Detroit's backup quarterback will a backup to his backup on Thursday afternoon.
The Lions will start third-stringer David Blough under center against the Chicago Bears on Thanksgiving, sources told NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Stacey Dales on Wednesday night. The team later confirmed the news.
Lions backup Jeff Driskel, who has been filling in for injured starter Matthew Stafford, has been hindered by a hamstring injury this week and will not start. However, Driskel will back up Blough against Chicago. Tight end Logan Thomas is Detroit's emergency quarterback if needed, Dales reported.
This will mark the second time in four weeks that Chicago will have avoided playing against Stafford. Driskel filled in for the veteran QB in Detroit's Week 10 loss at Chicago, his first of three starts for the Lions. In those three games (all losses), Driskel completed 59.1 percent of his passes for 685 yards, four TDs and four INTs. He was sacked 11 times, including six times last week, and added 151 yards on the ground.
This will be Blough's first NFL start, and it will come with the country watching. An undrafted rookie out of Purdue, Blough started this season as a member of the Cleveland Browns. Detroit traded for the former Boilermaker on Aug. 30, and Blough has remained on the Lions' roster all season.
At Purdue, Blough played in 44 games and started 36 over four seasons, leading the Boilermakers to a 13-23 record. He left school with 9,734 passing yards, 69 touchdowns and 43 interceptions, adding 13 scores on the ground. Blough lost the lone bowl game he started -- the 2018 Music City Bowl to Auburn.
Not much is known about what Blough is at the NFL level. He was so off the radar of draft-perts that he did not get a profile on NFL.com prior to the 2019 draft.
Families around the nation will know Blough's name after tomorrow.
