The ultimate Thanksgiving tradition is upon us.
Whether watching the Lions early or a disappointing afternoon Cowboys showdown after a delicious Turkey feast, the day is iconic. Below is a preview of each Thanksgiving day game as well as a look at the league's 2nd ever Black Friday game.
Bears @ Lions, 11:30am CBS
The league-best NFC North begins Thanksgiving day with what could be an underrated matchup. While the Bears have underperformed expectations and sit 4 games behind the 3rd place Packers, #1 overall pick Caleb Williams is coming off 2 productive outings.
1 and 3 point losses saw Williams throw for a combined 571 yards, an additional 100 rushing yards, and fall victim to a defensive collapse.
On the other side, the Lions have been the storyline of the season. After garnering some attention in the last two seasons, they have now put everything together, finding themselves atop the NFC. Offensively, Jared Goff has been alarmingly efficient and, outside of his 5 interception game on November 10th, which his team won in primetime, he has taken care of the ball.
This comes thanks to an elite group of playmakers. Their elite backfield duo of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs has led to a great degree of clock control and importantly, points. Further, the playcalling is multi-dimensional, leading to quick pivots and a lot of strange play designs.
Giants @ Cowboys, 3:30pm FOX
While we anticipated Daniel Jones vs Dak Prescott in what could've been a relatively predictable game on paper, this NFC East matchup has some unexpected QB headliners.
For America's team, Cooper Rush will continue at Quarterback following Dak Prescott's season ending hamstring injury earlier this month. Rush, 31, has historically stepped in and played well in Prescott's absence. In his 2 recent starts, Rush threw for 247 and 354 yards respectively, leading his team to an impressive 34 points vs Washington.
After last week's shocking release of Daniel Jones and ensuing injury to Tommy DeVito, New York will turn toward 2019 2nd round pick, Drew Lock, under center. After starting games for Denver in his rookie and sophomore season's, he was traded to Seattle where he served as a backup and signed with New York this offseason.
Lock has an underrated arm and certain confidence to his game. With an underrated group of playmakers, New York's offense could shock many. Rookie RB Tryone Tracy Jr has emerged, averaging 7.2, 7.2, and 5.7 yards per game in his 3 100 yard rushing games this season. 6th overall pick Malik Nabers has slowed down a bit thanks to injury and QB uncertainty but he is an up and coming playmaker in what is an underrated receiver room.
Dolphins @ Packers, 7:20pm NBC
The most exciting game of the day, this could be an offensive showdown.
While Miami has looked subpar on the whole, this has been largely due to Tua Tagovailoa's Week 2 injury.
Since Tua's October 27th return from injury, they have put up 27+ points in 4 of 5 games. With speed everywhere and an underrated defense, I would not count the Dolphins out for a wildcard push at 5-6.
However, Tagovailoa has an 0-7 record, 8-10 TD-INT ratio, and has averaged 16.4 games per game in games where the weather is below 45 degrees. Tonight's forecast in Green Bay is calling for 27 degrees at kickoff.
Green Bay has lived up to many of the high expectations for this season. While Jordan Love has battled injury and turnover issues, the Packers have put up 29+ points in 6/10 games. With RB Josh Jacobs stepping up and the team hitting their stride in an extremely competitive division, they are among the most exciting offensive attacks
Raiders @ Chiefs, Friday 2:00pm Prime Video
The 2-win Raiders face the league-best Kansas City Chiefs in Arrowhead. While it is hard to suggest the game will be competitive, the Chiefs have not looked fully convincing.
Then again, that is their brand: bend don't break and to an extreme degree. They had a combined 5 point margin of victory against the Broncos and Panthers and beat the Raiders by just a touchdown in Week 8. Patrick Mahomes' 11 interceptions is good for 2nd most in the league this year but it hasn't mattered all that much.
It is largely the defense which has carried the load. They have elite players in each phase: Trent McDuffie in the secondary, Nick Bolton at linebacker, and Chris Jones on the interior line.
On the other side, the Raiders -17 turnover differential is the worst in the league by 5. You don't need to look to far to understand why they have just 2 wins.
Its not all bad, however. To my excitement, Aidan O'Connell will be under center. While his 2 starts have not looked overly convincing, his big arm and improving playmakers could be worth watching. He did ultimately lose the QB competition to Gardner Minshew but now faces an intriguing opportunity and one with very low expectations.
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