Lions and Turkeys and Bears. Oh My! Thanksgiving Game Day Thread 11/28/24

[ghandi]

Lions were fortunate to escape with a win today...Didnt want it to come down to a coin flip in OT...

[Iron Lion]

Good thing the packers play tonight as well but my God the injuries on this team. I didn't see jamo on the field after that penalty. It looked like the receivers coach was letting him have it.

Why? Wouldn't it be better if the Packers were playing on Sunday?

[whatever_gong82]

Niyo: Lions aren't moaning about injuries decimating defense: 'We gotta step up'

John Niyo
The Detroit News


Detroit — Alim McNeill will admit it. In the moment, he’s thinking the same thing you’re thinking as a fan: Oh, man, another one?

But it’s just a fleeting thought. Because there’s another down to play, and a game to finish, no matter how many injuries are piling up around him.

“It’s wild for everybody,” said McNeill, the Lions’ dominant defensive tackle. “But it’s part of this sport sometimes. … I do wish a speedy recovery for everybody, but when it happens, it’s just part of the game. It sucks, though.”


Thursday’s hard-fought 23-20 victory over the Chicago Bears was just the latest painful reminder of that, as the Lions’ injury-ravaged defense took a few more serious body blows yet refused to buckle in the end.

A final defensive stand — aided by some inexplicable clock management from the Bears — allowed the Lions to end their Thanksgiving losing streak and escape with their 10th consecutive win this season, tying a franchise record. But this one came at another personnel cost, as two more starters and another key rotational player left the game with injuries.


Head coach Dan Campbell wasn’t sure what the exact prognosis was for defensive linemen Josh Paschal (knee) and Levi Onwuzurike (hamstring), saying of both, “I feel like it’ll be OK,” but adding, “they could be down for a bit.” It sounded like the knee injury linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez suffered was the larger long-term concern, though.

“I’ll be honest with you, I think Rodrigo’s the one that could be the worst,” Campbell said, “and I don’t know how significant it’ll be just yet. But he’s the one I fear a little bit.”

Injuries grow

That’s a tough pill to swallow for a defensive unit that was already down a handful of starters before kickoff Thursday, including a few in the front seven (Aidan Hutchinson, Marcus Davenport, Derrick Barnes) that appear to be season-ending injuries. Linebacker Alex Anzalone is out for another month, at least, with a fractured forearm, and starting cornerback Carlton Davis III missed Thursday’s game with a knee injury.

Beyond that, there’s an even longer list of key contributors and would-be starters on injured reserve, including John Cominsky and Kyle Peko up front, Jalen Reeves-Maybin at linebacker, and Ifeatu Melifonwu and Ennis Rakestraw Jr. in the secondary.


Somehow, the Lions have managed to overcome all that, and as they headed to the locker room at halftime Thursday, they’d just completed a 12th straight quarter without allowing a touchdown. The Lions dominated time of possession and owned the line of scrimmage in the first half, racking up 279 yards and 18 first downs while Chicago managed just 53 yards and a pair of first downs on a last-minute drive right before the break.


But the second half was a different story, as the injuries took a toll and the Bears finally gained some traction. Veteran defensive tackle D.J. Reader said, “we let up a little bit as a team,” and that’s probably true as well.


So what could’ve — and probably should’ve — been another fourth-quarter runaway instead became a nailbiter. And the Bears’ final drive, which started at their own 1-yard line, became another test of the Lions’ will.

Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams moved the ball downfield and had Chicago at the Detroit 25 with 46 seconds left after a questionable fourth-down pass interference call on Lions cornerback Kindle Vildor. A pass to Keenan Allen at the 13-yard line two plays later was negated by an illegal hands to the face penalty on the Bears’ Teven Jenkins. And then on the next play, defensive end Za'Darius Smith, who’d limped off earlier in the drive with leg cramps, hauled down Williams for a 6-yard loss on a sack.


Mass confusion ensued as the Bears’ sideline opted not to use its final timeout, and Williams’ final third-down deep pass attempt fell incomplete as the clock ran out.

“When I saw the clock at zero, man, I didn't know what happened, actually,” McNeill said, laughing. “I had no clue what happened. And then I realized the game was over.”


'Dawgs' step up

So was the drama that no one really expected, or wanted, for that matter. But given the circumstances, and all the replacement parts on defense that ultimately got the job done, the Lions will make no apologies for this one.

“It says a lot about us,” McNeill said. “Because that just shows we're a team, No. 1. Anybody who's coming in, who's stepping up, we expect everybody to be at the same standard and play with the same energy level.”


And whether that was Al-Quadin Muhammad, called up from the practice squad few weeks ago, coming up with a critical sack on the final drive, or a vet like Reader leaving Thursday’s game with a shoulder issue and then returning to record a pair of sacks in a grueling fourth-quarter effort, that’s the bottom line for now.


