RANT SPORTS – Thursday is Thanksgiving which means the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys will be hosting NFL games.
The best game of the day will come after dinner when the turkey has been made into late-night sandwiches and the Green Bay Packers host the Miami Dolphins.
Here’s a look at all three Thanksgiving Day NFL games to whet your appetite before the soup and salad course.
Chicago at Detroit, 12:30 EST, CBS
This is that appetizer that might actually be better than it looks.
Despite the fact it plays on Thanksgiving every year the Lions are not all that good at it. Detroit is 37-45-2 on Thanksgiving, despite being at home every year, and has not won a Turkey Day game since 2016 when it beat Minnesota, 16-13. That’s seven straight losses for those who are math challenged.
Two of those seven losses (2018 and 2019) have come to the Bears.
This year could be different. These are not your father’s Lions. They’re your grandfather’s Lions or maybe even your great grandfather’s. Detroit is 10-1 for the first time since 1934. In typical Lions fashion they finished that season 10-3 and did not advance to the postseason.
You might want to watch this one just to see how the Bears (4-7) manage to lose. Already this season they have lost on a Hail Mary to Washington; on a blocked field goal as time expired to Green Bay; and after scoring 11 points in the final 30 second only to lose in overtime to Minnesota.
Another factor to watch for in this one is Detroit’s running back tandem of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery. The duo have each scored a touchdown in nine games. The record is 10 set by Green Bay’s Jim Taylor and Paul Hornung over 50 years ago.
New York Giants at Dallas, 4:30 EST, Fox
Eat dinner before this one starts. You don’t want to watch this on an empty stomach. And if the Tryptophan from the turkey doesn’t put you to sleep, well this NFC East dud should do the trick.
Dallas (4-7) woke up a bit last week with an upset of Washington last Sunday. The Cowboys, while fun in some ways, are having their worst season in years. Cooper Rush will quarterback the ‘Boys in place of injured Dak Prescott.
The Giants (2-9) will also have a backup quarterback in Tommy DeVito, but that was a choice after the team released starter Daniel Jones and bypassed No. 2 QB Drew Lock to potentially save some money. Jones had an injury clause in his contract that would have guaranteed him $23 million next year if he got hurt this year. And Lock’s contract is loaded with incentives based on playing time incentives.
General manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll appear to have lost the team if last week’s loss to Tampa Bay in which they trailed 30-0 at one point means anything. That could bode well as the Giants try for the first pick in the draft. The question is who will be making that pick?
Miami at Green Bay, 8:20, NBC
This is your delicious Thanksgiving Day NFL dessert.
Miami, winners of three straight, venture from sunny South Beach to frigid Green Bay where the temperature is expected to be in the 20s to face the Packers, winners of six of their last seven.
The Dolphins (5-6) need the win to stay within striking distance of Denver (7-5) for the AFC’s final wild-card berth. Green Bay (8-3) is trying to keep pace with Detroit (10-1) and Minnesota (9-2) in the powerful NFC North.
This will also be a battle of two quarterbacks taken in the quarterback-rich 2020 NFL draft. Miami has Tua Tagovailoa, who since coming back from his latest concussion, has completed 76.5 percent of his passes with 11 touchdowns and one interception. Green Bay will counter with Jordan Love, who despite missing two-and-a-half games this season has 18 touchdown passes, sixth best in the league and fourth best in the NFC.
