NFL Thanksgiving menu
Here’s a rundown of today’s NFL entrees:
CHICAGO (3-7) AT DETROIT (0-9-1) Time/TV:
The matchup:
10:30 a.m., Fox
Second meeting of the season between NFC North rivals. In Week 4, the Bears won 24-14 victory as David Montgomery rushed for 106 yards and two touchdowns. Chicago has won six of the past seven meetings, including three consecutive road victories. Thanksgiving history: This is the 19th Thanksgiving meeting between the Bears and Lions, dating back to 1934 when Bronko Nagurski threw a two-yard touchdown pass to Bill Hewitt in Chicago’s 19-16 victory. In their last Thanksgiving matchup, Montgomery scored the go-ahead touchdown with 2:17 remaining as Chicago overcame a 10-point deficit to defeat Detroit, 24-20 in 2019.
The lowdown: Neither team is exactly flying high and both have injured starting quarterbacks. The scuffling Bears, who have lost 5 in a row, lost rookie Justin Fields to a rib injury on Sunday against the Vikings. If he can’t go, veteran Andy Dalton will start. As for the Lions, at least they can be proud of hosting their 82nd Thanksgiving game. Jared Goff sat out Sunday’s loss with an oblique injury and Tim Boyle made his first NFL start.
Star watch: Chicago — LB Robert
Quinn. He had a career-high 3.5 sacks in Week 11 and leads the Bears with 10 sacks, his fifth-career 10-sack season; Detroit — RB D’Andre Swift leads all NFL running backs in receptions (53) and is one of two backs with at least 500 rushing yards (555) and 400 receiving yards (420) this season, along with the Chargers’ Austin Ekeler.
LAS VEGAS (5-5) AT DALLAS (7-3) Time/TV:
The matchup:
2:30 p.m., CBS
The Raiders and Cowboys meet for the 13th time, with the all-time series tied 6-6. Las Vegas is still in the mix in a competitive AFC West despite all the turmoil surrounding coach Jon Gruden’s departure and other drama with the team. Dallas, despite coming off two one-sided losses in the past three weeks, comfortably leads the NFC East, where no other team has a winning record.
Thanksgiving history: The Cowboys are hosting Thanksgiving game No. 54, and just the third meeting with the Raiders. Dallas won both previous meetings, in 2009 and 2013.
The lowdown: The Raiders have lost three in a row and one big reason is their inefficiency on third down and in the red zone. The Raiders rank 24th in the league in third-down conversion rate (42 of 118, 35.5%), and after a 1for-3 red zone showing in Sunday’s loss to the Bengals, have only scored 18 TDs in 34 trips inside the 20-yard line. Dallas is struggling with injuries, and might play Thursday without top wide receivers Amari Cooper (COVID protocol) and CeeDee Lamb (concussion). Also still out are defensive ends DeMarcus Lawrence (broken foot) and Randy Gregory (calf strain).
Star watch: Dallas — LB Micah Parsons. With seven games remaining, Parsons has already tied DeMarcus Ware’s rookie club record of eight sacks; Las Vegas — QB Derek Carr. He ranks second in the NFL with 3,041 passing yards, and with 63 passing yards on Thanksgiving, he would become the fifth quarterback to reach 30,000 passing yards in his first eight seasons.
BUFFALO (6-4) AT NEW ORLEANS (5-5) Time/TV: 6:20 p.m., NBC
The matchup: New Orleans leads the all-time series 7-4, including wins in five consecutive matchups, the last a 47-10 romp in 2017.
Thanksgiving history: The Bills are playing on Thanksgiving for the second time in three seasons, and the 10th time overall. The Saints are 3-0 on Turkey Day and this is their third appearance in four years.
The lowdown: The Bills have lost three of five to fall behind New England in the AFC East. A big problem in Sunday’s loss to the Colts was turnovers: Buffalo came into the game with the league’s best turnover margin, but against Indianapolis turned it over four times with no takeaways, leading to 21 Colts points. The Saints haven’t been much better lately. New Orleans has lost three straight for the first time since 2016, and in Sunday’s defeat to the Eagles the league’s top-ranked run defense gave up 242 yards on the ground.
Star watch: Buffalo — S Jordan Poyer leads the team with four interceptions and has five passes defensed for a unit ranked second in scoring defense (17.6 points allowed per game) and second in takeaways (24); New Orleans — DE Cameron Jordan is one of five players with at least six sacks on Thanksgiving since 1982. He enters this game with a sack in four of his past five contests.