Odds Lions Beat Bears in Week 16

Predicting Lions' odds to beat the Bears Sunday.

Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs (26) runs for yards against Chicago Bears safety Kevin Byard III (31) on Thanksgiving Day at Ford Field in Detroit on Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. / Kimberly P. Mitchell / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

On Sunday, the Detroit Lions and the Chicago Bears will meet at Soldier Field for a Thanksgiving Day encore.

In the aforementioned holiday contest, the Lions dominated the first half, scoring 16 unanswered points. However, the Bears stormed back in the second half, outscoring Dan Campbell's team, 20-7. 

Yet, this game won't be remembered for Chicago's near comeback. Instead, it'll be remembered for the team's inexcusable clock mismanagement, spearheaded by now former Bears head coach Matt Eberflus. 

On the final possession of the NFC North divisional matchup, the Bears, led by rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, drove all the way down to the Lions’ 25-yard line, after starting off on their own 1-yard line. Chicago trailed, 23-20, with 0:36 to play at the time, and it looked like Cairo Santos was for sure going to get the chance to attempt a game-tying field goal. 

However, on the next play, Williams proceeded to get sacked by Lions EDGE Za'Darius Smith. And, instead of rushing back to the line of scrimmage or calling a timeout immediately after that, the Bears – which had one timeout remaining – allowed a significant chunk of clock to run off, and in fact, didn't run another play until 0:06. On what ended up being the game-ending play, Williams threw an errant, downfield pass to fellow rookie Rome Odunze that fell incomplete.

It was an egregious mishandling of the clock by Eberflus, and he found himself out of a job the next day in large part because of it. 

Chicago passing game coordinator and offensive coordinator Thomas Brown has since taken over as the team's interim head coach. And despite the coaching change, the Bears have continued to fall on hard times. They've lost two consecutive games since – to the 49ers and the Vikings, respectively – and have been outscored in those two contests, 68-25. Yes, you read that right. 

Plus, overall wise, Chicago has lost eight straight games, having last won before Halloween (in Week 6 against the lowly Jaguars).

Meanwhile, the Lions have split their last two contests, and have continued to get ravaged by the injury bug. Just last week against the Bills, Campbell & Co. lost three more starters to serious injuries: cornerback Carlton Davis (fractured jaw), defensive tackle Alim McNeill (torn ACL) and running back David Montgomery (torn MCL).

Davis and McNeill are set to miss the rest of the season, while there's a strong chance that Montgomery could face the same unfortunate fate.

Despite the litany of injuries that have piled up, Campbell has remained steadfast in his “next man up” approach.

“We acknowledge the fact that we've lost players. We've lost really good players, but nobody cares,” Campbell told reporters earlier this week. “Nobody cares, and nobody's going to give us a pass or put an asterisk next to your record.

“So, what it means is some guys are going to have an unbelievable opportunity. Because of what has happened, that means now, if you're a guy who's on the vet squad, or you're a young player or you're somebody that's been dying to get an opportunity, you're about to get it.”

Conceivably, the banged-up nature of Detroit's roster offers the Bears a better opportunity to pull off the upset Sunday.

Yet, at this present juncture, I'll still give Campbell's squad a 74 percent chance to capture the Week 16 victory.