The 4-7 Chicago Bears will play the 10-1 Detroit Lions at Ford Field on Thanksgiving in a Week 13 matchup. Here’s what you need to know before kickoff (11:30 a.m., CBS-2).
5 things
“Sonic and Knuckles” — a.k.a. Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery — have established themselves as arguably the league’s most dangerous backfield duo. Through 11 games, Gibbs and Montgomery have combined for 2,024 yards from scrimmage and 22 touchdowns. Both have scored within the same game five times this season, helping catalyze an offense that is averaging 394.3 yards per game.
The Bears must be much stingier defending the run than they have been during a five-game losing streak that has seen them surrender 755 rushing yards and a 4.9 yards per attempt average.
But it won’t be easy against a backfield tandem as productive as this one. Gibbs’ 5.8 yards per carry average ranks third in the NFL among qualifying running backs behind only Saquon Barkley (6.2) of the Eagles and Derrick Henry (6.0) of the Ravens. Read more here.
How QB is adjusting on the fly
Adversity comes in unexpected forms during an NFL season, and when Caleb Williams’ rookie year is over and everyone involved has an opportunity to take inventory with a wide-lens view, how the No. 1 draft pick traversed the lows will be every bit as telling as the high points.
It has been arrow up for Williams the last two weeks, and while you can’t get carried away when the Bears are mired in a five-game losing streak, this season was more about developing Williams and laying a foundation for the sustained success that has been so fleeting at Halas Hall than it was about immediately chasing a championship. Read more here.
Gobble gobble
The NFL has scheduled games on Thanksgiving since the league’s inception. Playing on Thanksgiving is nothing new for the Bears, who have done it 37 times — the third most in the NFL — with another game at Detroit’s Ford Field on Nov. 28.
Known as the Decatur and then Chicago Staleys for its first two Thanksgiving games, the Bears competed on the November holiday annually for 19 consecutive years from 1920-38. The venue that has hosted the Bears most on Thanksgiving — 11 times — is Wrigley Field. Here’s a look back at the team’s record on the holiday. Read more here.
- Column: 15 sports topics to talk about on Thanksgiving instead of the forbidden 3 E’s (election, Elon, Eberflus)
- Your Thanksgiving sports menu: A roadmap of what to watch on one of the biggest weekends of the year
- NBC will honor John Madden on Thanksgiving by taking the original Madden Cruiser on one last road trip
An update from Arlington Heights
As the Bears continue to face massive hurdles in Springfield over plans to build a domed stadium next to Soldier Field, the team has reached an agreement over property taxes for the 326 acres of land it owns in Arlington Heights that has tripped up plans to build a new stadium in the northwest suburb.
Team officials said they had agreed on a memorandum of understanding involving the amount of taxes to be paid for the former site of the Arlington International Racecourse. The village and local school boards still need to approve the agreement, which could happen next month. While it does not guarantee the team will build a stadium in Arlington Heights, the deal does shift some momentum back toward the suburban site and keeps the team’s options more open than before.
“The Chicago Bears remain focused on investing over $2 billion to build a publicly owned enclosed stadium on Chicago’s lakefront while reevaluating the feasibility of a development in Bronzeville,” Bears officials said in a team statement released Monday. Read more here.
About Week 12
A cliche former Patriots coach Bill Belichick consistently turned to at this time of year was the idea that “football season starts after Thanksgiving.” For the Bears, their season is close to being over after losing a fifth consecutive game, falling to the Vikings 30-27 in overtime Sunday at Soldier Field.
The Bears (4-7) are mired in last place in the NFC North. They are twice as close to the No. 1 draft pick — two games ahead of the Jaguars, Raiders and Giants, who are tied for the worst record in the league — than they are to third place in their division. That’s right, the Bears are four games behind the Packers, five back of the Vikings and six behind the Lions.
The Bears won’t wind up with the No. 1 draft pick for the third consecutive year. But it’s impossible to say when this losing streak will end. Read Brad Biggs’ 10 thoughts on the loss here.