NFL Week 13: What We Learned from Thanksgiving Day tripleheader

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• REWATCH: Bears-Lions on NFL+

Bobby Kownack's takeaways:

1. Uncharacteristic Lions get lucky. Detroit delivered a beatdown everywhere but the scoreboard in the first half, as Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery combined for 141 rushing yards with the offense moving at will to the tune of 279 yards. The Lions offense, ranked first in scoring entering the day, continually stalled in the red zone, though, with four first-half trips resulting in a field goal, touchdown, field goal and fumble. That fumble, a Gibbs mishap at the end of what looked like a possible run for six in the final minute of the second quarter, proved the turning point. Chicago gained some momentum on the ensuing possession and carried it into the second half down just 16-0 despite being thoroughly outplayed. Meanwhile, the Lions completely lost their mojo outside of a third-quarter TD. Gibbs and Monty contributed just 34 more rushing yards on the other side of the half, Jared Goff managed only 76 more passing yards and the defense gave up a whole lot more (248). Detroit, head-scratchingly lackluster, would normally put games like this away early. The Lions still hung on to win as good teams do, but that was as much a credit to the Bears being a bad team and self-sabotaging.
2. Bears turn around abysmal start to lose self-inflicted heartbreaker. Against all odds, Chicago found another way to crush its fans. Caleb Williams overcame a disastrous start, flipping a switch in the second half to throw for 256 passing yards and three touchdowns. He looked spectacular more often than not, while Keenan Allen kept up a late-season revival with two of those scores. And the defense was clutch despite giving up over 400 yards. It repeatedly tightened in the red zone during the first half before tightening overall in the fourth, allowing Detroit just 48 total yards in the final frame. Those silver linings, which gave Chicago a shot to complete a possible 16-point comeback, won’t mean much after what took place. Down three points, the Bears drove from their 1-yard line into Detroit territory, but following a sack near midfield with 32 seconds left, inexplicably failed to snap the ball again until six seconds remained. Williams then sailed a desperate heave into the ground near the end zone, and it was over. They had a timeout to use either before or after that play had they showed appropriate urgency. Even before that, the Bears committed three bad penalties during the possession. Chicago is now losers of six in a row, a streak this includes a failed Hail Mary defense against the Commanders, a blocked game-winning field-goal attempt against the Packers, an overtime loss to the Vikings and now this.
3. Detroit barely gets the monkey (turkey?) off its back. It had been seven long years since the Lions were able to enjoy a victory on Thanksgiving. That’s a losing streak that predated the arrival of Dan Campbell and Jared Goff, but the coach-QB duo still contributed to it by going 0-3 in past attempts. On Thursday, they finally got off the schneid, giving them a reason to celebrate even if they’ll be far more happy with the result than the process. Despite leading wire to wire, Campbell’s crew was strangely sloppy on offense and allowed their first second-half points (20) since Week 9. After five of their first six drives went nine or more plays, their final three failed to eclipse five. Nonetheless, the Lions have now won their 10th game in a row while toppling another torturous statistic on losing. They were far from their best, but the history-busting run dating back to last season continues as Detroit seeks to turn its new narrative into an eventual Super Bowl-winning one.

Next Gen Stats Insight from Bears-Lions (via NFL Pro): Caleb Williams completed 15 of 24 passes in the second half for 222 yards and three touchdowns, all of which came while under pressure.

NFL Research: The Lions’ 11-1 start is their best in team history, fueled by their first 10-game winning streak in a season since 1934.

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Analysis to come from Michael Baca

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Analysis to come from Jeremy Bergman