NFC-leading Lions host Bears on Thanksgiving, trying to stop 7-game losing streak on the holiday

Chicago (4-7) at Detroit (10-1)

Thursday, 12:30 p.m. EST, CBS

BetMGM NFL odds: Lions by 10 1/2.

Against the spread: Bears 6-4-1; Lions 9-2.

Series record: Bears lead 105-78-5.

Last meeting: Bears beat Lions 28-13 in Chicago on Dec. 10, 2023.

Last week: Vikings beat Bears 30-27; Lions beat Colts 24-6.

Bears offense: overall (26), rush (22), pass (29), scoring (T-22).

Bears defense: overall (17), rush (20), pass (13), scoring (8).

Lions offense: overall (2), rush (4), pass (6), scoring (1).

Lions defense: overall (17), rush (20), pass (13), scoring (8).

Turnover differential: Bears plus-9; Lions plus-9.

QB Caleb Williams. The No. 1 overall pick from the NFL draft in Detroit has looked more comfortable the past two games with Thomas Brown as offensive coordinator. Williams was regressing in the weeks leading up to Shane Waldron’s firing. He threw for 340 yards and two TDs last week in his fourth straight turnover-free game and fifth in a row without an interception.

RB David Montgomery. He has run for a TD in each of the past three games and has rushed for 11 scores this season. In 25 games with the Lions, he has 24 rushing TDs. In 60 games with the Chicago Bears from 2019 to 2022, he ran for 26 scores and had 4,849 yards from scrimmage. Montgomery was slowed by a shoulder injury last week, but is expected to play.

Detroit's running game against Chicago's defense. The Lions have a rushing TD in an NFL-record 25 straight games. Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs are the first RBs on a team to have at least 10 TDs on the ground in consecutive years. The Bears are ranked 20th against the run, a relative weakness that may be pivotal in Detroit.

Bears G Ryan Bates (concussion) and DB Elijah Hicks (ankle) were on the injury report Tuesday after both players missed last week’s game. ... Lions CB Carlton Davis (knee/thumb), OT Taylor Decker (knee) and PR/WR Kalif Raymond (foot) are not expected to play.

Chicago ended a three-game losing streak in the series last year. ... The Lions started their tradition of playing on Thanksgiving on Nov. 29, 1934, with a 19-16 loss to the Bears. ... Chicago has beaten Detroit three straight times on Thanksgiving, sending Lions fans home unhappy in 2021, 2019 and 2018. ... The Bears will play the Lions on the holiday for the 20th time, trailing only Green Bay's 22 appearances in Detroit on Thanksgiving.

Chicago has dropped five straight for the first time since losing the last 10 games of the 2022 season. ... The Bears have lost three games on the final play during their skid. They lost on a Hail Mary at Washington in Week 8, had a game-ending FG blocked by Green Bay and watched as Minnesota’s Parker Romo made a 29-yard FG last week. ... The Bears are 5-18 in one-possession games under coach Matt Eberflus, including a 2-5 mark this year. ... Eberflus, in his third season, is 14-31 overall and 1-3 against Detroit. ... WR DJ Moore caught seven passes for a season-high 106 yards and a TD against Minnesota. That gave him 14 receptions for 168 yards the past two games after being limited to 13 catches for 104 yards over the previous four games. ... Cairo Santos has had three FGs blocked this season, including one in each of the past two games. The three blocked FG are the most for Chicago in a single season since it also had three blocked in 2012. ... The Bears will host Detroit in Week 16. ... Buffalo and Pittsburgh are the two teams in the NFL with a better turnover differential than Detroit and Chicago. ... Detroit has lost seven straight games, including three times to Chicago, and 16 of its past 20 games on Thanksgiving and the Bears have won four in a row on the holiday. ... The Lions lead the NFC with a 10-1 mark and are tied with Kansas City for the NFL's best mark. ... Detroit has won 10 of its first 11 games for the first time since 1934 and has a chance to be 11-1 for the first time in franchise history. ... The Lions can clinch a spot in the playoffs with numerous scenarios including a win over Chicago along with losses by San Francisco, Arizona, Seattle and Tampa Bay.

Montgomery may be a little more motivated, going against his former team. He has been held without a rushing TD in just two games this season. The Bears are week against the run and Montgomery is as strong as any back in the league.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams wipes sweat from his face on the sideline during the first half of an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery (5) pulls away from Indianapolis Colts linebacker E.J. Speed (45) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s new Labour government will launch a consultation on auto manufacturers' sales targets during the transition to electric vehicles, following the decision by Stellantis, the owner of Vauxhall, to close its van factory in southern England at the potential cost of 1,100 jobs.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds told lawmakers Wednesday that the problems encountered by Stellantis in the transition to electric vehicles are not unique, adding that the government will do all it can to prevent the plant's closure.

Stellantis blamed its decision Tuesday to close its plant in Luton on the U.K.'s “stringent” zero-emission vehicle mandate, or ZEV, which sets strict targets for manufacturers.

With demand in many parts of the world the world for electric vehicles weaker than anticipated, despite the discounts on offer, it is increasingly expensive for carmakers to turn a profit, especially with sluggish global growth and relatively high interest rates.

Other manufacturers across Europe, including Ford and Volkswagen, recently announced plans to close some operations in light of targets they are struggling to meet.

The mandate in the U.K. requires major car manufacturers to have zero-emission — in effect, purely electric — vehicles make up 22% of their sales fleet this year, increasing to 28% in 2025 and rising further in subsequent years. If a manufacturer does not hit the targets, it is fined 15,000 pounds ($19,000) for every vehicle that it sells that does not comply with the mandate.

The targets were laid out two years ago by the previous Conservative administration, which set a deadline of 2035 for phasing out the sale of new petrol and diesel-powered cars.

Reynolds confirmed plans to review the ZEV mandate as part of a consultation on the new Labour government’s plan to ban the sale of new “purely petrol and diesel” cars by 2030.

“Car manufacturers around the world are battling with increased costs, supply chain issues and changing consumer demand in a highly competitive, fast-evolving market," he said.

In its manifesto for government ahead of the July 4 election, Labour promised a “phase-out date of 2030 for new cars with internal combustion engines.” That caused industry anxiety over the future of hybrids, which use electric batteries along with petrol or diesel power.

“We will be shortly fast-tracking a consultation on our manifesto commitment to end the sales of new purely petrol and diesel cars by 2030," Reynolds said. “But we will use that consultation to engage with industry on the previous government’s ZEV transition mandate and the flexibilities contained within it.”

His use of the term “purely” has been interpreted as suggesting that hybrid vehicles can still be sold after 2030.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, the industry's lobby group in the U.K., insisted that its members remain “committed to delivering a decarbonised road transport sector” but that the ZEV mandate will cost automakers around 6 billion pounds ($7.5 billion) this year alone.

“We need an urgent review of the automotive market and the regulation intended to drive it,” the group's chief executive Mike Hawes said. “Not because we want to water down any commitments, but because delivery matters more than notional targets.”

Rather than changing the current rules, environmental campaigners suggest the government should make electric vehicles more appealing, potentially by giving new owners tax advantages or reducing the cost of on-street charging via subsidies.

"Chopping and changing policies damages consumer demand and undermines investor confidence," said Nick Davies, head of climate policy at the London-based Green Alliance.

An employee inspects a car at the Vauxhall vehicle production plant in Luton, England, Feb. 2, 2015. Toby Melville/PA via AP)