What is the Bears' Record on Thanksgiving?

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The Chicago Bears will play their division rivals, the Detroit Lions, on the road this Thanksgiving in the first of three NFL games scheduled for Turkey Day 2024.
While Thanksgiving games count the same as all the rest, winning or losing these games certainly feels different. Football is synonymous with Thanksgiving, and putting on a winning display on the big day for fans comes with that extra-special feel.
So, how have the Bears delivered historically on Thanksgiving?
Chicago Bears Thanksgiving Day Record
Coming into the game against the Lions this year, Chicago is 20-15-2 all-time on Thanksgiving.
In recent history, Chicago has won four straight (three against the Lions and one against the Packers). Zooming out further, they're an even 5-5 in the last 10. Most often, when Chicago plays on Thanksgiving it's against the Lions, who play every Thanksgiving.
Chicago is up against a 10-1 Super Bowl favorite team this year, so a win would be a major upset. Chicago fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron a few weeks ago and its offense has come alive, going from 17.5 points per game under Waldron to 23.0 per game in the two games since.
Meanwhile, the Lions have an all-time losing record on Thanksgiving.
Bears' Year-by-Year Thanksgiving Game Results
Year | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|
1922 | Cardinals | L, 6-0 |
1923 | Cardinals | W, 3-0 |
1924 | Cardinals | W, 21-0 |
1925 | Cardinals | T, 0-0 |
1926 | Cardinals | T, 0-0 |
1927 | Cardinals | L, 3-0 |
1928 | Cardinals | W, 34-0 |
1929 | Cardinals | L, 40-6 |
1930 | Cardinals | W, 6-0 |
1931 | Cardinals | W, 18-7 |
1932 | Cardinals | W, 24-0 |
1933 | Cardinals | W, 22-6 |
1934 | Lions | W, 19-16 |
1935 | Lions | L, 14-2 |
1936 | Lions | L, 13-7 |
1937 | Lions | W, 13-0 |
1938 | Lions | L, 14-7 |
1947 | Lions | W, 34,-14 |
1949 | Lions | W, 28-7 |
1952 | Texans | L, 27-23 |
1964 | Lions | W, 27-24 |
1977 | Lions | W, 31-14 |
1979 | Lions | W, 20-0 |
1980 | Lions | W, 23-17 |
1981 | Cowboys | L, 10-9 |
1991 | Lions | L, 16-6 |
1993 | Lions | W, 10-6 |
1997 | Lions | L, 55-20 |
1999 | Lions | L, 21-17 |
2004 | Cowboys | L, 21-7 |
2014 | Lions | W, 34-17 |
2015 | Packers | W, 17-13 |
2018 | Lions | W, 23-16 |
2019 | Lions | W, 24-20 |
2021 | Lions | W, 16-14 |
2024 | Lions | TBD |
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Josh Wilson is the news director of the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in 2024, he worked for FanSided in a variety of roles, most recently as senior managing editor of the brand’s flagship site. He has also served as a general manager of Sportscasting, the sports arm of a start-up sports media company, where he oversaw the site’s editorial and business strategy. Wilson has a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from SUNY Cortland and a master’s in accountancy from the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois. He loves a good nonfiction book and enjoys learning and practicing Polish. Wilson lives in Chicago but was raised in upstate New York. He spent most of his life in the Northeast and briefly lived in Poland, where he ate an unhealthy amount of pastries for six months.
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