Detroit Lions vs Chicago Bears: Thanksgiving Thursday tradition

74 years

One of the most exciting days in the NFL season is Thanksgiving Thursday. Instead of one, three games will be played one after another, resulting in 7 hours of football. Detroit Lions are hosting the first game. That is a tradition, dating back all the way to 1945. In today's matchup, they'll be hosting divisional rivals from Chicago. Bears are one of the biggest disappointments of the season, holding a losing record 5-6 and are pretty much in a position to win out if they want to keep theoretical chances to find themselves in the playoffs. They are coming from a win against the Giants at home, but their performance was nothing to brag about. Once again they were sloppy and without any rhythm offensively.

But they keep getting lucky with the schedule. Lions are already completely out of the playoff race with 3-7-1. That was expected when Matthew Stafford went out with an injury earlier in the season. But the situation at the position got even worse. Jeff Drieskel is a decent backup, but he is out as well tonight, with a hamstring injury. Undrafted rookie David Blough will draw a start, making Lions pass offense almost a non-factor in this game.

Matchups

I Lions to run the ball often to start the game, trying to play ahead of the sticks and get the youngster into some manageable third-down situations. That is possible vs this defense. Bears were stout against the run last year. They were impregnable, but that suddenly changed when Akiem Hicks got injured in Oakland game earlier this year. Right now, they are mediocre at best, allowing chunk yardage vs power runs through the middle. Lions lost Kerryon Johnson, but seemingly found another big back that can carry the load in Bo Scarbrough. He had a good game last week in Washington, posting a 98-yard line with 18 carries and is averaging solid 4.8 yards per carry on the season.

On the other side, Trubisky's struggles continue. He is inconsistent, doesn't always go through his reads and forces the ball into coverage. That could potentially be very dangerous vs an aggressive defense that has some ball-hawks ar the back end, like Darius Slay. Receivers will have to help him out in this one because Detroit plays a lot of man coverage, so they need to win their matchups early to allow him getting the ball out early and find some rhythm.

Lions vs Bears best bet

I was trying to go with the Lions here, before the announcement that Drieskel is out. But considering Blough's inexperience, I'm not as eager about that one anymore. I believe that Lions will be able to help him out with the running game, but I'm afraid that he'll throw an interception on 3rd and long that could play a major role regarding the spread betting.

So, we are going to the player props again. The first one that caught my eye is the one involving Tarik Cohen. He is pretty much splitting the snaps with Montgomery lately. Not only on passing downs but getting some carries as well (6 and 9 in the last two games). As I mentioned, Lions defense is in man coverage a lot and getting Cohen 1 on 1 vs a linebacker is a dream come true for every offensive coordinator.

The second one will be on Trubisky's rushing yards. Against the Giants, he was not shy about tucking the ball and run with it, whenever the opportunity presented itself. Again, Lions man defense helps, because the defenders are chasing their matchups down the field with their backs turned to the quarterback, not seeing when he leaves the pocket, allowing him to get a nice chunk on the ground. I'm also interested to see the line for Scarbrough's rush attempts. I'm pretty sure the Lions are fedding him the ball early and often.