Bears Score 14 Points in Fourth Quarter to Beat Lions on Thanksgiving Day
The Bears beat the Lions at Ford Field on Thanksgiving day, walking away with a 23–16 win after costly mistakes by Detroit allowed Chicago to close the game with a 14-point fourth quarter.
Running back LeGarrette Blount tallied the first score on Thursday, hauling in a touchdown a few minutes into the second quarter to put the Lions on the board. The Bears top-tier defense kept pressure on Detroit throughout the first half, making things tough for quarterback Matthew Stafford while their own offense struggled to get started with QB Chase Daniel starting in place of Mitchell Trubisky.
Chicago's first points came off of a field goal with just over four minutes remaining in the half. Trailing by four, Daniel found second-year running back Taquan Mizzell for a ten-yard run to the endzone to close out a relatviely quiet first half, giving the Bears a 9–7 lead going into halftime and giving Daniel his first NFL touchdown since 2014.
The Bears secondary continued to stall Stafford's offense to start the second half until the Lions broke through late in the third quarter. A 43-yard pass from Stafford to wide receiver Kenny Golladay put Detroit in scoring position at the 30. Blount capped the drive off with his second rushing touchdown of the game, but a failed two-point conversion attempt kept the touchdown to six points and sent the score to 13–9 in Detroit's favor with 1:35 left in the quarter.
Chicago responded less than two minutes into the fourth, sparking a scoring frenzy to finish the game. Daniel connected with running back Tarik Cohen and an extra point from PK Cody Parkey brought the Bears to 16 points, a three-point lead over the Lions at Ford Field. Not quite ready to let Chicago claim the win, the Lions offense orchestrated an 11-play, 73-yard drive for a field goal to tie the game.
Detroit quickly regained control of the ball after an unsuccessful three play drive by the Bears forced a punt, but it didn't last for long. Chicago safety Eddie Jackson scored on a pick-six after intercepting Stafford's first pass of the drive, regaining the lead for Chicago.
The Bears sealed the deal when they intercepted Stafford's pass intended for tight end Michael Roberts in the end zone, crushing Detroits shot at tying the game to take Chicago into overtime.
Up next, the 8–3 Bears head to New York next week to take on the Giants. The Lions face the Rams in Week 13.
