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It’s that time of the year again. The tradition of eating turkey with loved ones, perhaps after some heated political discussions and other sources of stress. In many cases, it also means unwinding and watching some television. Movies are among the favorites. But there is always the option of watching NFL football games.
Thanksgiving games are a tradition that date back many decades. For a very long time, it involved two teams in particular, the Dallas Cowboys and the Detroit Lions, who would alternate between each other with AFC and NFC opponents, although that is a tradition that seems to have gone by the wayside. However, both the Lions and the Cowboys have maintained the tradition of hosting Thanksgiving Day games, although the NFL added a new tradition of a night game, without a set team or teams from year to year.
Of course, that has not come without controversy. There have not been too many complaints about the Dallas Cowboys hosting a game on this holiday, mostly because they never seem to go to long without enjoying decent success in certain seasons, going to the playoffs and sometimes winning their division. Some people, however, have voiced their displeasure about the Lions hosting a game on this holiday. They rarely seem to be a competitive team, and in fact, they are one franchise that rarely has enjoyed much serious success for a number of decades now. Since I became a fan of the NFL, the Lions have won exactly one playoff game in their one memorable season in 1991, when they went 12-4 and won the division title, knocked off the Dallas Cowboys and reached the NFC title game. But that was their one playoff win since the glory days of the fifties for this franchise, which puts them solidly in last place during that stretch. They did win the division in 1993 again, but then lost immediately in the playoffs. They currently are in the midst of the longest active losing streak in playoff history, as they have lost their last nine postseason games. Furthermore, all too often, the Lions suffer through seasons like the one they are going through right now, where we are in late November, and the Lions are the last remaining team not to have won a single game yet. Still, from my standpoint, I believe that the tradition of the Lions playing on Thanksgiving is a big part of their identity, and they should be able to maintain that identity, at least. It’s the one time each season where they get to be in the national spotlight, and why not? The city of Detroit, and that region more generally, have gone through some hard times in recent decades. True, their other major sports franchises have enjoyed greater success, as both the Red Wings and the Pistons have won multiple titles, and the Tigers won a World Series in 1984, and last went to the World Series fairly recently, in 2012. Unfortunately, though, the Lions are on a horrific dry spell. Only one team, the Cincinnati Bengals, have a longer drought in terms of playoff wins than the Lions do, and that is just by one season. But at least the Bengals went to two Super Bowls in the eighties. The Lions are one of four remaining NFL franchises never to have reached the Super Bowl. They are the only such franchise not to have been an expansion franchise in the Super Bowl era (remember, the current Cleveland Browns began play again in 1999, and did not play in the league from 1995-1998), and they are the only NFC franchise to never have won a single NFC Championship. It would be nice for that to change, but it certainly will not be happening this season. That’s for sure.
But I digress…
There are the two regular Thanksgiving game involving the Cowboys and the Lions, and then there is another one that evening, this one featuring the Buffalo Bills and the New Orleans Saints.
So let’s take a look at the games for this year’s Thanksgiving Day:
Chicago at Detroit – Two struggling teams meet in what is likely to be the game that generates the least interest on Thanksgiving Day. Neither of these teams has any realistic hopes of qualifying for the playoffs. The Bears might have had a shot there for a while, earlier this season, but that is long over now. No, Chicago is down and out right now, having lost five straight games that took them from a winning record to a dismal 3-7 mark now. Their offense has proven to be inept, and their defense just is not good enough to make up for it, or even to really keep them in many game. They have played a bit better on defense lately, which gives them a serious chance in this game, fighting hard against the 49ers, the Steelers, and then especially the Ravens. Still, those were all losses, at the end of the day. It seems like their season went into tailspin following a home loss to their old division rivals, and tormenters, the Green Bay Packers. They lost that, and just have not been the same since. They got blasted by the Bucs the following week, and just have not managed to pull off a win since. So it has been well over a month since they managed to win a game. Of course, the Lions have not managed to win yet this entire year, and they would love nothing better than to finally earn themselves their first victory of the season. They have a chance, too. Since getting humiliated at home, 44-6, to the Philadelphia Eagles on Halloween, they have played significantly better. They tied the Steelers in Pittsburgh, which was a pretty big accomplishment. And although they lost to the Browns last weekend, they fought hard, holding the often explosive Browns offense to just 13 points. Their defense has stepped it up, and they are playing a Chicago team that has really struggled on offense. Plus, they are at home, and it feels like they are overdue. But they need their offense to step up. Since scoring 33 on opening weekend, the Lions have not even managed to break 20 points in a single game. It feels like it is time. I may be going out on a limb here, and hopefully this is not merely a sentimental pick, but this feels like the perfect circumstances for the Lions to notch their first “W” for the season, before a national television audience. My pick Detroit
