Lions 'leaning toward' starting QB Jared Goff (oblique) Thursday vs. Bears

It appears those who assumed the Thanksgiving afternoon game between the 0-9-1 Detroit Lions and 3-7 Chicago Bears would be an affair between two backup quarterbacks jumped the gun. 

According to Eric Woodyard of ESPN, Detroit starting signal-caller Jared Goff returned to practice Tuesday after he missed this past Sunday's loss to the Cleveland Browns and was then limited on Monday with a lingering oblique injury. Head coach Dan Campbell later told reporters he's "leaning" toward starting Goff over backup Tim Boyle, who failed to impress in his first career start over the weekend. 

"I would say there's a 60% chance of it being 50-50," Campbell remarked about Goff receiving the nod.  

"He's tough," Campbell added of Goff. "And honestly, that's part of my concern is because I know how tough he is and he tells you he's being truthful, but I know how bad he wants to play and he's been through a lot, played through a lot and I appreciate that about him, but I do want to make sure he's definitely ready to go and I do think it's trending that way."

Boyle completed 15-of-23 attempts against Cleveland but finished that game with only 77 passing yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions. Per ESPN stats, Goff is 27th among eligible quarterbacks with an 84.0 passer rating, 32nd with a 26.8 total QBR and has matched just eight touchdown passes with six interceptions this season. 

Chicago, meanwhile, is starting veteran Andy Dalton on Thursday as rookie Justin Fields recovers from a rib injury he suffered Sunday afternoon.