Chicago Bears vs. Detroit Lions: 5 storylines to watch on Thanksgiving Day

LAKE FOREST – Turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie and football. Thanksgiving Day will kick off early for Chicago Bears fans. Their team will take on the Detroit Lions before noon from Ford Field in Detroit.

The Bears last played on Thanksgiving Day in 2021, when they beat the winless Lions 16-14 following a tumultuous week at Halas Hall when reports surfaced that coach Matt Nagy might be fired soon. The more things change (the Lions are good now), the more they stay the same (the Bears have an embattled head coach and a rookie quarterback).

Current coach Matt Eberflus is going through a rough patch. His team has lost five consecutive games and now has to take on a Lions team that is the class of the NFC. The Bears are 20-15-2 all-time on Thanksgiving Day. The Lions have hosted a home game on Thanksgiving since 1934. They are 37-45-2 on Thanksgiving.

The Bears (4-7) and the Lions (10-1) kick off at 11:30 a.m. The game will be broadcast on CBS with Jim Nantz and Tony Romo on the call. Country music star Shaboozey will headline the halftime show.

Here are the top five storylines to watch this week.

1. Is Caleb Williams turning a corner?

Things undoubtedly have been different in the two weeks since Eberflus fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams has been efficient and effective.

He played one of his best games Sunday against the Vikings when he threw for 340 yards with two touchdowns and no turnovers. The rookie hasn’t turned the ball over since Oct. 13 against Jacksonville. That’s a span of five turnover-free games.

After the Vikings game, Williams credited new coordinator Thomas Brown with putting the offense in a good position and bringing some positive energy back to the offense.

“He’s done a good job understanding me and the players we have on this team,” Williams said this week at Halas Hall. “I think that’s going to keep growing. I think us going into this week facing this challenge is going to be another testament to that.”

With his next touchdown throw, Williams will set a Bears rookie record with 12. Charlie O’Rourke’s record 11 touchdown passes has stood since 1942. Williams already has the most passing yards by a Bears rookie.

2. Detroit might be better than last year

When the Lions lost to the 49ers in the NFC championship game last year, coach Dan Campbell didn’t say what most coaches say. What he didn’t say was: We’ll be back here next year.

Instead, he told his players that they may have missed their only shot. That little dose of reality might have galvanized the locker room. Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson passed over head coaching opportunities to stay in Detroit. This team brought the band back together for another shot in 2024, and the Lions are rolling.

At 10-1, they look like they might be the most complete team in the NFL. This is not the same Lions team that Bears fans have grown used to facing on Thanksgiving.

Detroit’s offense ranks second in total yards per game, fourth in rushing and sixth in passing. The Lions lead the league in points per game (at 32.7), and they’re first in first downs and fourth on third-down conversions. The defense is holding opponents to 16.6 points per game, giving the Lions the league’s best point differential.

3. So how do you stop the Lions?

Lately, that’s the question nobody can answer.

The Lions’ only loss came in Week 2 against Tampa Bay. Four of their past five victories have come by at least a 10-point margin. They’ve allowed 12 total points in their past two games against Jacksonville and Indianapolis.

This game is going to be won up front. The Lions’ offensive line might be the best in football. It’s going to be of the utmost importance that the Bears’ defensive line plays well. The Lions have former first-round picks at left tackle (Taylor Decker), center (Frank Ragnow) and right tackle (Penei Sewell).

We have to recognize things pre-snap that may give us some information regarding what we’re likely to see. We have to be really connected to the situation.”

—  Eric Washington, Bears defensive coordinator

“We have to recognize things pre-snap that may give us some information regarding what we’re likely to see,” defensive coordinator Eric Washington said. “We have to be really connected to the situation.”

Running back Jahmyr Gibbs is one of the most efficient backs in the league, per NFL Next Gen Stats. He and former Bears back David Montgomery are probably the best one-two punch in the NFL. Both of them already have double-digit rushing touchdowns.

4. Montez Sweat vs. Penei Sewell

Per NFL Next Gen Stats, Bears star pass rusher Montez Sweat lines up on the left side of the defense on 87% of snaps. That puts him up against the opposing team’s right tackle most of the time. On Thursday, Sweat will go up against maybe the best right tackle in football.

Sewell was the seventh overall draft pick in 2021. He has been an anchor for the Lions over the past several seasons.

“You get excited for those types of matchups like that,” Sweat told Shaw Local News Network. “Got a good tackle. When you’re going against somebody good, you’ve always gotta bring your [expletive].”

Against Minnesota, Sweat recorded his first sack in several weeks. He now has 4.5 sacks on the season. He called Sewell a “dancing bear” because of his athleticism. Sewell’s brother Noah Sewell is a linebacker on the Bears.

This will be the one-on-one matchup to watch in the trenches.

5. Can the Bears run the ball?

The Bears have done a better job running the football since Brown took over as offensive coordinator. That will be challenged this week against a Lions defense that ranks fifth in the NFL against the rush (at only 94.9 rushing yards per game).

Bears running back D’Andre Swift will be back in Detroit for the first time since the Lions traded him away in April 2023. Swift spent last season with the Eagles before signing with the Bears in free agency. Swift has never faced the Lions, who traded him during Day 3 of the 2023 draft after they signed Montgomery in free agency and drafted Gibbs in the first round.

“I ain’t gonna make it bigger than what it is,” Swift said this week. “But I get ready for every game like it’s the same one. Great opportunity. That’s how I look at it.”

Lions star defensive end Aidan Hutchinson is likely out for the season after a mid-October leg injury. Still, Lions defensive tackles Alim McNeill and D.J. Reader have been stout against the run. The Lions added former Vikings and Packers edge rusher Za’Darius Smith in an attempt to replace Hutchinson.