Las Vegas Raiders at Dallas Cowboys – It feels like this would have been a more interesting game a few weeks ago, before the Raiders began a slide that is threatening to effectively take a once promising seasons and basically flush it down the toilet. Yes, the Raiders have now los three straight games, beginning with an upset loss to the Giants at the Meadowlands, followed by a blowout loss at home to the Chiefs, and then another blowout loss at home to the Bengals. They take on the Dallas Cowboys, who remain the cream of the crop in the NFC East, as well as one of the elites in the NFC playoff picture. However, they too have struggled as of late. They started the season 6-1, but have now lost two of their last three games. They suffered a still difficult to understand blowout loss at home to Denver a few weeks ago, which ended a winning streak of six games. They recovered to humiliate the Falcons the following weekend, running on all cylinders and looking exceptionally solid on both offense and defense. But then came a disquieting loss at Arrowhead to the Chiefs last weekend, or just four days ago. Dallas looked decent on defense, holding the explosive Chiefs offense to a pedestrian 19 points. However, they failed to score a touchdown in the game, and just were not able to convert opportunities too well on the offensive end. While they still remain comfortably ahead in the NFC East, they need to get back to winning in order to keep it comfortable. A couple of more losses on their end, mixed with more wins by Philadelphia and/or Washington, and a once seemingly predetermined divisional race suddenly becomes a tight race, just like in the AFC East, when Buffalo suddenly began to slip while New England got hot. But the Cowboys do not have a team as good as the Patriots in their division, and they should still find a way to win it. That begins with taking care of business in this game, which they frankly should be able to do. The Raiders are going through some issues, and just have not been playing well at all. It feels like things are coming apart at the wrong time for them, and a tough road trip to Big D will not likely help if they lose, and especially if they lose big. Of course, a win could turn that around a bit. Yet, it is a bit difficult to see them suddenly playing very well at the moment, and I expect that the Cowboys are motivated to get another statement kind of win to help them forget their recent struggles, similar to what they managed to do against Atlanta. Then, they would have an extra long week to rest up and prepare for their next game, when they would travel to New Orleans to play the Saints, who are also playing a game on Thanksgiving, as well. Look for the Cowboys offense to score some touchdowns, probably early and often, and to get a convincing win against a reeling opponent. My pick: Dallas
Buffalo at New Orleans – This is a meeting between two teams that looked hot and dangerous earlier this season, and who have since seen their fortunes slip considerably. The Bills were 4-1 in October, having just beaten the Chiefs convincingly at Arrowhead, and many were anointing them the best team in the NFL. They had a large crowd in Buffalo greet them in the wee hours of the morning, and it seemed like they might finally have a date with destiny to get another crack at winning the Super Bowl, if things kept going on like that. And then, they suffered a tough and apparently devastating loss at Tennessee. They had some chances and came close to winning, but they lost, and they have not been the same since. Prior to that game, Buffalo was regularly scoring a ton of points, and their defense was playing extremely well. They seemed like they had the complete package. Since then, however, they have slowed down. They have won a couple of games, but one was a shaky victory against the Dolphins that bore little resemblance to their complete dismantling of the Fins in Miami just a few weeks earlier. They did get a convincing win at the Meadowlands, but that was against the Jets, and it was sandwiched between a humbling and rather stunning defeat in Jacksonville, where the Bills scored only two field goals total, and then the crushing blowout loss at home to the Colts last weekend. When the Bills were 4-1, it sure seemed like they almost had the AFC East division well in hand. But after their recent struggles, they suddenly find themselves half a game behind the New England Patriots, and with two meetings against Belichick and the Pats coming up. So they really need to fix whatever problems have been plaguing them, and try to get back that swagger that they had earlier this season, when everything was going their way. Of course, the Saints can relate, because they looked awesome for a while there. They were 5-2, and had earned some solid wins in tough circumstances, crushing the Packers on opening day, beating the Patriots up in Foxboro, and having handed their division rivals, and the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers a humbling loss. But then the Saints were upset at home by the Falcons, and things have since fallen apart. They lost to the Titans, even though they came close to winning. But against the Eagles, their defense just had no answers, and they just could not stop the Philly offensive machine. Now, having lost three in a row, and fallen from among the NFC elites at 5-2 to being in a tight fight with a number of teams just to try and squeak into the playoffs, they desperately need to win just to stop the bleeding a bit. So this game is between two playoff contenders that want to remain playoff contenders. Neither team wants to lose another game, because neither team can really afford it. For the Saints, it would outright get them to a losing record. For the Bills, it would see them give yet more ground and fall farther behind the Pats, and would extend their troubles, so that not only their grip on the division title would have slipped from them, but even the playoffs themselves, which seemed like all but a formality earlier in the year, when they seemed to be literally the best team in the league. So the stakes really could not be much higher when these two teams which are not really familiar with one another take the field. From my perspective, the Bills still feel like they have a better overall team and a more solid identity, while the Saints are still just trying to figure out who they are. The Bills have shown that they can stay in and even win tough, defensive games, yet their offense is still potentially very explosive. For the Saints, their offense might have a difficult time keeping up if the Bills offense gets going. So even though picking either team comes with risks because of the inconsistency from both teams, it feels like the road team is the better bet in this particular game. My pick: Buffalo
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