(G)obbled (B)ears (U)p - Thanksgiving GBU Thread

[whatever_gong82]

Looks like it is the same one you put up.

I think that you're right.

[whatever_gong82]

Here's a paywall News article about one of the unsung heroes from today's game:


Lions' Al-Quadin Muhammad had extra motivation to help prompt big performance vs. Bears

Richard Silva
The Detroit News


Detroit — After being a healthy scratch in Sunday's win over the Colts, Detroit Lions defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad had some natural motivation when he was told midweek he'd be active for Thursday's divisional showdown against the Bears.

But some extra incentive came through Wednesday evening when his son called him.


"He gave me a whole speech about taking advantage of my opportunity and stuff like that," Muhammad said after the Lions outlasted Chicago, 23-20, on Thanksgiving. "I told him I'm going to go out there and I'm going to have a big game for him.

"I know he's home, he's happy, he's smiling."


Muhammad's son — Al-Quadin Muhammad Jr. — is only 12 years old, yet he was wise enough to give his dad the advice he needed to drive him to have his biggest game as a member of the Lions.


"He knows exactly what's going on," Muhammad said of his son, who is a defensive end and tight end in youth football. "... It's crazy because you instill certain things in your kids, and they spit it back at you. I'm just happy, and I'm thankful."

Muhammad played a large role in helping Detroit survive against the Bears. The Lions had a 16-point halftime lead, but Chicago cut the deficit to three with fewer than six minutes remaining and got the ball back with 3:42 to go, needing a field goal to tie and a touchdown to win.



Two of Muhammad's plays stick out in particular. The first came when he sacked Bears quarterback Caleb Williams for a 5-yard loss on the game's final possession, and the second came when Muhammad — all 6-foot-3, 250 pounds of him — dropped into coverage and forced an incompletion with the back of his head.




"That's what we do in practice," Muhammad said of what prepared him to make a couple of his best plays late in the game. "We go out there and we compete and get better. It shows up in big moments like that."

Muhammad saw many more snaps than initially intended, as starting defensive end Josh Paschal injured his knee in the second quarter and never returned to the game. In addition to his sack and pass deflection, Muhammad also chipped in a quarterback hit.


He had seven pressures, too, per Next Gen Stats. That's his most this season.

"I told Muhammad (at) the beginning of the week when he found out he was going to be up. I said, 'Give them a reason to not sit you back down.' As you can see, he did it today," said fellow pass rusher Za'Darius Smith, who had 1.5 sacks. "... Happy for him."


Muhammad credited his coaches for believing in him to step up with Paschal out, but he noted how their belief didn't "mean nothing if when that opportunity comes, you don't step up to the challenge. I was looking forward to this opportunity, and I went out there and took advantage of it."

Now he's going home a winner on Thanksgiving.


"When I get done with this interview I'm going to FaceTime my family," Muhammad said. "I'm thankful for them because it's a tough job, it's a tough sport and sometimes ... you're away from your family, you're away from your loved ones. But they're here in spirit.

"I'm just thankful to be able to play this game and do what I love to do."


rsilva@detroitnews.com

@rich_silva18

[Iron Lion]

https://streamable.com/8rk3w6

[edindetroit]

Screenshot_20241128_221733_Facebook.jpg

Love that comment.

[El Axe]

[whatever_gong82]

https://www.freep.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2024/11/28/detroit-lions-best-start-season-win-vs-chicago-bears-11-1/76639949007/

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2024/11/28/detroit-lions-hold-off-chicago-bears-end-thanksgiving-drought/76640539007/

[chemiclord]

The Lions had a similar lull last year pretty much right at this time, and also seemed to have a bevy of injuries that had them leaning on players like... Vildor as starters.

Difference is they're winning those games this year (even if in blood pressure raising fashion) rather than losing them.

[froot loops]

Yep, the worry is as the games go on the injuries pile up. The hope is a lot of these guys come back. One bright spot is Vildor bounced back from a bad game on Sunday, that PI yesterday was BS.

Caleb Williams came on in the second half and he made a lot of things happen with his feet. Most of the time it wasn't because the defensive lineman were pass rushing with no discipline, more like he made an outstanding escape and kept his eyes down the field as he was escaping. There is a reason why he was drafted #1 and he starts playing like that regularly, he is going to be a problem.

[Meano.Culpa]

Screenshot_20241128_221733_Facebook.jpg

Love that comment.

I wonder if Williams and Eberflus kind of got lulled to sleep.

Bears got the ball at their own 1-yard line with 3:31 left. They clearly needed to hurry. But they were at midfield by the two-minute warning and the urgency was gone. Smith and Turner got the sack coming out of the two-minute warning, then the Bears needed almost the whole clock to get off the next play.

But *that* was Williams scrambling for 3rd-and-short, and the *Lions* had to call time out for Za’Darius going to the sideline.

Have to admit, I was also confused as the clock ran out on the last play. My brain had shifted over to the overtime coin toss after the weak DPI call on Vildor. When Allen got pushed out at the 12, I was just *hoping* for overtime.

Then, the play got overturned (“Personal foul, attempted decapitation…”) and the Bears were at the edge of Santos’ range. I’d like to see the win probability chart after the catch and before the flag there.

Bears call the “nobody block Z’Darius” QB draw and now they are out of Santos range, but - I have to admit - I was looking at that and thinking down and distance. Wasn’t until Williams was reloading with 10 seconds left that I thought they might run out of time. (And I had the luxury of not having just had Z’Darius steamroll me.)

Image of the game for me was Terrion Arnold after the gun, gassed and on both knees, kind of not sure it was over.

[Iron Lion]

The Lions had a similar lull last year pretty much right at this time, and also seemed to have a bevy of injuries that had them leaning on players like... Vildor as starters.

Difference is they're winning those games this year (even if in blood pressure raising fashion) rather than losing them.

Exactly what I said, yep.

[Iron Lion]

I do think that Caleb clearly can be dangerous down the road... just a matter of whom they hire as the new HC, whether they destroy the kid or let him blossom into the legit QB he clearly can be.

Campbell seems to have GB's and MIN's number, but Chicago seems to have his. Like Seattle. And like Seattle, hopefully that goes away when Chicago cleans house. As clueless as Flubberbub is at the end of the game, he has his guys fight us hard every time. The only easy win was that week 17 game in 2022 when his team quit on the season. But even then they had some fight in the first quarter.

[NewOrleansLion]

The offense needs to put this team on its back for the next few weeks. They’re healthy, which makes yesterday’s rerun of the Tampa game concerning.

[chemiclord]

Yep, the worry is as the games go on the injuries pile up. The hope is a lot of these guys come back. One bright spot is Vildor bounced back from a bad game on Sunday, that PI yesterday was BS.

Caleb Williams came on in the second half and he made a lot of things happen with his feet. Most of the time it wasn't because the defensive lineman were pass rushing with no discipline, more like he made an outstanding escape and kept his eyes down the field as he was escaping. There is a reason why he was drafted #1 and he starts playing like that regularly, he is going to be a problem.

I guess on a purely technical "by the rulebook" definition, I guess it was PI. Sure. Whatever. But to throw that flag in that situation required the ref ignore that both Vildor and Moore were hand fighting with neither of them getting particularly much of an advantage, and that far worse contact went unflagged in that game, much less as a general rule across the league.

Shitty refs be shitty. As always.

[Sanders Fan]

I think it’s laughable the fans of these other North teams think the Lions have the refs in their pockets. The Chiefs treatment, they call it.

[ghandi]

Not looking forward to that game in Chicago in a few weeks.....