Big games by Caleb Williams and D’Andre Swift will be critical if the Bears are to have a hope of upsetting the Detroit Lions at Ford Field on Thanksgiving.
In the last two seasons, the Detroit Lions have lost only once to a losing team.
Dan Campbell’s team ascended over the last year to another level, one where Super Bowl contenders reside.
This is the task the Bears face on Thanksgiving only four days after their third devastating defeat of the season and second in two weeks, the 30-27 overtime loss after a miracle comeback against Minnesota.
“We’ve just got to be professionals right now,” wide receiver DJ Moore said. “Can’t dwell on this loss because we’ve got Detroit and they’re going to bring their A-game, so we’ve got to be ready to bring ours on a short week.”
Detroit’s C-game is enough to beat many teams, and the Lions are highly motivated by a Thanksgiving Day losing streak dating back to 2016.
Getting over the emotional shock of coming back to win a game seemingly lost, only to lose it in overtime is probably not on the level of losing on a Hail Mary pass and a blocked field goal, but it’s not far from those.
So the Bears have that emotional weight dragging them down when they go to face the Lions at Ford Field Thursday.
Can they do this?
The only losing team to beat the Lions in the last two seasons is the Chicago Bears, so it’s not like they haven’t done it. They just haven’t done this after three heartbreakers.
You could be frustrated, but you’ve still got to play the next week, and it’s any given Sunday and I feel our Sundays lately have been in the favor of the other team, which we need to turn that around on this short week,” Moore said. “So that’s all I’m looking forward to.”
In this case it would be any given Thursday.
Here are the three keys to a Thanksgiving Day victory over the team with the best record in the NFC.
3. The “T” in HITS
Takeaways and taking care of the football is going to be huge for the Bears here. It seems unlikely they could even stay with the Lions without it. Simply breaking even won’t do it.
Cornerback Jaylon Johnson recalled taking it away three times from the Lions in the 28-13 win by the Bears at Soldier Field and also the four takeaways at Ford Field in the 31-26 game they let slip away by giving up 17 points in the last 4 1/2 minutes. They picked off Jared Goff five time in those two games.
“So I mean that’s what we did good,” cornerback Jaylon Johnson said. “We get him to turn the ball over.”
It’s not so simple. It take a heavy pass rush, one like they had last week and even better to coax mistakes out of Goff.