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Lions' defense looks to get back on track against Bears

Following a 34-9 thrashing at the hands of the New England Patriots last week, a suddenly struggling Detroit Lions defense is looking to right the ship on Thanksgiving Day against the Chicago Bears.

“We still are a great defense,” safety James Ihedigbo told The Washington Post's Mark Maske. “One game doesn’t change that. We’ve just got to regroup, correct the mistakes that we made and know what our strengths are on defense, know what we do well and just do that because when we just line up and play and do what we do well, no one can handle us.”

The Lions, who led the NFL in total defense heading into Week 12, gave up 439 yards to the Patriots, and fell to third place in total defense behind the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers

“We’ve had stretches when we played good in games,” linebacker DeAndre Levy said. “We started off giving them (the Patriots) 21 points or whatever it is. That’s kind of what it’s been the last three, four games. We’ve got to find a way to come out better, start games faster and come out with a better tempo.”

It's not as though their recent skid has tanked the 7-4 team's season. The Lions still rank first in the NFL in run defense and are 10th in pass defense, something that should trouble a Bears offense that has failed to find consistency this season.

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