Thanksgiving and football are like fireworks and Fourth of July, they just belong together. The very first NFL Thanksgiving Day football game was played 90 years ago between the Bears and the Lions inside Detroit Stadium in front of approximately 26,000 fans whose spouses were probably none too pleased they were spending their holiday down at the ball field. But Thanksgiving and the NFL have been a household staple ever since, and each year we get three games with some of the leagues most storied franchises.
Bears vs Lions 11:30 CT on CBS (Lions -9.5)
This year, we get to relive that matchup from 1934 between the Lions and Bears, this time with a few more fans. It has been a roller coaster season for the Bears. Imminent hope with your rookie quarterback who lit up the college football world for a Heisman trophy. But it wasn’t rainbows and roses as Chicago had dreamed about, it has been turmoil that has seen a coordinator get fired, a coach lose a locker room and a rookies confidence shaken almost beyond repair. The football Gods almost toying with the Bears as they have experienced more painful last minute losses this year than anyone should. Of course, some of those were self-inflicted (Tyrique Stevenson). And for Bears fans, I wish I could say it was going to get better. But today they have to face off against the NFL’s juggernaut in the Detroit Lions. This ain’t your grandpa’s Lions either, this team is on a mission to dismantle and disregard any and every opponent in their way. And that is likely what will happen again today.
The Lions are playing on a different level than everyone else in the NFL and it isn’t close. Their offense consistently finds themselves scoring 40+ points, and their defense has continuously made it difficult on opposing quarterbacks to run a functioning offense. The Bears have looked better as an offensive unit since they fired their Offensive Coordinator Shane Waldron after two straight weeks of being unable to find the end zone. Caleb Williams will need to spread the ball around and get all of his talented receivers involved. One advantage personnel-wise the Bears have is the Lions are without their star pass-rusher Aiden Hutchinson and linebacker Alex Anzalone. The Bears offense will have to play an A+ performance today to get the upset win, but this is probably the most ideal time for the Bears to be playing the Lions.
New York Giants vs. Dallas Cowboys 3:30 CT on FOX (Dallas -3.5)
I am going to take a shot in the dark here and guess the FOX executives envisioned a more exciting NFC East matchup between these two back when the schedules came out. I am also going to guess they did not envision Cooper Rush facing off with Drew Lock in this one either. But here we are! Two miserable seasons colliding for the world to see on Thanksgiving. This is actually perfect for everyone besides Cowboys and Giants fans because we get to watch these two and be thankful they’re not our franchises.
The Cowboys actually looked somewhat competent as an offense last week in their shocking upset of the Commanders, and Cooper Rush looked comfortable and made some very difficult throws with confidence. On the Giants side, the fact that Drew Lock was the third string QB made really no sense. The only reason they would do that is because they are actively trying to lose games and protect a high draft pick. Lock has bounced around, was drafted by the Broncos then moved to the Seahawks in the Russell Wilson trade, and now finds himself in New York about to start on Thanksgiving. He was great in college playing his ball in the SEC at Missouri, but hasn’t broken through as a NFL starter yet. However, he certainly has better tape than Tommy DeVito, the Giants backup who is missing this game with an injury. So it was kind of surprising that he’s not who they turned to. This is why I think Lock is going to play fantastic today and surprise a lot of folks. No, he’s not a caliber quarterback that can turn your franchise around. But, he is a guy that can get the ball around to different receivers and keep a defense honest. This is also when you should eat dinner. This is the game of the day you can ignore because, on paper, you could not matchup a worse game besides putting the Panthers up against the Raiders.
Dolphins vs. Packers 7:20 CT on NBC (Packers -3.5)
What’s the first thing I did when studying up this game? www.weather.com to see what the Dolphins would be playing in today. It’s known now that Mike McDaniel’s high flying offense is directly correlated to the weather. Tonight’s temps will be in the mid to high 20’s, so not ideal for a team from Miami, but it could be a whole lot worse. The Dolphins were clearly affected by the sub-zero temps in the playoffs a year ago when they went to Arrowhead and were handled by the Chiefs. But tonight’s weather is a far cry from that, and the Dolphins offense has been rolling since they got everyone back healthy. That’s the key for Miami, they need to be healthy. The Packers are also playing well right now, Jordan Love is teetering on the edge of hurt and healthy, but Josh Jacobs is taking a lot of the pressure off running the football effectively.
The Dolphins can’t win the division, but they can likely sneak in the back door to the playoffs if they keep winning and that all starts tonight. It will be up to Tua to put pressure on the Packers and force them to get out of their comfort zone offensively.
