Jared Goff threw two touchdown passes to Sam LaPorta before Chicago were guilty of horrendous clock management as the Detroit Lions beat the Bears 23-20 to snap their seven-game Thanksgiving losing streak on Thursday.
Chicago were threatening to take the game to overtime after reaching Lions territory with a chance to set up a game-tying field goal. In position on the Lions 41 with a timeout left and 32 seconds remaining, Caleb Williams and the Bears offense wasted valuable seconds before the first-year quarterback threw an incomplete pass as time expired to ice the game for Detroit.
No 1 pick Williams overcame a gruelling first half to finish 20 of 39 for 256 yards, two touchdown passes to Keenan Allen and one to DJ Moore as the Bears came back from 16-0 and then 23-7 down to move within three points of Detroit.
Goff and the Lions, though, would hold on for a 10th straight victory to improve to 11-1 on the year, their quarterback completing 21 of 34 passes for 221 yards. Chicago have meanwhile lost six in a row to drop to 4-8.
Chicago Bears
Detroit Lions
The Lions took a 16-0 lead with three minutes left in the half after three Jake Bates field goals and LaPorta's three-yard touchdown catch that capped a 10-play 90-yard drive. Detroit amassed 279 yards on offense in the first half compared to just 53 from the Bears.
Goff picked out LaPorta again with a one-yard scoring strike for a 23-7 lead late in the third quarter to round off a drive that had seen Jameson Williams hurdle Kevin Byard in spectacular fashion.
Williams was much improved in the second half and ignited a Bears comeback with 31-yard touchdown pass to Allen having endured an ugly hit to the legs from linebacker Jack Campbell on an earlier run.
Detroit's Bates then squandered a 45-yard field goal attempt before Williams threatened late drama with a beautifully-weighted back-shoulder 31-yard touchdown pass to Moore to hoist the Bears within three with 5.36 left.
DeMarvion Overshown returned an interception 23 yards for a touchdown, Rico Dowdle ran for a score in his first career 100-yard game and the Dallas Cowboys held on for a 27-20 victory over the New York Giants.
Cooper Rush threw a touchdown pass while Dowdle finished with 112 yards as the Cowboys (5-7) ended a six-game home losing streak going back to a wild-card loss to Green Bay last season.
Drew Lock, who started in place of the injured Tommy DeVito a week after the benching and subsequent release of Daniel Jones, lost a fumble following Overshown's pick-six in a seventh consecutive loss for the Giants (2-10).
Lock ran for 57 yards and a touchdown that ended up being too late to avoid New York's eighth consecutive loss to its NFC East rival.
New York Giants
Dallas Cowboys
The Giants had their first lead since Week Five before Overshown's dynamic play put Dallas back in front for good in the second quarter.
Leading 7-6, Lock tried to flip a screen pass to Devin Singletary after the running back had been overpowered trying to block Overshown. The second-year linebacker tipped the pass into the air toward the end zone, used his speed to run it down and scored untouched.
Overshown also recovered Lock's fumble on the opening possession of the second half to set up Rush's two-yard touchdown pass to Brandin Cooks in a second straight win for Dallas coming off a five-game losing streak.
Rush, now 2-2 as the starter this season with Dak Prescott out for the year with a torn hamstring, threw the scoring pass to Cooks the play after the quarterback's apparent fumble into the end zone was overturned on review.
Cooks, who had a diving first-down catch in the final two minutes to clinch the victory, was playing for the first time since Dallas' 20-15 victory over the Giants in Week Four.
Dowdle had 46 yards rushing in the first quarter after his longest carry of the season, a 22-yarder. The Dallas offense bogged down after two efficient drives, but a suddenly opportunistic defense kept the Cowboys in front.
Lock, who was sacked six times, had a 28-yard scramble to set up the first New York touchdown and another 21-yarder before his eight-yard touchdown with 2:18 remaining.
Watch the Kansas City Chiefs face the Las Vegas Raiders on Black Friday live on Sky Sports NFL from 7.45pm; the Pittsburgh Steelers face the Cincinnati Bengals at 6pm live on Sky this Sunday followed by the Philadelphia Eagles against Baltimore Ravens
