NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is absolutely cooking with the Thanksgiving slate of NFL games on Thursday.
There usually might be that one game where you take your eyes away for a little bit, whether that’s taking a little break or just indulging in some good food with loved ones.
I’m not sure if we’ll have that opportunity this week without at least listening to the game in the background, as this schedule sounds very appealing. From must-win games to divisional games, the Thanksgiving slate has it all.
The first game of Thanksgiving is a treat like no other: Detroit Lions football. This time around, they’ll be facing their NFC North foe, the Green Bay Packers. These two teams are surprisingly looking behind the Chicago Bears, atop the leaders of the division currently, as the Bears sit at 8-3 with former Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson at the helm. Chicago has a bevy of offensive weapons, Caleb Williams is coming into his own, and they’ve been able to win one-score games. The defense is doing just enough with the amount of injuries that they’ve had to deal with as well.
The Lions are sitting at 7-4. They just came off a comeback win against the Jameis Winston-led New York Giants team on Sunday. Jahmyr Gibbs had a career day as he combined for 264 all-purpose yards, including a 64-yard touchdown to open up overtime. That served as the eventual game-winner after a 4th down sack by Aidan Hutchinson. Detroit’s Defensive Coordinator Kelvin Sheppard has been a godsend this season, and they’re hoping that they can avenge their Week 1 loss against the Packers.
The Packers are 7-3-1, good for the 6th seed in the NFC, and they’re coming off a win against JJ McCarthy and the Minnesota Vikings. Green Bay Defensive Coordinator Jeff Hafley has been tremendous this season. That continued on Sunday, giving teams yet another reason to inquire about him in their head coaching vacancies. Packers running back Emanuel Wilson also stepped up tremendously in the absence of star running back Josh Jacobs, with 125 all-purpose yards and 2 touchdowns.
This should be a great game in an interdivisional matchup and will hopefully kick-start good things to come for the rest of the day. Green Bay is stout against the run as they’ve allowed the sixth-fewest rushing yards this season. They also kept both Gibbs and David Montgomery in check in Week 1, so I can’t wait to see what happens this week in a rematch between them.
The Kansas City Chiefs’ season was genuinely on life support last week against the Colts. They entered the game 5-5, were down 20-9 in the 4th, Kareem Hunt had just fumbled, and their playoff outlook looked completely bleak. Then they scored a touchdown, got a couple of stops, hit a game-tying field goal, and Harrison Butker once again hit a game-winning field goal in overtime. They are now 6-5, third in the AFC West behind the Denver Broncos and the Los Angeles Chargers. Kansas City is currently the tenth seed in the AFC, and they’re 5-1 at home but only 1-3 on the road.
The Dallas Cowboys, on the other hand, were down 21-0 at a point in the 2nd quarter to their arch nemesis, the Philadelphia Eagles. Reed Blankenship had just gotten an interception on Dak Prescott on 2nd and goal in the red zone. Even the elite Brandon Aubrey missed a 51-yard field goal after a George Pickens touchdown. The Eagles’ run game was non-existent, the Cowboys hit pay dirt two more times to tie the game at 21 after a couple of stops, and then both teams exchanged fumbles. It all ended with Aubrey making a 41-yard game-winning field goal as Dallas won 24-21 at the end of the fourth quarter, scoring 24 unanswered points.
Dallas is sitting at 5-5-1 with a Week 3 tie against the Packers, and they now have the tenth-best record in the National Football Conference. The Chiefs have a good chance of taking full advantage of a sketchy Cowboys pass defense that is allowing the second-most passing yards this season. Kansas City has a couple of intriguing options with Rashee Rice, Travis Kelce, and Xavier Worthy, who could all have a day. You can’t look past the likes of Hollywood Brown and Tyquan Thornton either.
The Chiefs have had a great run defense this season, as they’ve allowed the eighth fewest rushing yards this season. Kansas City was able to keep MVP candidate Jonathan Taylor in check last week, and the Cowboys have had one of the better running backs in football this season in Javonte Williams. Luckily for Dallas, they have one of the best passing offenses in the league as well, with George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb.
Pickens has been the Cowboys’ best overall receiver. Lamb has had a major drop issue this season, but he’s still undoubtedly one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. The Chiefs are allowing the seventh fewest passing yards in the league this season, so it’ll be intriguing to see how this all shakes out in a must-win game for both teams.
The third and final game involves the Cincinnati Bengals, whose season without a miracle has a good chance of already being over. On the other hand, the Baltimore Ravens now see themselves as the #1 seed in the AFC North after taking their throne back from the Pittsburgh Steelers, who just lost to the Bears. The Ravens’ offense hasn’t looked perfect recently, but they’re getting the job done. Lamar Jackson has also been in and out of practice, so he might not be 100% healthy. Baltimore is 6-5, and they has the fourth-best record in the AFC.
Jackson Vs. Joe Burrow, how can you not be excited for another interdivisional matchup like this? The Ravens defense has looked better as of late, and surprisingly so has the Bengals. Cincinnati lost 26-20 in a nail-biter to the New England Patriots last Sunday. They made things difficult on the Patriots without Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, and Trey Hendrickson. They stopped New England on both red zone trips, Geno Stone took back a pick six against Drake Maye, and Maye looked shaky like his rookie self for the entire first quarter up to the interception.
Baltimore’s offense, on the other hand, has struggled recently, and they’ve looked human even with Jackson’s return to the lineup two weeks ago. They’re going up against an exploitable Cincinnati defense and should excel both on the ground and through the air. Cincinnati is allowing the third-most passing and the second-most rushing yards in the NFL this season.
This is the first of two matchups for the Bengals and Ravens in the next month, with a lot on the line, especially for Baltimore. The Ravens are trying to win the AFC North for the third consecutive season, and Cincinnati is excited for Burrow’s return with Chase. They’re attempting to somehow sneak into the playoffs. The Bengals are 3-8, third in the AFC North behind the Ravens and Steelers, and the current 12th seed in the AFC. Regardless, they’ll just try to re-establish the Burrow and Chase connection and hope to see the recent performance from Chase Brown continue.
This should be a great slate of football with every game mattering and sounding appealing. Some games more than others, but regardless, we should hopefully be getting really good, meaningful football on Thanksgiving Day.
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