- Legacy Packers-Lions rivalry with playoff implications in NFC North
- Chiefs-Cowboys clash features two teams seeking to bounce back
- Ravens-Bengals game still intriguing despite Burrow’s injury
’Tis the season, and sports fans all across America are thankful that the NFL is airing not one, not two, but THREE games on Thanksgiving Day. The matchups scheduled are guaranteed to keep you glued to your TV, computer screen, and smartphone in between bites of turkey, mac and cheese, and sweet potato pie.
Beginning at 1 AM EST on Fox, the 7-4 Detroit Lions and the 7-3-1 Green Bay Packers, one of the league’s legendary rivalries, meet for the twenty-third time on Thanksgiving. With only six games left in the season, it’s more important than ever to win games in order to secure a playoff position. The battle for the top of the NFC North is tight as the 8-3 Chicago Bears are narrowly holding to number one. A division win for either the Packers or Lions could prove pivotal later in the season. If your interest in the NFL is primarily financial, the spread is currently sitting at -2.5 for the Lions, and the O/U is 49.5 according to ESPN.
If you plan on huddling around the TV with your family the traditional way, the second game of the day kicks off at 4:30 PM EST on CBS. It features two of the NFL’s most talked about teams in the 6-5 Kansas City Chiefs and the 5-5-1 Dallas Cowboys. Travis Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and Taylor Swift will be fighting for a playoff spot as their season has not gone exactly as they would have liked, with losses in games that historically end in wins. The Cowboys are essentially in the same spot and if they want any chance of playing past January, they need to string together wins to follow up on their big comeback win against Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles last week.
Before the ‘itis sets in and takes control, drink a cup of coffee, crack another beer, and prepare for the last game of the night at 8:20 PM EST on NBC, Peacock, and NFL+ featuring the 6-5 Baltimore Ravens and the 3-8 Cincinnati Bengals. It goes without saying that this game was originally scheduled for the excitement of the quarterback Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow. However, with Burrow out with injury, veteran QB Joe Flacco has been calling signals for the Bengals and doing it very well despite the team’s inability to cash wins from his performances. The Ravens defense has been porous at times this year, so a competitive game should still be the expectation.
