Chicago Bears vs. Detroit Lions: Complete Week 13 Preview for Chicago
Published by Matt Eurich on November 26, 2014
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears went into their Week 12 matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers needing a win to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. After putting themselves in a hole to start the game, the team bounced back and came away with a 21-13 victory. The Bears will now head to Detroit on a short week to take on the Lions on Thanksgiving Day.
The Bears hold a 16-14-2 all-time record on Thanksgiving Day and are 8-7 versus Detroit. Thursday will mark the 169th overall meeting between the Bears and Lions. Chicago leads the all-time series 96-67-5.
Despite their win against the Buccaneers, the Bears have a long way to go if they want to make the playoffs this season. Defensive end Jared Allen acknowledged on Sunday the Bears put themselves in this position with a handful of poor performances earlier this season, but they have a chance to make up for that on Thursday.
“We put ourselves in this hole; we’re trying to slowly dig out of it,” Allen said, via Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times. “We’ve got to focus on winning. This was a huge game. Detroit lost [Sunday]. We got some momentum, and we’ve got to carry that through.”
The Lions are coming off back-to-back losses and currently sit in second place in the NFC North division at 7-4. Detroit’s offense sputtered in its 34-9 loss to the Patriots in Week 12. Matthew Stafford threw for 264 yards on 46 pass attempts, was intercepted once, was sacked twice and finished the game with a 49.5 quarterback rating. Wide receiver Golden Tate was the lone bright spot for the offense, hauling in four catches for 94 yards.
While much of the focus this week will be on Chicago’s struggling offense going up against Detroit’s menacing defense, the Bears may be able to dictate the pace of the game if they can rattle Stafford early on Thanksgiving Day.
Here is our Chicago Bears vs. Detroit Lions preview for Week 13.
