Thanksgiving and football is potentially the most iconic holiday/sport combination in the country. The NFL schedules three games throughout the day. First, the Detroit Lions will host their annual Thanksgiving game against their division rival Chicago Bears at 12:30 PM. Next, the Dallas Cowboys also host their annual Thanksgiving game against their division rival, the New York Giants at 4:30 PM. Then, the day ends with Thursday Night Football at 8:20 PM, pitting the Miami Dolphins against the Green Bay Packers.
The Lions have been on a tear lately, boasting an impressive 10-1 record. The Bears, on the other hand, have not been so hot. They haven’t won since their bye week, losing five straight games. An embarrassing 19-3 loss to the Patriots in Week 10 caused them to fire their offensive coordinator, and their offense definitely took a step in the right direction, but it hasn’t translated into a win yet.
While momentum is certainly on the Lions’ side, history is not. Detroit hasn’t won a game on Thanksgiving in nearly eight years, with their last win coming against the Minnesota Vikings in 2016, where they won 16-13. Since then, they have remained winless on Turkey Day, and to make matters worse, three of their last seven Thanksgiving Day losses have been at the hands of the very Bears they are slated to play, in 2018, 2019, and 2021. However, I predict that the Lions will break their seven-year losing streak with a win over Chicago, 31-23.
Onto the second divisional matchup of the day, between the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants. Let’s be real for a second. Most of America will be taking a nap during this one. These two teams have been some of the worst units in the league, and at this point they are likely both tanking to get a better draft pick. It’s anybody’s guess as to who wins this, but it is for certain that neither of these teams want to.
Shockingly, the Cowboys are coming off of a win, beating their division rival Commanders 34-26, and improving their record to 4-7. Meanwhile, the Giants have continued to spiral. They cut their previous starting QB, Daniel Jones, but saw no improvement with their backup QB Tommy DeVito, and have since dropped another game, this time to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 30-7. I predict this game to be an absolute bore-fest, with the Cowboys coming on top with a score of just 18-13.
Lastly, the Dolphins and the Packers. These two teams have been playing extremely well as of late. The Dolphins have won nearly every game since getting their QB1 Tua Tagovailoa back from injury, and the Packers are coming off a dominant win against the San Francisco 49ers, 38-10. Both teams have extremely strong offenses, so this will likely be the most exciting and closest game of the Thanksgiving slate. Even though the Packers have the better record, the Dolphins defense is elite, and this will make the difference. The Fins will get it done on the road, winning by a score of 27-25.
