Lions snap a seven-game losing streak on Thanksgiving, hang on to beat Bears 23-20
DETROIT (AP) — Jared Goff threw two touchdown passes to Sam LaPorta, Jake Bates made three field goals in the first half and the Detroit Lions held off the Chicago Bears 23-20 on Thursday to extend their winning streak to 10 games.
The Lions snapped a seven-game losing streak on Thanksgiving.
The Bears had the ball in Lions territory late in the game with a chance to drive for a game-tying field goal or go-ahead touchdown, but they blew the opportunity.
Caleb Williams threw an incomplete pass as time expired from the Detroit 41 after being sacked with about 30 seconds left, allowing time to run off the clock even though Chicago had one more timeout.
The NFC-leading Lions have their best record after 12 games in team history and their 10-game winning streak ties a franchise record with the 1934 squad.
The Bears have lost six straight.
Detroit led 16-0 at halftime and 23-7 after three quarters and quarterback Caleb Williams led a comeback that came up short for the second straight week. Williams helped the Bears rally from an 11-point deficit in the final 22 seconds of regulation against Minnesota before losing in overtime.
Detroit opened the game with four straight scoring drives, going ahead 16-0 on Goff’s 3-yard touchdown pass to LaPorta in the second quarter and Bates’ field goals.
Chicago, meanwhile, failed to pick up a first down on its first four drives and gained a total of 32 yards on those possessions.
Goff’s second touchdown pass to LaPorta, a 1-yard toss, gave Detroit a 23-7 lead late in the third quarter. The score was set up by Jameson Williams’ 15-yard reverse, which included him hurdling Kevin Byard to gain several extra yards.
Caleb Williams, the No. 1 pick overall in the draft, was 20 of 39 for 256 yards with two touchdown passes to Keenan Allen and one to DJ Moore.
COWBOYS 27, GIANTS 20
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — DeMarvion Overshown returned an interception 23 yards for a touchdown, Rico Dowdle ran for a score in his first career 100-yard game and Dallas held on for a Thanksgiving Day victory over New York.
Cooper Rush threw a TD pass, and Dowdle finished with 112 yards Thursday as the Cowboys (5-7) ended a six-game home losing streak going back to a wild-card loss to Green Bay last season.
Drew Lock, who started in place of the injured Tommy DeVito a week after the benching and subsequent release of Daniel Jones, lost a fumble following Overshown’s pick-6 in a seventh consecutive loss for the Giants (2-10).
Lock ran for 57 yards and a touchdown that ended up being too late to avoid New York’s eighth consecutive loss to its NFC East rival.
The Giants had their first lead since Week 5 before Overshown’s dynamic play put Dallas back in front for good in the second quarter. The Cowboys led for just 2 minutes, 15 seconds during their six-game skid at AT&T Stadium.
PACKERS 30, DOLPHINS 17
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Jordan Love threw two touchdown passes to Jayden Reed and Green Bay capitalized on a fast start to beat Miami and snap their three-game winning streak.
Green Bay (9-3) has won three straight and seven of its last eight.
Miami (5-7) continued its recent history of struggling in cold weather. The kickoff temperature at Lambeau Field was 27 degrees (-2.7 Celsius) with 10-mph winds, light flurries and a wind chill of 18.
The Dolphins have lost their past 11 regular-season or postseason games in which the kickoff temperature has been below 40 degrees (4.4 Celsius). The Dolphins’ most recent victory in a game with a kickoff temperature at 40 or lower was a 34-31 overtime triumph at Buffalo on Dec. 24, 2016.
Green Bay is playing three games in a 12-day stretch. The Packers beat the San Francisco 49ers 38-10 on Sunday and will visit the NFC North-leading Detroit Lions next Thursday night.
Love was 21 of 28 for 274 yards.
Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa went 37 of 46 for 364 yards with two touchdowns, though he also was sacked five times.