Detroit Lions head into Thanksgiving game riding 9-game winning streak, holiday losing streak
(FOX 2) - Their best start to an NFL season since 1934 and the longest active winning streak in 2024; undefeated on the road and a league record with the most consecutive rushing touchdowns.
The Detroit Lions have featured a parade of impressive stat lines and trends this year with each game introducing new examples underscoring just how good the team has been this year.
Here's another one for you: The Lions have lost seven straight Thanksgiving Day games.
After putting together a three-game win streak with the help of former quarterback Matthew Stafford between 2014-16, it's been a brutal stretch of competition for the Lions during their traditional Thanksgiving win.
Three of those losses came at the hands of the Chicago Bears in one-score games. The Lions also lost a heartbreaker to the Buffalo Bills in 2022 after Josh Allen put together a last-minute drive to setup a game winning field goal.
Despite a season of high highs in 2023, the Thanksgiving game against the Green Bay Packers was not one of them.
Will 2024 be different? Honoring a tradition that goes back decades with a victory this Thursday would certainly go a long way toward the narrative-changing that has become a staple of Detroit football over the past few years.
It would also push the team's win streak to 10 games while maintaining control of the NFC North with another win over a divisional opponent. Despite being as dominant as the Lions have been - they are far from locking up a second straight division title.
Both the Minnesota Vikings and Packers have kept pace, turning the NFC North into a juggernaut of wins this year.
While the Bears have not had the same success winning this year, it's not been for lack of trying. Chicago's three-point loss to the Vikings came after a productive fourth quarter that took both teams into overtime with the help of an on-side kick. A week before that, they lost by one point to the Packers.
Coming into Detroit on Thursday, they are 10-point underdogs according to betting lines.
Even with a five-game losing streak, there are pitfalls awaiting the Lions on Thanksigving - most notably the growing list of injuries hampering its defense. Carlton Davis, the Lions' cornerback was the latest to be added after a knee injury against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.
Head coach Dan Campbell did not express too much concern following the game about Davis's health. He did say Kalif Raymond's foot injury is a bigger worry and his status is questionable.
Even running back David Montgomery took himself out of the game after hurting his shoulder. But he expects to play on Thursday to help push the team to even greater heights.
Detroit Lions Super Bowl favorites? Sportsbooks say so
After another 60-minute romp through Ford Field against the Jacksonville Jaguars, as well as a loss for the previously undefeated Kansas City Chiefs, it is the Lions with the best odds to win the last game of the season.