Thanksgiving Day NFL Schedule 2016: Previewing Cowboys, Lions & Turkey Day Games

The 2016 NFL schedule is officially out. Let's look ahead to Thanksgiving already, huh?

Once again, three games will be dominating the TV for Turkey Day on Nov. 24. And as per NFL tradition, the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions will be playing.   

This year's slate for the Lions and Cowboys is important, as both games are pivotal divisional matchups that could be meaningful once December rolls around.

Also, there is a fun quarterback matchup taking place at Lucas Oil Stadium as the nightcap. Here's a look at the Thanksgiving Day games as well as some early previews for each.

Matchup	Time (ET)	TV	Location
Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions	12:30 p.m.	CBS	Ford Field
Washington Redskins at Dallas Cowboys	4:30 p.m.	Fox	AT&T Stadium
Pittsburgh Steelers at Indianapolis Colts	8:30 p.m.	NBC	Lucas Oil Stadium

You can check out the rest of the NFL schedule by clicking here.

Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

It’s going to be weird not to see star wide receiver Calvin Johnson play for the Lions on Thanksgiving, especially since he single-handedly outscored the Philadelphia Eagles during last year’s holiday game.

This time will be different. There won’t be Megatron, and the Lions will welcome the reigning NFC North champion Minnesota Vikings for a crucial NFC North division matchup at Ford Field. After a surprising year that almost resulted in a playoff win over the Seattle Seahawks, the Vikings are bound to be co-favorites with the Green Bay Packers once again.

Depending on how said Packers fare this year, this matchup could have huge wild-card implications. Now in his third year, Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater should be taking that next step in being a top-tier quarterback. He’ll have another year with the same supporting cast of star running back Adrian Peterson, Stefon Diggs and Charles Johnson. Anything short of a playoff berth would be a disappointing season.

The Lions are expected to drop significantly on offense with the loss of Johnson, but there’s reason to have hope. Detroit ended the season strong last year and even made a charge for a playoff spot. Matthew Stafford still has Golden Tate to throw the ball to, and an improved running game should take that pressure off the former No. 1 pick.

This will also be a colorful game, per Tim Twentyman of the Lions' official website:

This game is going to impact the NFC North in a large way, much like the next matchup will in the NFC East.

Washington Redskins at Dallas Cowboys

Tom Pennington/Getty Images

It’s always a fun time when two longtime NFC East rivals go at it, especially when it’s the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins.

Washington took advantage of a Cowboys team without signal-caller Tony Romo last year to win the NFC East. A new era has officially begun in Washington. The team moved on from Robert Griffin III and committed to Kirk Cousins as its starting quarterback.

A healthy Romo will dictate how important this game is come late November. The Cowboys won 12 games two years ago and also won a playoff contest. There were high expectations for the Cowboys in 2015, but they lost Romo in Week 2. He returned in Week 11 but suffered an injury in Week 12 against Carolina, and Dallas ended up winning only four games. Three of those victories came in the division, and one of those was in Washington, D.C.

The Cowboys and Redskins will have already played in Week 2 by this time, but this will be another chance for former Redskins running back Alfred Morris to show how much he has left in the tank against his former team. Dallas signed the 27-year-old in hopes of solidifying the running game with him and Darren McFadden behind the Cowboys’ stellar offensive line.

It's also worth noting the Cowboys will be home for the holidays, per Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

No matter how each team is doing at this point, it’s still a rivalry that should receive high prestige. The last time the Redskins and Cowboys played on Thanksgiving (2012), the aforementioned RG3 had one of his best games in his rookie year. This kind of excitement should be expected yet again.

Pittsburgh Steelers at Indianapolis Colts

If Andrew Luck is healthy, this is going to be a fun way to round out Thanksgiving.

The Indianapolis Colts will look to rebound after last year’s rough year without their star quarterback, and they’ll welcome the Pittsburgh Steelers and their dynamic offense to Lucas Oil Stadium.

Ben Roethlisberger and the stacked Pittsburgh offense are facing a Colts defense that ranked 25th in points and 26th in yards last year. The Steelers, meanwhile, were third and fourth in yards and points, respectively.

But this game will come down to the quarterbacks. Luck vs. Roethlisberger is a matchup of two quarterbacks with the same skill sets in terms of throwing ability and mobility in and out of the pocket. It’s not a divisional matchup, but it’s a solid way to cap off a day filled with turkey, football and potential early Black Friday shopping.

And, of course, Indy will look to avenge its 45-10 loss to the Steelers last December. That could be something weighing on the Colts' minds heading into this game.