“We got a bunch of dawgs in there, man,” Reader said. “We know what happens when one guy goes down: We gotta step up. And we do a good job of that in the trenches.”


Still, all this trench warfare does take a toll. And it remains to be seen how much more attrition this Lions defense can handle. It’s one thing to put away losing teams with young quarterbacks (the Colts’ Anthony Richardson and the Bears’ Williams) or fill-in backups (the Titans’ Mason Rudolph and the Jaguars’ Mac Jones). But it’ll be Green Bay’s Jordan Love here at Ford Field next Thursday, and then Buffalo’s Josh Allen after that.

Just don’t bother asking Campbell to grab that wishbone right now. Not with his team relishing its first Thanksgiving win here during his tenure. And not with the Lions still sitting atop the NFC standings with an 11-1 record, which is merely the best start in Lions history.


Injury woes? Whoa, enough. Not now, please.

“That’s what I go back to: It doesn’t matter,” Campbell said at the end of his postgame press conference. “Either it is or it isn’t, and we get a guy back or we don’t get a guy back. Worrying about it, and moaning about it, and bitching about it, it’s like the (officiating) calls, right? … What does it matter?


“So I know this: Whoever we have available, we’re gonna get ‘em ready to play and we expect them to hold the line. Period. You’ve got to do your job, and everybody around is looking for you to do your job.”

And after they’d done their job Thursday, it was time to relax. Not to worry.


john.niyo@detroitnews.com

@JohnNiyo

[whatever_gong82]

Za'Darius Smith gets off the mat twice, makes big impact in Lions' triumph

Tony Paul
The Detroit News


Detroit ― The Lions' injury report, especially on defense, is getting long. Heck, it might as well include Za'Darius Smith's dog, Riley, who had surgery for kidney stones two days ago.


Smith was itching to get home to Riley and his three children for a Thanksgiving feast and a couple movies, following the Lions' 23-20 victory over the Chicago Bears before a raucous and anxious crowd of 64,275 at Ford Field.

Several more Lions defenders went down in the game, while several others made huge plays at critical points, including Smith, who on the Bears' final drive left the game twice with what he deemed "cramping." He came back both times, and quickly recorded a sack of Caleb Williams both times, including the critical one on the game's second-to-last play.


The Lions finished with five sacks, three on the Bears' final drive ― and Smith was credited with 1.5 of them.

"I mean, everybody played their ass off. You gotta give it up to the D-line," said Smith, the Lions' big trade-deadline acquisition, coming over from the Cleveland Browns to help the Lions fill the pass-rush void left by the nasty leg injury to Aidan Hutchinson (who watched Thursday from a suite, wearing a turkey hat). "We was able to get, what, five sacks today? You can't get no better than that. That's a great, happy Thanksgiving.


"It just shows this football team, man. Next man up. Every man is prepared and ready to go out there, right? If you didn't see that today, man, I'm telling you, man.

"This is a young football team and a great football team that wants to get better each and every week."


The Lions' defense shut down the Bears for the first half, pitching a shutout and limiting Chicago to just two first downs, both in the final minute of the first half as the Lions' defense extended its touchdown-less streak to 12 quarters.

Williams then into a bit of a groove in the second half, as the Lions' depth got tested over and over and over again, with defensive linemen Josh Paschal and Levi Onwuzurike, and linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez, leaving the game with injuries and not returning. Williams had a chance to lead the Bears (4-8) to a stunning victory over the Lions (11-1), until Smith and Co. called game on the final drive.



With 36 seconds left the Bears facing a second-and-20 from the Lions' 35, Smith dropped Williams for a 6-yard loss. Amazingly, the Bears didn't call a timeout, instead snapping the ball with just six seconds remaining, allowing for just one more play. Williams heaved deep, it fell incomplete, and the clock shockingly ran out, even though the Bears had a timeout in their pocket and a chance to attempt a long tying field goal. Instead, Detroit won its 10th straight game.

It was Smith's third game with the Lions, and he's now got two sacks. There's more to it than just the stats, though.


"He's added a lot of energy. Energy and understanding of where we're at in our season and what we're looking for," quarterback Jared Goff said. "He brings that energy every day. He's obviously such a great player on the field, physically. But I think emotionally ... he brings something to that defense. It's fun."

Smith, 32, feeds off energy, which is why he often can be seen hyping the Ford Field crowd, as he did Thursday. Given his age, he joked (maybe), the fans give him his second wind.


On the Bears' final drive, which started at their 1, Smith went down on a 25-yard pass from Williams to DJ Moore. He was on the ground for a bit, then limped off the field, and took precisely one play off.

The play he was off, backup defensive lineman Al-Quadin Muhammad sacked Williams.


"You know what, I told Muhammad at the beginning of the week ... I said, give them a reason to not sit you back down," Smith said. "As you can see, he did it today. ... He had it all, so I'm excited for him."

