Lions’ offensive explodes on Turkey Day!
The #1 offense in the NFL didn’t disappoint in the first game of Thanksgiving as the Detroit Lions defeated the Chicago Bears, 35-14. The Lions racked up 472 total yards and got outstanding games from their own version of the Triplets.
RB Barry Sanders continued his historic pace as he rushed for 150 yards on the day on 22 carries and two touchdowns. On the season, Sanders has rushed for 1827 yards on the season. If he keeps his current pace, he will rush for 2,249 yards, which would smash the single-season rushing record currently held by Eric Dickerson in 1984. The first player to rush for 2,000 yards was OJ Simpson in 1973, when he rushed for 2003 yards in 14 games. Sanders needs 177 yards in his next game to break Simpson’s mark.
QB Scott Mitchell is having the best season of his career too. Mitchell threw for 330 yards and three touchdowns against the Bears. With the opponent defenses concentrating on Sanders, Mitchell and the passing game has been on fire. Mitchell has thrown for 3,286 yards on a 59% completion percentage with 24 TDs and only 4 INTs. He has a 100 quarterback rating which is only behind Steve Young in the NFC.
WR Herman Moore had a sensational game as well on Turkey Day. He caught 7 passes for 192 yards and 3 touchdowns. On the season, Moore has 86 receptions for 1,193 yards and 11 TDs. His counterpart, Johnnie Morton has 85 catches for 1,291 yards and 8 TDs.
On the defensive side, the Lions are getting a great season from DE Robert Porcher. He had 1.5 sacks on Thursday and now is tops in the NFL with 17 sacks on the season.
The Lions are now 10-3. They sit behind the Packers in the Central standings and are the #4 seed right now in the NFC playoffs. Next week, they travel to Miami to take on the Dolphins. As for the Bears, their dismal season continues as they fell to 1-12. They will host the Bills next Sunday.