Give Thanks For Early Football

With the NFL regular season now over halfway in the books, Week 12 is upon us. It's time to give thanks for early football this week as three games on Thanksgiving Day are sure to keep you eating on your couch instead of getting the Christmas tree out of the attic, that is, unless you’re a fan of the Lions, in which you may need to put off your feast until the stomach pains subside next season (or the season after that, if necessary). What should you be watching for this week? I’ll get you started with the Thanksgiving Day action.

The Detroit Lions Cannot and Will Not Upset the Packers

Look, I understand the Lions at least looked somewhat like an NFL team this past Sunday, but many people forget they were playing the Browns. Points scored against the Browns this season might as well be points scored against your 10 year old son’s football team. The Browns are a mess, and let’s face it: the fact that they put up 37 points after putting up only 78 in the previous nine games combined.

The Lions kept the Browns from having the worst scoring average in the league.  Although, not by much. Also not to be forgotten is that Matt Stafford and Calvin Johnson are questionable for the game. I wouldn’t expect the team to risk their long-term future to win a (virtually) meaningless game if these guys aren’t ready to go.

The Packers, on the other hand, are a team that, for most of the season, has been dismissed due to a record that made them look worse than they really are. I fully expect them to come out and dominate the Lions.

The Thanksgiving Night Game Is Make or Break For Both Teams

The Giants and Broncos share identical 6-4 records and almost shared a 4-game losing streak (New York’s started and ended one week earlier). Each could virtually eliminate themselves from their divisional races with a loss in this one.

Denver needs to get their defense back on track and possibly score a few more points. The Chargers took the division lead from the Broncos this past Sunday, and it’s awfully tough to imagine them losing to the Chiefs this week. Denver needs a win to stay in the chase because it isn’t likely they can make the postseason without a division title.

New York ended their losing streak last weekend against the Atlanta Falcons with a big game from Eli Manning. Manning set a career high in passing yards and they’ll need much of the same again this week.

With Brandon Jacobs being injury-prone and Bradshaw already ruled out with a foot injury, the pressure falls straight on Manning and the Giants’ young corps of receivers to carry the load. A loss would drop the Giants to 6-5 and while it wouldn’t cripple them with a game left against division-rival Dallas, it sure would make the playoffs a tougher goal to reach.

The Cowboys Need to Rediscover the Middle of the Field

I’m not referring to the running game. Before the season, many were calling for the Cowboys to run the ball more. I wasn’t among the fans of this tactic for a few reasons.

First, I believe Tony Romo throws two or three bad balls a game whether he throws 15 times or 40. Turning him loose minimizes the impact of those mistakes and helps the Cowboys score points. That being said, I’m not asking for Romo to fling the ball downfield for a big play each time.

While listening to Colin Cowherd this afternoon, he brought up a great point that I’ve felt for awhile, but never really pulled any numbers to back it up. Colin pointed out that quarterbacks in the league with the highest passer rating on passes of 10 yards or less have their teams in position for the postseason. Examples of such quarterbacks were Peyton Manning, Carson Palmer, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Philip Rivers, and a few others.

Romo didn’t even crack the top 12 in this category.

With Jason Witten looking slower and slower this season (and now hampered by an ankle injury), the middle of the field which was almost exclusively his in previous years is non-existent. While the team has been able to pound the ball up the middle, most of the yardage hasn’t resulted in points.

We’ve often heard how explosive Felix Jones and Martellus Bennett would be in the passing game, but to this point, no proof has been rendered. The Cowboys don’t often send their receivers into quick slant routes, and to me, Jason Garrett has forgotten about these types of plays altogether.

Running the ball is nice, but the best teams have to be able to go pass-heavy at times as well. Don’t believe me? Take a look at most of the division leaders. I’d be willing to bet most of them are able to rely on the passing game just as much, if not more, than the running game.

The defense, while it has played admirably as of late, uses Wade Phillips’ bend-but-don’t-break style that relies on the offense scoring some points to be effective. The premise is that if a team is playing from behind, you can basically give them what yardage you feel like and eventually they run out of time to come back. The problem is that it doesn’t work if your offense doesn’t score points.

So which is easier? Throwing in a few extra plays on offense, or changing entire defensive schemes?

All things considered, I just can’t see the Cowboys losing to the Raiders on Thursday. Although they’ve proven anything is reasonably possible, I don’t think the Raiders have anything in the tank to score and play defense in an effective manner.

Pittsburgh at Baltimore Could Be a Playoff Game

It isn’t even December yet, but a lot rides on the game between the Steelers and Ravens. Only a game separates the two, and Baltimore lost their games in very close fashion. Pittsburgh faces the dilemma of playing Ben Roethlisberger after a concussion.

Oh, and did I mention they lost to the Chiefs? It’s only one game, but Troy Polamalu means the world to that Pittsburgh defense. Besides Polamalu, the unit is banged up anyway, and Joe Flacco could make them look pretty pedestrian without, arguably, the league’s top safety roaming the defensive backfield.

The Ravens will look to pressure Roethlisberger all game, but the key will be bringing him down. Ben has proven he can evade pressure, but if the Ravens can bring him down during this game, they’ll be right back into the playoff picture, and really, it isn’t too outrageous since they’re possibly the best 5-5 team the NFL has seen in some time.

The Saints Will Be Tested Against the Patriots

The Patriots still have Tom Brady, and you can bet he wants to do everything in his power to keep his 2007 Patriots as the only 16-0 regular season team in history. With the way he’s found Wes Welker as of late, every connection with Randy Moss is just an added bonus.

While the play of the Saints defense this season has been admirable thus far, I think this could finally be the week they go down. I can guarantee one thing: if the game is in the balance late, don’t expect Bill Belichick to go for it on 4th-and-2.

Brandon Land is the founder and lead columnist of View from the Bench Sports, which can be found at www.viewfromthebench.com.