Bears vs. Lions recap: Everything we know about Chicago’s Week 12 win

In a must-win game, the Chicago Bears pulled out a 16-14 win against the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving. The Bears are now 4-7 and snap a five-game losing streak. The Lions, on the other hand, continue their 15-game winless streak, (0-14-1). Detroit hasn’t won a game since their 34-30 upset in Chicago last season.

Here’s everything we know about Chicago’s Week 12 win.

Final Score: Bears 16, Lions 14

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Keys to the Game

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Matt Nagy’s Status: Leading into this game, fans have heard the rumors about Matt Nagy. The rumors of him losing his job after the Lions game were denied by the front office. Still, that has to have some sort of an impact on the locker room. Other rumors of Nagy losing the locker room heated back up again. The Bears did start off slow in the first half but bounced back strong enough to improve to 4-7.

Strong Passing Attack: It’s been over a year since a Bears’ quarterback passed for over 300 yards. Andy Dalton passed for 317 yards, along with one touchdown pass. Dalton found success in the air last week in a three-point loss. Against the Lions, the passing attack was more effective, including a 16-14 win.

Lack of a Rushing Attack: To the surprise of many, the Lions’ defense held the Bears rushing attack in check. Detroit has the second worst rushing defense in the NFL, but held Chicago to 68 rushing yards on 29 attempts.

It was over when...

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It was over when Cairo Santos hit a 28-yard game-winning kick as time expired. Andy Dalton took the Bears down on an 18-play drive to set Santos up for the win. Those 18 plays are the longest play-count on one drive in the Matt Nagy Era.

On this game-winning drive, the Bears moved the chains six times and went 2-for-2 on third down. They held the ball for 8:30.

3 Stars of the Game

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***Darnell Mooney: Darnell Mooney had his third 100-plus yard receiving game this season, and second in as many weeks. Mooney had five catches for 123 yards, including a long 52 yard reception. Mooney averaged 24.6 yards per catch, being Andy Dalton’s best weapon on Thursday.

**Cairo Santos: Cairo Santos hit three of his four field goal attempts on Thursday. Santos’ game-winning kick from 28 yards out helped the Bears snap their five-game losing streak.

*Andy Dalton: Andy Dalton helped the Bears snap their five-game losing streak on Thursday against the Lions. Dalton completed 24-of-39 passes for 317 passing yards and one touchdown. He led Chicago on an 8:30 game-winning drive, which is his first game-winning drive as a Bear.

What's next

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The Bears will host the Cardinals on Dec. 5 at Noon CT. They have 10 days to build a scheme to beat the best team, record-wise, currently in football.

Chicago has won five of their last seven meetings against Arizona.

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