Three plays later, Smith shared a sack with linebacker Ezekiel Turner, dropping Williams from the 50 back to the Bears' 43. On the next play, when Williams scrambled for 13 yards, Smith was slow to get up again.



Again, he came back on the next play, and eventually he dropped Willilams again. It wasn't a game-ender, but it might've just been a game-saver.


"I missed him twice. I don't know if you all saw that," Smith said. "I told myself, if I get another opportunity, I'm not gonna miss him. ... I learned from my mistakes."

There aren't a whole lot of mistakes with the Lions these days. Even on days when they don't play great, they still find a way, like Thursday, when they snapped a seven-game Thanksgiving Day losing streak in a game they most certainly would have blown in previous years.


Smith hasn't been here very long, but it didn't take long for him to see something special is going on in Detroit.

It doesn't seem to matter who goes down, how many go down, or when they go down.


"A young, hungry football team, man," said Smith, a three-time Pro Bowler whose Lions play again in a week, against Green Bay at home next Thursday night. "Obviously, throughout the years, they haven't been that good. But now it's totally different around here. ... Everybody's keying in and buying in, and I'm so excited about it.

"Everybody wants to know what it takes to win. And, as you can see, we're 11-1 today."


tpaul@detroitnews.com

@tonypaul1984

[edindetroit]

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[DanO]

That's GREAT ed.

[Meano.Culpa]

Play I keep coming back to: Opening drive, Sewell rolling out to throw, not seeing it, and pulling it down.

Totally disciplined. Everyone has to have been looking forward to this, but he saw that it wasn’t there and didn’t play hero ball.

Tough on the stats line, though. He goes from “no sacks” to “no sacks allowed, one taken” on the season.

[edindetroit]

FB_IMG_1732995527749.jpg

[edindetroit]

[whatever_gong82]

I put the link in the Lions News section.

[edindetroit]

I put the link in the Lions News section.

It should go to the game thread since that is what it relates to.

[whatever_gong82]

It should go to the game thread since that is what it relates to.

True.

I'm going to delete it, since you already have it here.

[edindetroit]

Chicago Bears radio broadcast for the end of the game.

[Meano.Culpa]

Chicago Bears radio broadcast for the end of the game.

Same as the CBS broadcast and the Lions' radio broadcast. Bears announcers aren't yelling for a timeout.

As a Lions fan, I'm sad to see Eberflus go. But, in all honesty, it had to happen and it's insane it took this long for the Bears to move on.

Having said that, this flub was entirely on Caleb Williams. If Eberflus doesn't call the time out pretty much right after the "nobody block Za'Sheed" blocking scheme fails and Smith flattens Williams, Eberflus should have let Williams get the play off. Williams changed the play, ran the clock down, and then threw a Hail Mary hero ball short of the goal line. If he had snapped the ball with fifteen seconds left - or, heck, even at six if he threw a ten-yard crossing route - then the game should have been in overtime.

Think about this. Imagine that Eberflus had called time at - what - twelve seconds left? He would have been roasted for burning the last time out and giving up the middle of the field. Zip back to about the 2:00 warning, where Eberflus did call the time out at the play clock hit 00. Caleb walked over to the sideline with the "hey, I would have gotten it off" pout...

I'm not buying an Eberflus Did Nothing Wrong t-shirt, but this was a bum rap.

[CGVT]

Same as the CBS broadcast and the Lions' radio broadcast. Bears announcers aren't yelling for a timeout.

As a Lions fan, I'm sad to see Eberflus go. But, in all honesty, it had to happen and it's insane it took this long for the Bears to move on.

Having said that, this flub was entirely on Caleb Williams. If Eberflus doesn't call the time out pretty much right after the "nobody block Za'Sheed" blocking scheme fails and Smith flattens Williams, Eberflus should have let Williams get the play off. Williams changed the play, ran the clock down, and then threw a Hail Mary hero ball short of the goal line. If he had snapped the ball with fifteen seconds left - or, heck, even at six if he threw a ten-yard crossing route - then the game should have been in overtime.

Think about this. Imagine that Eberflus had called time at - what - twelve seconds left? He would have been roasted for burning the last time out and giving up the middle of the field. Zip back to about the 2:00 warning, where Eberflus did call the time out at the play clock hit 00. Caleb walked over to the sideline with the "hey, I would have gotten it off" pout...

I'm not buying an Eberflus Did Nothing Wrong t-shirt, but this was a bum rap.

Yep. You would expect someone, even a rookie, that has played as much ball in his lifetime as Williams would be much more aware of the game situation. It was as if he never saw a two minute drill in his lifetime.

But... I would think that Eberflus would have been on the headset telling him to get 10 yds and call timeout. Maybe he was and Caleb said fuck it, be I doubt it. Do they not go over these types of situations ahead of time? That is on the coaches. There is plenty of blame to go around.