Dan Campbell’s grit is apparent in his RB room. Over the last two seasons, Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery have combined for a league-high 2,252 rushing yards after contact while each breaking 97 tackles, per Next Gen Stats. But with the latter nursing a shoulder injury during a short week, Gibbs could carry an heavier workload against the Bears, especially in the red zone.
In two career games against Chicago, “Sonic” has averaged 5.4 yards per carry and tacked on a pair of touchdowns. The Bears also allowed 127.5 rushing yards per game despite the Lions only running on 37.7% of plays in those two meetings. This season doesn’t appear any more promising for Chicago. Detroit rushers have been contacted behind the line of scrimmage on designed runs at the league’s third-lowest rate (35.8%) while generating a 47.4% rushing success rate on such plays, second-best in the NFL this season. Chicago, meanwhile, has contacted opposing rushers behind the LOS on just 35.1% of designed runs this season, the league’s third-lowest mark. Add in Gibbs’ propensity for catching passes out of the backfield and the Bears have their paws full.
The Lions, who rank first in points per game (32.7) and points differential (+177), are looking to extend a historic stretch, becoming the first NFL team to ever score a rushing touchdown in 25 consecutive games, including playoffs. Behind a stellar offensive line, look for Gibbs to gobble up another rushing score on Thanksgiving. (Check out this All-22 playlist of Gibbs’ runs in his last meeting with Chicago.)
Gibbs has been a fantasy stud all season, finishing as an RB1 or RB2 every single week and scoring 19+ fantasy points in four of his last six games. And while the Bears appear to be a middling matchup for the position, they have allowed the most receiving yards per game (59.0) and the second-most receiving touchdowns (7) to running backs this season. Gibbs could add a receiving breakout on top of his already elite ground game and be a top-tier fantasy back once again.
