There are a few extra chairs at the holiday table this season.
In addition to the standard three Thanksgiving Day games being played, the NFL will also have its second annual Black Friday game as part of the festivities.
Thursday kicks off with the Lions hosting the Bears in the teams’ first meeting of the season, with Detroit riding a nine-game win streak and Chicago losers of five straight. The middle course is a battle of backup QBs, with the Cowboys hosting the Giants in Dallas.
You’ll want to be sure to save room for dessert, too. The suddenly cooking Miami Dolphins head up to Green Bay for a chilly night against the Packers.
And after you’re back from a long shopping day, tune in for the Chiefs hosting the Raiders on Friday afternoon. If last year’s Christmas upset at Arrowhead is any indication, this one could be interesting.
The holiday quartet of games offers a little something for everyone. So fill your plates all day Thursday and be sure to have an extra helping on Friday. There will be plenty of football to go around this holiday season, something everyone should be thankful for.
Here are eight things to watch for on Thanksgiving and Black Friday:
Thanksgiving Day
4-7
10-1
- WHERE: Ford Field (Detroit)
- WHEN: 12:30 p.m. ET | CBS
- Bears hope to add silver lining amid a rough stretch. Losing five straight is tough enough. Trying to end that streak in Detroit is even harder. The Bears have been in a funk since losing the Hail Mary game at Washington, but at least an offensive coordinator change has borne some fruit. Thomas Brown has helped bring out a better version of QB Caleb Williams the past two games, with Chicago’s offense showing far more balance and potency. The Bears have plenty of weapons to tax a Lions defense that has been hit with injuries at all three levels recently. The quicker Williams gets rid of the ball, in general, the better he is. How healthy will Detroit’s secondary be for this one? Terrion Arnold missed Sunday with a groin injury, and his fellow rookie Ennis Rakestraw Jr. (hamstring) is on IR. The Lions’ top corner, Carlton Davis, also left Sunday’s game against the Colts. The Bears have plenty of weapons to stress this group.
- Will Lions have their 1-2 RB punch? David Montgomery left Sunday’s game with a shoulder injury, although Lions head coach Dan Campbell expressed optimism this week that Montgomery, who is listed as questionable, should be able to go at least partially on Thursday. He makes up one half of the league’s best running back combo, along with Jahmyr Gibbs, giving the Lions a top-five rushing attack. The two also have combined for 50 catches for 503 yards, stressing defenses in multiple ways. Montgomery, the former Bear, averaged 6.5 yards per carry in his two games vs. Chicago last season. The Bears have struggled to stop the run of late, allowing 4.8 yards per carry, and Detroit features one of the NFL’s best offensive lines. The Lions have run for at least 105 yards in every game; over the past five games, the Bears have allowed an average of 151. It’s hard enough slowing down Jared Goff and the Lions’ passing game, but when they also chew up yards on the ground, they’re nearly impossible to stop.
2-9
4-7
- WHERE: AT&T Stadium (Arlington, Texas)
- WHEN: 4:30 p.m. ET | FOX, FOX Deportes
- Cowboys hope fading season stays alive. Sunday’s win at Washington kept the Cowboys afloat at 4-7, but everyone knows it’ll take a holiday miracle to get them into the playoffs. It can’t happen with a loss Thursday against the 2-9 Giants. Cooper Rush played better last week, and one of his six career victories as a starting QB have come against the Giants. He even saw garbage time against them in both meetings last season, each a Cowboys blowout. He has CeeDee Lamb, an established Giants killer, at his disposal. Lamb had seven catches (on eight targets) for 78 yards and a TD and also ran the ball three times in the Cowboys’ Week 4 win at the Giants. Dallas scored a season-high 34 points last week, although the special-teams explosion certainly had a lot to do with that. Still, the Giants’ defense -- the team’s unquestioned strength at one point -- has fallen off in recent games, especially against the run.
- Giants’ opportunities to win games slipping away. This one, frankly, is for Thanksgiving pride. The Giants’ season has collapsed, and their starting QB for most of the year is set to join the Vikings' practice squad. They’ll try to spoil the Cowboys’ holiday, but history -- both recent and long term -- appears to be flying in their faces. The Giants have lost seven straight games to the Cowboys, which is tied for the second-longest losing streak by either franchise in the history of the rivalry, and 14 of the past 15 meetings dating back to 2017. They’re also 0-2 all time at Dallas on Thanksgiving. The Giants don’t have a lot of truly winnable games left on their schedule. Thursday might be among their last remaining shots at another W before 2025. Last week against the Bucs, Tommy DeVito couldn’t come close to summoning his 2023 lighting in a bottle, struggling badly and suffering a forearm injury that had him limited in practice this week. DeVito also struggled in Dallas last season, taking seven sacks in a blowout loss. DeVito also is battling a forearm injury and is questionable for Thursday's game, leaving Drew Lock as potentially the next man up. Whoever starts will need help from Malik Nabers and Tyrone Tracy Jr. to pull off an upset here.
