Despite Magical QB Debut, Lions Lose to Bears on Thanksgiving, 24-20
Despite the chatter all week long regarding whether or not fans should boycott the Lions' Thanksgiving Day clash with the Bears, Detroit fans were quite supportive of their 3-7-1 football team Thursday at Ford Field.
It didn’t matter how loud and proud they were, though.
The Lions dropped the NFC North divisional contest, 24-20.
The annual Thanksgiving game started off unusually, with offsetting penalties that resulted in a redo of the opening kickoff.
Chicago took advantage of the re-kick, and subsequently started its first drive at midfield.
Chicago marched down the field with relative ease, and took the early 7-0 lead when Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky found wide receiver Allen Robinson for a 10-yard touchdown pass.
Lions third-string quarterback David Blough will not soon forget his first career NFL drive.
After a shaky first pass, Blough connected with receiver Kenny Golladay on a 75-yard touchdown that excited fans in attendance and tied the game, 7-7.
In the first half, Golladay finished with 138 yards on three receptions. His TD grab was a career long.
Blough led the Lions to touchdowns on his first two career offensive drives.
He connected with Marvin Jones Jr. on an eight-yard touchdown after the Lions' defense regrouped.
With his performance in the first quarter, Blough put himself in some rarefied air.
The only players in the NFL to throw for at least 130 yards and two touchdowns in the first quarter of a game this season are Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Aaron Rodgers and now Blough.
Surprisingly, Detroit attempted, and recovered an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff but it failed to take advantage of the golden opportunity to put more points on the board.
After Chicago's first offensive drive, Detroit's defense settled down, and disrupted the Bears' offense.
Early in the second quarter, Bears receiver Anthony Miller fumbled the football, and Detroit thought momentum was securely on its side when it recovered the ball.
After a review, though, it was ruled that Miller did not secure the catch.
Chicago was able to drive the football early in the second quarter.
In Detroit territory, Chicago unsuccessfully went for it on fourth-and-6 from the Detroit 32-yard line.
On the season, Chicago is 2-for-6 on kicks from 40 yards and beyond, and that contributed to Bears head coach Matt Nagy's decision to go for it.
Detroit took advantage on their next drive.
Blough led Detroit on an 11-play, 61-yard drive. Matt Prater's 25-yard field goal gave Detroit a 17-7 advantage.
At the half, Detroit led Chicago, 17-10.
Blough was the story of the first half, surprising the nation with his performance.
He went 7-of-15 for 179 yards and two touchdowns.
After the Lions went 3-and-out to start the second half, Darius Slay secured his second interception of the season when he stepped in front of Robinson.
It was Slay's first interception since Week 2 when he secured the home victory by intercepting Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers.
After the hot start, the Lions' offense cooled down, and Chicago's defense settled down.
The Bears tied the game at 17 when Trubisky connected with fullback Jesper Horsted on an 18-yard touchdown pass.
The Lions took the lead early, 20-17, in the fourth quarter on a Prater 24-yard field goal.
It was the conclusion of a 15-play, 70-yard drive that took 8:57. Chicago hurt itself mightily with penalties on Detroit's drive.
Late in the fourth quarter, Detroit's defense was called upon to make a stop. Like in so many games in the 2019 season, Detroit simply could not make the key impactful stop on defense.
Trubisky was able to successfully lead Chicago on a nine-play, 90-yard go-ahead scoring drive late. Trubisky found David Montgomery for a three yard touchdown that gave Chicago a 24-20 lead.
With 2:17 remaining, Blough had two timeouts to work with and the two-minute warning.
There was no magic for Blough and Detroit on this day. Despite marching into Chicago territory, Chicago's defense held their ground and helped secure the 24-20 victory and season sweep.
On fourth-and-22, Blough was intercepted by safety Eddie Jackson.
The loss drops Detroit to 3-8-1. Detroit takes on the Vikings next for a road divisional matchup.
