Detroit Lions Nearly Choked On Thanksgiving Day

They are complete in all three phases of the games. And they have the best running back tandem in Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery. Their quarterback isn’t too shabby either. So it was surprising that the Detroit Lions nearly choked on Thanksgiving. In the first half the Lions offensive line kept Jared Goff well protected in the pocket. He almost had enough time to prepare his own Thanksgiving dinner in there. But in the second half the script was flipped.

The Lions opened the game with a long, clock-eating drive taking up almost eight minutes of the first quarter. They worked in a trick play featuring offensive tackle Penei Sewell. He was meant to throw a pass but nobody was open and he had to run with the ball. Had he completed the pass he would have only been the third offensive lineman to do so. Although he lost a yard, the crowd loved it and so there may be more of that in the future.

The first half was a real struggle for the Bears. They went three and out having to punt on every possession until they tried to pick up a 4th & 3. They were unsuccessful picking up the first down; however, it did look like the Lions should have been called for pass interference. That didn’t happen and the Lions took possession at the Bears 37-yard line. But the Bears forced Gibbs to fumble before he could get in the end zone and they recovered it. The Bears picked up their first first down but time ran out as the half ended. The first half score, 0-16, could have been worse had the Lions been more efficient in the red zone.

Detroit Lions Nearly Choked On Thanksgiving Day

To open the third quarter Caleb Williams led his team on a touchdown scoring drive. It was clear that they had flipped a switch as he connected with his receivers. And their running game picked up the pace as well. The Lions looked efficient as they too scored a touchdown on their opening drive. However, things stalled offensively after that as the Lions couldn’t move the ball. They got into field goal range but the 45-yard attempt was no good.

Meanwhile the Bears went on to score two more touchdowns as Williams and his receivers continued making plays. With 3:30 on the clock and the score at 20-23 the Bears were driving down the field. And it was a lot going on during the drive, Williams was sacked three times along with a 10-yard offensive pass interference penalty. The Lions incurred a 29-yard penalty for defensive pass interference. Then the Bears had an illegal use of hands penalty that cost them 10 yards.

But the last play of the drive was the most confusing part. Williams was trying to get his team up to the line quickly after having been sacked on the previous play. Once they were lined up the Bears let the game clock keep running until they finally snapped the ball with :07 on the clock. Williams was looking, looking until he finally threw the ball to Rome Odunze. It was an incomplete pass and time expired off the clock, game over.

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The Lions dominated the first half of the game but only scored a touchdown three out of four times in the red zone. That came back to bite them later as they allowed the Bears to stay in the game. And they took advantage in the second half as they went on a scoring spree. If Williams continues to work on getting the ball out of his hand quicker their offense will flourish. The Lions defense was very effective in the first half but not as much in the second half. But overall the team should be fine going forward. For the first time in franchise history the Lions have started 11-1. That’s something to celebrate.

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