Three keys for Bears to pull Thanksgiving upset over Lions

DETROIT — The Bears have their hands full when they visit the Lions on Thursday in what could be their toughest game of the season. The Lions’ rebuild has been on the fast track and they’re a popular pick to win the Super Bowl this season.

If the Bears are going to pull off the upset, here are three things they need:

1. Contain Montgomery, Gibbs

Lions running back David Montgomery runs hard enough as it is, and he’ll be extra motivated against his former team. Detroit has figured out an ideal combination of Montgomery’s power and Jahmyr Gibbs’ speed to form a dominant rushing attack. Either or both of them could go for 100 yards if the Bears are shaky at the line of scrimmage.

2. Caleb Williams comes through

The Bears won’t be able to make up for quarterback Caleb Williams playing poorly in this one. They desperately need him to be a difference maker. The only two quarterbacks to post a 90 or better passer rating against the Lions were the Buccaneers’ Baker Mayfield (90.9) and the Vikings’ Sam Darnold. Mayfield got a win, and Darnold lost narrowly.

3. Keep Goff guessing

The Bears had a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter on the Lions in one game and thumped them in the other last season, and shutting down quarterback Jared Goff was a huge part of that. Over the two games, Goff completed 61.4% of his passes, totaled 397 yards, threw three touchdown passes and five interceptions for a 61.4 passer rating. He had a 102.7 rating over his other 15 games against the rest of the league.