak
The Lions have lost seven consecutive games on Thanksgiving dating back to 2017 and that fact has been on players’ minds this week.
“Usually, in the past years it’s been like don’t really want to talk to my family, all upset about everything,” Lions center Frank Ragnow said this week. “So, I’d really like to enjoy Thanksgiving and put on a show for the crowd cause it’s a unique environment and we don’t take it for granted. It’s a special, special game and it’d be really nice to get a W.”
Today’s matchup with the Bears is also a division game and those hold a little more weight for head coach Dan Campbell. If the Lions want to win the division and host in the playoffs, games like today count a little extra.
Today’s contest also kicks off a three-game home stand for the Lions after playing five of their last seven away from Ford Field. It would be big for the Lions to end their Thanksgiving losing streak, get to 3-0 in the division and kick off their home stand in style.
St. Brown on playing on Thanksgiving
5. Turnovers
Lions quarterback Jared Goff threw five interceptions in the two games against the Bears last season as Detroit split the two contests with each team winning at home. Both these squads do a really good job creating takeaways and limiting giveaways.
Despite Detroit having a 10-1 record and Chicago sitting at 4-7, both teams have a plus-9 turnover differential. It speaks to some of the close, tough losses the Bears have endured this season. Whoever wins the turnover battle today will most likely also win the game.
