When the Chicago Bears face the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving in the Motor City, they’ll be facing a quarterback who hasn’t thrown a single NFL pass.
The Lions announced Wednesday that quarterback David Blough will be under center for the team in the nationally televised game. The undrafted free agent out of Purdue has not thrown a single pass since joining the league, and with Matthew Stafford on the shelf with a back injury and Jeff Driskel dealing with a hamstring issue, Blough will have to face one of the NFL’s toughest defenses.
In 44 career games at Purdue, Blough completed 61 percent of his passes for 9,734 yards and 69 touchdowns while throwing 43 interceptions.
In a rather interesting footnote, Blough will join some incredibly elite company when he throws his first career pass. According to the NFL Network, the last quarterback to make his league debut and to throw a pass in a Thanksgiving game was New England Patriots legend Tom Brady, who has since gone on to win six Super Bowl rings and establish himself as one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game.
While it’s unclear whether Blough’s career will take on a similar trajectory, he’ll get his first chance to make a statement Thursday as the Bears and Lions square off at 11:30 a.m.