5-6
- WHERE: Lambeau Field (Green Bay, Wis.)
- WHEN: 8:20 p.m. ET | NBC, Telemundo, Universo
- Dolphins can dispel cold-weather knock with win in Green Bay. Miami has crawled back to respectability at 5-6. Now there’s a chance to make some real noise on Thanksgiving night. The Dolphins started hot last season before fading, losing at Baltimore and Kansas City in cold-weather games that raised questions about their ability to handle fiercer elements. The forecast calls for temperatures in the 20s, winds up to 20 mph and perhaps flurries. There’s no better chance for the Dolphins to prove they can handle cold weather while also building their playoff resume. A win Thursday would significantly improve their chances of making it in. Since returning to the lineup, Tua Tagovailoa has thrown for 1,277 yards, completed 76.5% of his passes and registered an 11-1 TD-INT ratio. The Packers will be without CB Jaire Alexander after he missed Sunday's game, and they also appear shorthanded at inside linebacker, perhaps thrusting rookie Ty'Ron Hopper into extended duty. Miami has a dangerous offense, provided the weather doesn’t slow it down.
- Packers might keep leaning on the run game. Sunday’s victory over the 49ers saw Green Bay flex its muscles on the ground, ringing up 169 yards and three TDs behind the strong efforts of Josh Jacobs. That’s now four straight games the Packers have eclipsed triple-digit rushing yards, and in doing so they’ve helped the red-zone execution. They went 5 for 5 on scoring touchdowns inside the 20-yard line, despite entering the game as one of the league’s worst red-zone teams. Jordan Love has been up and down, and he will be without Romeo Doubs, who will miss Thursday's game due to a concussion. Green Bay will still want to attack parts of Miami’s secondary, but the ground game has been an important part of its attack. The Dolphins’ defense has strung together three of their more encouraging defensive showings the past three weeks, and their defense has not allowed an opponent to run for more than 100 yards since Week 7. They’re also good in the red zone, which will test the Packers.
Black Friday
10-1
- WHERE: GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium (Kansas City, Mo.)
- WHEN: 3 p.m. ET | Prime Video
- Raiders hope AOC can end the bleeding in Arrowhead. The Raiders are turning to Aidan O'Connell at quarterback after Gardner Minshew suffered a broken collarbone in Sunday’s loss to the Broncos, Las Vegas’ seventh straight loss. O’Connell was a good-luck charm 11 months ago against the Chiefs at Arrowhead on Christmas Day, leading a shocking 20-14 upset, although he was hardly the reason why. The Raiders needed two defensive TDs to win, with O’Connell completing only 9 of 21 passes for 62 yards in the win. Friday will be O’Connell’s first game back since suffering a broken thumb in Week 7 against the Rams. This season he has completed 52 of 82 passes (63.4%) for 455 yards, two TDs and two INTs. He has not attempted a single run in four games. The Chiefs shut down the Raiders’ run game and rang up five sacks in the teams' Week 8 matchup, but allowed Minshew to have some success getting the ball to Brock Bowers and Jakobi Meyers. It has been a tougher stretch for the Chiefs’ defense recently, allowing each of the past four opponents to drive for what was (or could have been) a game-winning or game-tying drive late in regulation. Possibly getting Charles Omenihu back from injury could add a little juice up front.
- Chiefs need to flex their muscles. A slew of close games has made the Chiefs’ quest to win a third straight Super Bowl title a grind. Sunday’s narrow win over the Panthers was their eighth win this season -- and fourth in a row -- to be decided by single digits. This is a team that could use a blowout for the good of its soul. Granted, they also faced nail biters and unexpected losses last season en route to a title, but a big offensive showing might light a little fire under the Chiefs for the stretch run. Patrick Mahomes and Co. have been more consistently productive since the bye, but they’ve also left some meat on the bone, hitting the 30-point mark last week for only the second time this season. The potential return of RB Isiah Pacheco, who has been out since Week 2 with an ankle injury, could loom large. The Chiefs ran for 165 yards Sunday at Carolina, but 60 of those came from Mahomes. With Pacheco out, the Chiefs have had to find new ways to generate yards and first downs. They can still do it though the air, and Travis Kelce had one of his biggest games of the season in the first meeting against the Raiders this season. But having more ground power can’t hurt a Chiefs offense that really could use a big outing.