Thanksgiving football did not disappoint this year, despite seemingly uncompetitive matchups.
Only two of the six teams in Thursday’s slate had winning records, setting up underwhelming expectations for the day’s games.
At 12:30 p.m, the Chicago Bears squared off against NFC North foe and conference leader, the Detroit Lions. After a slow start from both offenses, the league’s most potent offense finally got going, once again leaning on the ground game to jumpstart themselves.
The duo of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs, otherwise known by their recently adopted nickname of cartoon characters “Sonic and Knuckles,” had a Thanksgiving Day feast.
Montgomery rushed for 88 yards on 21 carries, while Gibbs put up a whopping 9.7 yards per carry, finishing with 87 yards on the ground.
This opened up the passing game for Jared Goff, who in holiday spirit dished out the love to seven different pass catchers throughout the game.
On the other side, the Bears’ inconsistent offense recorded just two first downs during the opening half. To make matters worse, their first first down didn’t come until 55 seconds left in the second quarter. Detroit took a 16-0 lead into halftime, and the matchup appeared to trend toward another Lions blowout.
Yet, a rejuvenated Chicago team came out of the locker room. Number one overall pick Caleb Williams began to find rhythm, linking up with his top two receivers in Keenan Allen and DJ Moore, who combined for 170 yards and three touchdowns.
The Bears trimmed the deficit to within a score, and trailed at 23-20 with five minutes left. Following a miscommunication between Williams and the sideline, poor clock management prevented Chicago from kicking a game-tying field goal with less than 30 seconds left in the game.
This was the last straw for the Bears’ front office, who announced the firing of head coach Matt Eberflus on Friday. The team now stands last in the division with a 4-8 record. They have an incredibly narrow and unrealistic road to the playoffs.
Detroit avoided a late meltdown and improved to 11-1, having not lost a game in nearly three months. Their dominating season continues, and they’ll stay home for a tough two-game stretch against the Packers and Bills.
The next two games did not entertain much, as the Dallas Cowboys took on the New York Giants in Arlington. In a week of drama for New York, the Giants demoted starting quarterback Daniel Jones to third-string quarterback. He proceeded to request his release, which the team granted on Friday.
But after Tyrone Tracy Jr.’s first quarter touchdown run, the upset seemed possible. Things took a turn for the worst when Jones’ replacement, Drew Lock, threw a pick-six in the second quarter and the Cowboys retook the lead, 13-7.
Dallas relied heavily on Rico Dowdle, who has evidently taken over the backfield after rushing 22 times for 112 yards and a touchdown. The home team built a 27-10 lead in the third quarter, and never looked back.
Though a win against a division rival always feels nice, don’t kid yourself. The Cowboys have fallen too far back for the wild card chase at 5-7, and their brutal upcoming schedule won’t do them any favors either.
As far as the Giants go, the same reality has kicked in, as they’ll continue their rebuild in next year’s draft.
Last, and probably least, was the night game between the Green Bay Packers and Miami Dolphins. Miami’s struggles in cold weather made this trip especially challenging, carrying an 11-game losing streak in sub-40-degree weather.
I anticipated the rushing attack to dominate this contest in the frigid temperatures, but it was the two quarterbacks that filled up the stat sheet.
Jordan Love’s accuracy led the way for Green Bay, completing 21-28 pass attempts for 274 yards and two touchdowns. Meanwhile, Tua Tagovailoa recorded a season-high 365 passing yards and two TDs.
Though Tagovailoa’s numbers seem impressive, this Dolphins offense appeared disjointed. The Packers jumped to a quick 14-0 lead, and padded their advantage to 24-3 in a dominant first half.
Most of the total yardage for Miami came during the second frame, but the mountain was just too hard to climb. By the time the Fins reached the vicinity of Green Bay’s 388 yards of total offense, the Pack was already enjoying the ham and mashed potatoes, taking a 30-11 lead with five minutes remaining.
What did this game mean for the two squads?
With a win, the Dolphins would have put themselves firmly behind the Denver Broncos for the last wild-card seed. But after their loss, their playoff path definitely steepened. Miami’s strength of schedule still gives them a chance at sneaking in, with three of their remaining games against the 3-9 Jets and the 3-8 Browns. As long as they take care of business, they have a shot.
The Packers cruised to 9-3, with their upcoming match against the Lions proving pivotal for the division’s crown. I’d still consider their playoff chance relatively high, despite sitting at third place in a stacked NFC North.
