The Lions have little time to shake off Sunday's loss to the Cowboys, as they have a game on Thursday against the Patriots. New England comes to town for the Lions' annual Thanksgiving Day game, which Detroit has lost six straight times. The last Lions victory on Thanksgiving was back in 2003, when they beat the Packers. (Interestingly, the last time Michigan beat Ohio State was back in 2003 as well.) The Lions beat the Patriots on Thanksgiving back in 2000. In 2002, New England beat Detroit on Turkey Day by a score of 20-12.
If the Lions win this year, the victorious starting quarterback will go down as Shaun Hill. He will make his third straight start for the Lions after starting five consecutive starts earlier this season. He replaced Matthew Stafford at halftime of the first game of the season and then got injured at halftime of the Giants game last month. The injury happened the game before Stafford returned, so it all worked out timing-wise. That was especially true after Stafford got hurt again against the Jets. Hill came back from a broken forearm a week later against the Bills and started once again on Sunday against the Cowboys.
The Lions have been dealing with injuries throughout the season, as the quarterback position shows, and this week is no exception, especially since there is a quick turnaround. Jahvid Best, Corey Williams and Tony Scheffler are all dealing with injuries that may keep them out on Thanksgiving. Cliff Avril and Jason Hanson may return from injuries on Thursday, but it's still a bit too early in the week to tell for sure. Even if they both are able to play, it looks like the Lions could be short at least a few starters this week, making an already tough game against the Patriots even tougher.
The Lions have an actual practice on Tuesday, so we will find out much more about the status of these injured players then.