Unbelievably, we are upon Thanksgiving Week, which is all about family…and, of course, football. The annual Thanksgiving Day games are merely a few days away. The usual Cowboys and Lions games will be played, as well as a primetime Thanksgiving feast of the Dolphins heading to Green Bay to face the Packers.
The NFL has always avoided Friday games, as high school football is so huge in the South, but it has adopted a Black Friday game. This year, the Raiders head to Kansas City to face off against the Chiefs.
But before all that, we have this slate of games this week, as well as the game that ended in the snow in Cleveland on Thursday night. Pittsburgh has had a “yeah but” effect all season, but after their convincing win against the Ravens, they even made me a believer.
Their wins haven’t always been conventional (beating Baltimore without scoring a TD and kicking six FGs, for instance), but they were sitting at 8-2, firmly in first place in the AFC North, and legitimately a top-five team. In an article last week, I listed five teams that MUST win this week and not have a letdown game. They were one of those five, and they had a letdown game. Now, questions will rush back into everyone’s minds, and it will be interesting to see if and how they bounce back.
Some weeks don’t produce much in headlines, while others have important, league-changing things happen. This was one of those earth-shattering weeks. A starting QB who just signed a big contract rarely gets benched and released. That all happened to Daniel Jones this week…not to say he wasn’t deserving of being benched, but it’s still a surprise when it happens.
Jones was in the second year of a 4yr/$160M deal. It included a $36M signing bonus, with $92M guaranteed. Nobody should shed a tear for him, and he won’t have to wonder about his next meal or how he’ll afford Thanksgiving dinner…but it still stinks.
Other big news heading into this weekend involves injuries. San Francisco’s QB and most dominant defensive player are each out this week against the Packers in Green Bay. The Niners weren’t playing well, even with Brock Purdy and Nick Bosa in the lineup. It would have taken a Herculean effort to win without them. Vegas has them as a 5.5-point underdog. Sitting at 5-5, this is almost a must-win situation for them. And even though Green Bay is sitting at 7-3, this is also a huge game for them. They are only in third place in their own division and currently sit as the no.6 seed in the NFC.
Other injuries, at this stage in the season, only truly matter for teams fighting for a playoff berth. Here they are.
Tampa’s Mike Evans has been limited at practice and is listed as questionable.
Josh Reynolds is out in Denver with a hand injury.
Noah Fant is listed as questionable with the Seahawks, still dealing with a groin issue.
Devonta Smith is out with the Eagles, suffering from a hamstring issue.
With 12 more games on the docket on Sunday and Monday, the league has what it always strives for…parity. In all 12 games, at least one team is still very much in the playoff hunt.
Happy Thanksgiving
