Bears vs Lions: Nothing to be Thankful For in Bears 34-17 Loss to Lions

Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

Hey, at least they started out strong.  It was all downhill after a 14-3 first quarter advantage by the Chicago Bears.  Then the Detroit Lions woke up and on to outscore the Bears 31-3 to win the 75th Thanksgiving Day Classic 34-17 to snap a two game losing streak and end the Bears’ modest two-game winning streak.  The win moves the Lions to 8-4 and puts them solidly in command of their own playoff destiny.  The loss moves the Bears to 5-7 and aside from some remote mathematical improbability puts the Bears and their fans out of their misery.

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This game was decided in the second quarter.  After the Bears opened up a 14-3 lead, the Lions responded with three straight touchdown drives to end the half and take command of the game.  It funny because with 3+ minutes to go in the half, the Bears had a chance to try to go down and try to score late in the half.  Instead, they chose to dump it off to Forte and turn it over the Lions just inside the 2-minute warning.  The Lions went on to score their third TD of the quarter to open up a 24-14 lead and never look back.

The Bears must have something in their contracts that they only have to play a half of football per game.  This week, at least they showed signs of life in the first half, the second half they were sleepwalking through.  It looked as if they were resigned to their fate in the second half.  The Lions only scored 10 points in the second half, but the listless Bears only managed a field goal, Robbie Gould’s first successful FG attempt since Week 6.

The Bears head back to Chicago and have a week to prepare for the Dallas Cowboys, who visit Soldier Field next Thursday night in an historic back-to-back Thursday game for both the Bears and the Cowboys.

We’ll have plenty more on what else went wrong in the Bears 31-17 loss to the Lions.