NFL on Thanksgiving: A Three Course Meal
This Thanksgiving we should all be thankful for our family, friends, food and perhaps most importantly, football.
The NFL has blessed us with a fantastic trio of exciting games throughout this special holiday. We should all be thankful for this slate.
The Detroit Lions host the New England Patriots as we prep our Thanksgiving Day dinner.
By the time we’re ready to eat, the New Orleans Saints march into Dallas for an exciting shootout with the Cowboys.
Just when we think we’re stuffed, we have the New York Jets battling the Cincinnati Bengals for dessert.
With three exciting games on the menu, which players will stand out above the rest on this special holiday? Which game has the opportunity to beat the stuffing out of the others?
New England Patriots @ Detroit Lions
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Following the Thanksgiving Day Parade, we are finally treated to a Detroit Lions team unlike one we have seen on Thanksgiving in past years. The Lions, despite standing with a lopsided 2-8 record and a host of injuries to stars such as Matthew Stafford and Jahvid Best, are vastly improved this season.
The Lions host the New England Patriots on this grand occasion. Tom Brady and Bill Belichick have been fully focused and determined to run through the NFL on their way to another Super Bowl ring ever since they shipped off Randy Moss and lost to the Cleveland Browns.
Brady has been excellent since that game, dismantling the Steelers and Colts at an efficient rate.
The Patriots, after a tough battle with the Indianapolis Colts Week 11, will have their work cut out for them, traveling to Detroit on three days of rest.
Rookie defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh is an absolute monster up front. He is simply too strong and powerful to be contained. On this special game, I would expect Suh to come out and dominate as he is already arguably the best defensive tackle in football.
Suh and Kyle Vanden Bosch should be able to penetrate the great Patriots offensive line to disrupt and hurry Tom Brady throughout the day. Still, expect Brady to dissect the Lions secondary with the Patriots’ effective short routes and quick throws.
Calvin Johnson has been one of the premier wide receivers in the game since entering the league. Johnson should have his way with the young Patriots secondary. Johnson will certainly be double covered the entire game, but he has the size, strength and leaping ability to remain Shaun Hill’s go-to receiver.
Although the Lions were dominated against Dallas in Week 11, the Patriots are coming to town after a big rivalry game against the Colts. The Patriots are prepared for the Lions this week, but Detroit should have an edge playing at home on Thanksgiving and should keep it a close game.
New Orleans Saints @ Dallas Cowboys
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The day just keeps getting better. As most families sit down to eat their extravagant Thanksgiving dinner, we are treated to a main course type of game as the defending Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints visit the Dallas Cowboys for the annual mid-day game.
The Cowboys have been rolling with a ton of momentum at the moment. Interim head coach Jason Garrett seems to have revitalized this team. They were dominant in both of their wins, handing the Giants an embarrassing home loss and dismantling the Detroit Lions.
Drew Brees and Sean Payton march into Dallas, hoping to bring some reinforcements for this big Thanksgiving Day showdown. Reggie Bush appears set to return from the broken leg he suffered in San Francisco earlier in the season.
Bush is still one of the most dynamic threats in the league. His presence on special teams alone drives fear in most. Bush ran with more power, determination and better vision earlier in the season. Instead of dancing behind the line of scrimmage, he hit the holes quicker and showed a tendency to finally battle defenders instead of running away from them. I would expect Bush to repeat that type of performance as he focused on getting his entire body stronger during rehab.
With the Cowboys having the luxury of playing at home, they clearly have an edge in this game. This will be an exciting, high scoring affair as both Sean Payton and Garrett are two of the most creative offensive minds in the entire league.
The Saints stomped out the Seattle Seahawks at home. Drew Brees was on a torrid pace and could have thrown six touchdowns in the contest.
The Dallas defense has played well the past two weeks, but this is the same defense that was lit up by David Garrard. I wouldn’t expect Brees to have much trouble getting the ball to his dangerous receiving corps.
The key for this contest is whether or not the Cowboys can stick to the run game. They won’t win in a shootout with the Saints. They need to keep the Saints offense on the sidelines. The key to do that is a heavy dose of Felix Jones and Marion Barber. Wear down the Saints defense while controlling the clock, and the Cowboys could threaten the Saints.
Cincinnati Bengals @ New York Jets
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The NFL has served up a fantastic game for dessert.
Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens venture into New York to battle the Jets at the New Meadowlands stadium.
As if this game wasn’t enticing enough with all of the superstars on both teams, Terrell Owens decided to fire some unpleasant words the way of Darrelle Revis. Since then, it’s been announced that Revis, the game’s best cornerback, will shadow Owens. Expect this matchup to be a violent one with a lot of words thrown at each other throughout the game.
The Jets are looking to stay tied with the Patriots and shouldn’t have much trouble against a lifeless Cincinnati Bengals team that just lost at home to the Buffalo Bills.
The Jets defense will blitz, blitz and blitz Carson Palmer time, time and time again and should create a few turnovers in this contest. It is tough to believe the Bengals have a chance in this one, considering they have been arguably the most disappointing team this entire season. The Jets handed the Bengals two losses last year, one to make the playoffs and one to advance to the Divisional round.
Expect a lot of LaDainian Tomlinson and Shonn Greene in this one as the Jets get back to their bread and butter—smash mouth, winning football. The Jets have come from behind in three straight weeks. These were huge wins for the Jets as it showed how resilient they are as a unit. Quarterback Mark Sanchez has been fantastic, making incredibly accurate passes with the game on the line.
I don’t expect the Jets to come from behind to win tonight. They should take the lead early and not have to look back as the Bengals continue to implode even more. Maybe we’ll get to see a blow up on the Bengals sidelines.
Thanksgiving Day's Standout Game and Players
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Calvin Johnson, Drew Brees and LaDainian Tomlinson have the best chances to be the three standout players in each of their respective games.
I expect the Patriots to have a tougher outing than most would expect against the Lions.
The most intense game of the day should come from the night game due to the amount of superstars on the field between the Jets and Bengals.
The potential blow up between Revis and Owens could be more than enough to warrant game of the day. While it was my first pick, the amount of potential points in the Cowboys vs Saints game could be the factor that determines the most entertaining Thanksgiving Day game.
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