Bears Open as 1-Point Road Favorites vs Lions on Thanksgiving
- Sportsbooks have opened the Chicago Bears as 1-point road favorites against the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving
- The Lions are 0-6 against the spread in their last six games; the Bears are 1-4 ATS on the road this season
- Read below to see if the line will hold up until Thursday or if you should expect to see movement
Have the Detroit Lions hit rock bottom? Are the Chicago Bears turning it around?
Sunday, the Lions dropped their fourth straight game and seventh in their last eight but it was who beat them this time that was most distressing. Detroit fell 19-16 on the road to the Washington Redskins, who came into the game an NFL-worst 1-9.
With the loss, Detroit dropped to 3-7-1 on the season. As the Lions play host to their annual Thanksgiving Day game on Thursday, sportsbooks are backing the visiting Bears but isn’t exactly offering a ringing endorsement of Chicago overcoming the free-falling Lions.
Sportsbooks have opened with the Bears as one-point favorites over Detroit.
The Lions are 0-6 against the spread in their last six games.
Chicago Bears vs Detroit Lions Odds
| Team | Moneyline | Spread | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Bears | OFF | -1 (-105) | Over 39 (-105) |
| Detroit Lions | OFF | +1 (-115) | Under 39 (-115) |
Odds taken Nov. 24.
The Bears are 1-4 ATS in their last five games.
The Lions Sleep Tonight (and Most Every Night)
There was such a promising start to the season for the Lions. They were 2-0-1 straight up after three games and more significantly, 4-1 ATS after five games.
Then it all unraveled in same old Lions fashion.
Some things just NEVER change! @Lions #DecadeChallenge #Lions Detroit Lions pic.twitter.com/h7zmJMVw4a
— Charli Huxley (@ImKnotTheOne) November 24, 2019
Detroit is 1-7 in its last eight games, the only win a 31-26 home victory over the equally-inept New York Giants. Amazingly, the Lions have held the lead in all 11 games this season. They’re just the third team in NFL history to hold a lead during each of their first 11 games but win as few as three of them.
Bears Bouncing Back?
Chicago is 5-6, but has won two of the last three games. But when you verify that those victories were home decisions over the Lions and the 2-9 Giants, it takes much of the luster off the shine.
In fact, if you eliminate Chicago’s lone impressive victory this season over the 8-3 Minnesota Vikings, the four other teams victimized by the Bears this season are a combined 10-33-1.
.@FiftyDeuce was GETTING to that ball!#NYGvsCHI | #ProBowlVote
🗳️: https://t.co/DU7n6WL8Ke pic.twitter.com/3og4LBm6xm— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) November 24, 2019
Even against the Giants, Chicago’s 19-14 victory was fashioned thanks to a pair of missed field goals by the Giants and a strip sack by Bears linebacker Khalil Mack that gave Chicago the ball on the New York 10-yard line.
Detroit’s Thanksgiving Myth
There’s a belief in Detroit that the Lions traditionally play great football on Thanksgiving. This is patently false. It is a myth.
Overall, the Lions are 37-40-2 straight up on Thanksgiving. They’ve lost their last two. That includes a 23-16 loss to the Bears last year as three-point home underdogs.
It's #FunFactFriday! The Detroit Lions first Thanksgiving day game was in 1934. The Lions Thanksgiving record is 37 wins, 40 losses, 2 ties, what is your prediction for this year?#Lions #OnePride pic.twitter.com/NoKrMwiFwU
— Sen. Roger Victory (@SenRogerVictory) November 16, 2019
Overall, Detroit is 4-11 SU and 5-10 ATS in the last 15 Thanksgiving Day games.
There have been some embarrassing Thanksgiving losses for the Lions. In 2010, the New England Patriots won 45-10. The Tennessee Titans walloped Detroit 47-10 in 2008. And in 2004, the Indianapolis Colts rolled the Lions 41-9.
The Bears are 17-14-2 SU on Thanksgiving. Against the Lions, Chicago is 9-8 SU on Thanksgiving.
Look for Movement Toward Lions
A year ago, the Bears came into the Thanksgiving showdown at Detroit sporting a 7-3 record, compared to 4-6 for the Lions. And Chicago kicked off as the three-point chalk.
This season’s Bears are nowhere near that good.
https://twitter.com/GregWilliams28/status/1198678320902213632?s=20
If anything, this line figures to move toward Detroit. Lions fans will bet on their team because, well, they’re Lions fans, so common sense is not a character trait they possess in abundance.
An industry veteran, Bob literally taught the course on the history of sports at Elder College. He has worked as a Sports Columnist for Postmedia, appeared as a guest on several radio stations, was the Vice President of the Society For International Hockey Research in Ontario, and written 25 books.
