By: Jay Yeomans

Published: November 23, 2018

Despite missing a good junk of the season with injury issues, Ziggy Ansah has shown why the Lions decided to use the franchise tag on the pass rusher.

Thursday was another example of what Ansah could do when healthy as he registered a sack for the fourth time in five games this season as the Detroit Lions fell to the Chicago Bears, 23-16.

Ansah showed off his burst on the play as got around the edge and then tracked down Chase Daniel from behind. The Detroit Lions Twitter page shared video of the play.

Not only was it his fourth sack in limited action this season, but it also gave Ansah eight and a half sacks on Thanksgiving, breaking the old record of eight held by former Dallas Cowboys’ star Randy White.

On the season, Ansah has recorded 10 combined tackles and four sacks.

Taysom Hill also made some nice plays on Thanksgiving as the New Orleans Saints rolled over the Atlanta Falcons, 31-17.

In the win, Hill totaled two carries for 13 yards, including a key eight-yard run for a first down. He also made his presence felt on special teams with a 32-yard kick return.

The Saints Twitter page shared video of the return.

In 11 games, Hill has carried the ball 32 times for 174 yards and a touchdown while completing 3 of 6 passes for 64 yards. He has also caught two passes, returned 12 kicks for 301 yards and registered five combined tackles on special teams.

Brandon Davies had the best game of his EuroLeague career on Friday, but it wasn’t enough as Zalgiris Kaunas fell to Khimki, 87-86.

Davies was nearly unstoppable in the loss as dominated the offensive glass and got to the foul line at will. He finished the night with a EuroLeague career-high 23 points on 4-for-6 shooting from the floor and 15-for-18 from the free-throw line. He added a game-high 13 rebounds (six on the offensive end), three assists and a steal in 28:43.

In nine EuroLeague games, Davies is seventh in the league in scoring, averaging 14.4 points a game on 54.3 percent shooting from the field and 76.4 percent from the foul line. He also chips in with 5.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 24:43.

Frank Bartley IV delivered a quality showing on Thursday as the Saint John Riptide dropped a 96-88 decision to the Halifax Hurricanes.

In the loss, Bartley finished with nine points on 3-for-7 shooting from the floor and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line. He added seven rebounds, an assist and a steal in 24 minutes.

On the season, Bartley is averaging 6.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 17.5 minutes a game.