For much of the 21st century, the early Thanksgiving Day NFL game has been about which team is going to Detroit to beat the Lions. In their traditional 12:30 p.m. ET kickoff slot, the Lions are 5-18 since 2000, and have lost their last seven games on Thanksgiving Day. This year feels a bit different, though, with 10-1 Detroit bringing the league’s best team according to Yahoo Sports’ Frank Schwab’s NFL Power Rankings heading into Week 13 to the table, hoping for a feast against the 4-7 Chicago Bears.
The Lions were last seen on Sunday making short work of the Colts in a 24-6 win Detroit’s sixth victory by double-digits this season. Chicago, meanwhile, lost a 30-27 overtime thriller to the Vikings, a game in which Caleb Williams threw for 340 yards and two touchdowns in arguably his best outing of the season. The last time these two franchises met on Thanksgiving Day was back in 2021, a 16-14 Bears win. The Lions went on to finish 3-13-1 that season in Jared Goff’s first year in Detroit.