San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Exciting Thanksgiving Day kicks off games
The traditional Thanksgiving Day games opened with the Chicago Bears edging the Detroit Lions 16-14 on Cairo Santos’ 28yard field goal as time expired.
The Bears (4-7) ended a five-game losing streak under embattled coach Matt Nagy, who was answering questions about his job status less than 48 hours before kickoff. The Lions (0-10-1) made many mistakes, early and late, to extend their winless skid to 15 games.
At Arlington, Texas, Daniel Carlson kicked a 29-yard field goal in overtime after Anthony Brown’s fourth pass-interference penalty kept the drive alive, and the Las Vegas Raiders beat the Dallas Cowboys 36-33. The Raiders (6-5) ended a three-game losing streak with their first Thanksgiving victory since 1968.
At New Orleans, Josh Allen passed for 260 yards and four touchdowns as the Buffalo Bills throttled the injury-ravaged Saints 31-6, sending them to their fourth straight loss.
Dawson Knox caught two touchdown passes for the Bills (7-4), giving him a franchise-best seven touchdowns in a single season by a tight end.
Off this week are Arizona (9-2, the NFL’s best record) and Kansas City (7-4).
Los Angeles Rams (7-3) at Green Bay (8-3)
Two of the contenders for the top spot in the NFC meet at Lambeau Field.
The Packers join the Buccaneers as the only NFL teams that are undefeated
at home this season. Green Bay has allowed just 44 points at Lambeau, the lowest total yielded through the first four Packers home games of a season since 1969.
Tennessee (8-3) at New England (7-4)
The Titans’ impressive winning string ended in the awful weather last weekend, while the Patriots extended their run to five straight wins by routing Atlanta.
Being on the road doesn’t seem to bother Tennessee: The Titans are 4-1 away from Nashville in 2021 and 13-3 over their past 16 road games.
The Patriots are allowing a league-low 16.1 points per game.
Tampa Bay (7-3) at Indianapolis (6-5)
Tom Brady has tormented the Colts, going 15-4 with 38 touchdown passes,
all with New England. He’s second in the NFL with 3,177 yards passing and has a league-high 29 touchdown passes.
Jonathan Taylor is the league’s first 1,000-yard runner this season and has tied the NFL record with eight consecutive games of 100 yards from scrimmage and at least one touchdown.
The Colts also lead the NFL with 76 first-quarter points and 98 points off a league-high 25 takeaways.
Cleveland (6-5) at Baltimore (7-3)
As the Browns try to find their mojo, they head to the wrong place. The Ravens have dominated this series since the team moved from Cleveland, and Baltimore coach John Harbaugh is 22-4 against the Browns. Cleveland has dropped 10 of the past 13 against Baltimore, with two of the wins coming in
overtime.
Lamar Jackson should be OK to start after missing the win at Chicago with an illness.
Myles Garrett leads the NFL with 13 sacks, and the Cleveland club record is 14. The Browns lead the AFC with 29 sacks.
Pittsburgh (5-4-1) at Cincinnati (6-4)
Cincinnati is trying to sweep Pittsburgh for the first time since 2009, but the Steelers are 32-20 at Cincy. The Bengals have won the past two meetings, including a blowout victory two months ago. Before that the Steelers had won 11 straight going back to 2014.
L.A. Chargers (6-4) at Denver (5-5)
L.A.’s Austin Ekeler is the only player in the AFC with 500 or more rushing yards (573) and 400-plus receiving yards (405). He had four touchdowns last week in the win over Pittsburgh.
Denver’s running back duo of Melvin Gordon II and rookie Javonte Williams have combined for 221 carries for 1,036 yards and six touchdowns.
Minnesota (5-5) at San Francisco (5-5)
The Vikings have lost 10 of the past 11 road games in the series, with the only win in that span coming in 2007. They’ve won their past two matches this month and showed, at last, an ability to close.
Early leads will be important against a Niners squad that has come alive behind the work of dynamic receiver/running back Deebo Samuel and tight end George Kittle.
Philadelphia (5-6) at New York Giants (3-7)
The Giants fired offensive coordinator Jason Garrett this week; his unit, despite some talented skill players, has been abysmal. A sign, sort of, that emphasizes those struggles: tackle Andrew Thomas caught at 2-yard touchdown pass, becoming the Giants’ first offensive lineman to catch a touchdown since 1960.
Philly has found the offensive firepower on the ground. The Eagles have 870 yards rushing in the past four games. They’ve rushed for 200-plus yards in consecutive games for the first time since 1978.
Seattle (3-7) at Washington (4-6)
Russell Wilson’s return from finger surgery hasn’t helped the Seahawks. He was 14 of 26 for 207 yards and was sacked four times in the loss to Arizona.
Seattle is off to the franchise’s worst 10-game record since 2009.
That said, Seattle’s .711 winning percentage on Monday night is the best in the NFL.
Since throwing two picks in a loss at Denver before the bye week, Washington’s Taylor Heinicke has completed 77.8 percent of his passes for 462 yards and four touchdowns in back-to-back victories.
Atlanta (4-6) at Jacksonville (2-8)
The Falcons have allowed 100 yards on the ground in five consecutive weeks and eight times in 10 games this season. Good news perhaps for Jags running back James Robinson.
Atlanta’s gone 130-plus minutes and 26 offensive possessions without a touchdown, going consecutive games without a touchdown for the first time since 1987.
Carolina (5-6) at Miami (4-7)
Another team struggling to stop the run is Miami, which has won three straight anyway. Good news for Panthers Christian McCaffrey, who when healthy is as effective as any NFL running back. Since 2018, McCaffrey has averaged 134.1 yards from scrimmage per game, the most in the NFL. His 11 career 100-yard receiving games are the most by any NFL running back in history, too.
Flags could fly here. Carolina is the NFL’s mostpenalized team through 11 weeks, flagged 81 times. The Dolphins have 75 penalties, one more than in all of 2020.