Chicago Bears

On Thanksgiving, the Bears commandeered control of the NFC North with a 23-16 win on the road in Detroit over the Lions.  What made the win impressive for the Bears was the fact that starting quarterback Mitch Trubisky was held out due to a shoulder injury and veteran backup Chase Daniel subbed in nicely by throwing for 280 yards and two touchdowns in the matchup.  The Bears normally strong run game was held in check by the Lions and Daniel delivered through the air when the Bears needed him.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Bears continued to build their league lead in takeaways where they now wit with 29 on the season.  Safety Eddie Jackson found his fourth interception on the year on an errant Matt Stafford pass and he took it to the house to break a 16-16 tie with six minutes remaining in the game.  The defensive touchdown sealed the win for the Bears.

The Bears hold a two-win lead in the NFC North over the Minnesota Vikings and currently sit as the third seed in the NFC playoff picture.  This Sunday, they travel to New York to take on the Giants.  The Bears then finish the season by hosting the Rams and Packers before traveling to take on the 49ers and Vikings to close out the year.

Minnesota Vikings

On Sunday night, the Vikings maintained their lead in the NFC wildcard race and moved to 6-4-1 on the season by taking care of the Green Bay Packers at home in a 24-17 win in primetime.  Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins put forth a solid night by throwing for 342 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions.  Cousins relied on his pass-catching trio of Adam Thielen, Stefon Diggs and Kyle Rudolph to shred the Packers secondary.  The three combined for 23 catches, 265 yards and 2 touchdowns on the evening.

The Vikings defense swung the momentum in the game in the third quarter with critical stops on third and fourth down.  The Vikings offense capitalized with a field goal and a touchdown after a Packers three and out to put the game just out of reach of the Packers sputtering offense.

Looking to hold a lead in the wildcard race in the NFC, the Vikings are facing a tough stretch of two games over the next couple of weeks where they travel to New England to take on the Patriots and then follow that up with a trip to the west coast to face the Seahawks on Monday Night Football.  The Vikings close out the season by hosting the Dolphins, traveling to take on the Lions and hosting the Bears in the season finale.

Detroit Lions

In their annual Thanksgiving day game at home, the Lions fell to the Bears by a score of 23-16.  The loss extends their streak of losing four of their last five games to drop them to 4-7 on the season.  In the game, the Lions offense couldn’t find any rhythm against the Bears defense.  Quarterback Matt Stafford failed to throw a touchdown in the game and he coughed up two interceptions in the fourth quarter that helped seal the fate for the Lions.

The Lions only glimmer of life in the game was running back LeGarrette Blount.  Taking on a heavier duty in the absence of rookie running back Kerryon Johnson, Blount rumbled for 88 yards and two touchdowns on the ground in the game and helped provide the only offensive life for the team.

In a season where new head coach Matt Patricia was hoped to bring a winning tradition to Detroit, the team has failed miserably and fallen below high expectations that were set forth in the offseason.  Getting back on the winning track this weekend will be tough as the Lions host the Rams on Sunday at Ford Field.  They then close out the year traveling to take on the Cardinals and the Bills, then hosting the
Vikings and traveling to take on the Packers to close out the season.