The NFL has a stacked lineup in store for this year’s American Thanksgiving.
While Turkey-stuffed football fans are usually uninterested in watching the Dallas Cowboys or the Detroit Lions, this year will be noticeably different. Both the Cowboys and Lions are playing in must-win division games that have a major impact on the playoff race.
Thursday programming alert: Watch Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions on City at 12:30 p.m. ET, Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys on City at 4:30 p.m. ET, Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers on Sportsnet at 8:00 p.m. ET || Broadcast schedule
First, the Lions — losers of two straight — host the rival Chicago Bears in the midst of trying to avoid another late-season collapse before the Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles face off in a crucial NFC East battle with the potential to produce a wild shootout.
In the main event, the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers clash for the first time since last January’s nail-biting NFC Championship. Expect yet another heavyweight fight in what has become the league’s fiercest rivalry.
With both teams sitting at 7-4, the 49ers have bigger things to worry about then getting revenge on Richard Sherman. Sure, they’ll remember his game-sealing tip and his crazed rant about Michael Crabtree, but Jim Harbaugh’s team is more concerned about jumping the Seahawks in the standings.
Here are three things to watch in each of Thursday’s Thanksgiving Day games:
CHICAGO BEARS AT DETROIT LIONS, 12:30 P.M. ET – CITY
Lions’ offence needs to awaken: The Lions haven’t scored a touchdown since the fourth quarter of their win over the Miami Dolphins…three weeks ago. Since then, Detroit has managed a total of 12 points in two consecutive losses. Currently sitting seventh in the NFC, Matt Stafford and company need to wake up to stay alive. Luckily, the Lions’ offence is facing a Bears’ defence that ranks 30th in points allowed, 28th in pass yards given up and has given up at least 350 yards of offence eight times this season.
Time for Megatron to power up: Calvin Johnson made a big impact after returning from injury Week 10 against the Dolphins, racking up 113 yards and a touchdown. In the two games since, however, Megatron has just 117 receiving yards and zero scores. Golden Tate has been a spectacular addition to the Lions’ offence – maybe the best free-agent signing this season – but with Detroit staring down the barrel of a second-straight late-season meltdown, Johnson has to be the driving force. The good news is the big man has hauled in a touchdown in five straight Turkey Day games.
Bears should follow in Patriots footsteps: With a 5-6 record and plenty of quality teams ahead of them in the NFC standings, the Bears’ chances of a post-season berth are slim-to-none. On the bright side, Chicago will get plenty of chances to play spoiler down the stretch, with the first opportunity to embrace the role coming Thursday. The Bears have been disappointing of late on offence, but if Marc Trestman needs a game plan to maul the Lions, he need look no further than last week’s tape and watch Tom Brady shred Detroit’s defence. Not to say Jay Cutler even compares to Brady, but with the offensive weapons the Bears have in their arsenal – Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffrey and Matt Forte – Chicago could easily employ the pass-heavy approach the Patriots used to roast the Lions last Sunday.
PREDICTIONS
LOWE: DET 21, CHI 10
SIMMONS: DET 27, CHI 17
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES AT DALLAS COWBOYS, 4:30 P.M. ET — CITY
Loser could miss out on post-season: The Cowboys and Eagles face off twice in the next three weeks, and the team that comes out on the wrong end of these critical NFC East matchups has a good shot of missing the post-season entirely. The NFC playoff picture is packed, and two of the Eagles, Cowboys, Cardinals, Seahawks, 49ers, Packers and Lions will not be playing in January. Considering the winner of the NFC South will probably finish under .500, that doesn’t seem fair, but it means the team that doesn’t claim the NFC East title is likely to miss out on playoff football.
Talk about high stakes.
Cowboys offensive line versus Eagles defensive line: If you missed the Cowboys’ game-winning drive against the Giants on Sunday night, you missed a display of pass-blocking mastery.
Dallas has used three of its last four first-round picks on offensive linemen, and the strategy has paid off in a big way. Not only is DeMarco Murray trampling opponents, Tony Romo has what seems like minutes in the pocket and is having the best season of his tumultuous career. On the other side of the ball, the Eagles boast one of the league’s best defensive lines – Philadelphia ranks second in sacks with 38, led by Connor Barwin’s 12.5. And just to make things interesting, nose tackle Bennie Logan – who has yet to record a sack this season, by the way – let it be known Monday he’s not impressed by what Dallas’ big men have done.
Pay attention to this battle in the trenches.
Battle of top running backs: If you enjoy the running game, you’ll be giving thanks Thursday afternoon. This crucial NFC East battle features two of the league’s top backs in Murray and LeSean McCoy. Murray, who leads the NFL in rushing yards (1,354) and 100-yard games (10), has been vital to the Cowboys’ surprising success this season. The fourth-year back is 403 yards clear in the race for the rushing title and is on pace for nearly 2,000. McCoy — otherwise known as Shady — led the NFL in rushing last season but hasn’t had nearly as much success in 2014 despite accumulating the third-most yards on the ground this season. A strong showing last week against the lowly Titans gave Eagles fans a glimpse of what could be a strong stretch run for the sixth-year pro, something Philadelphia will need to beat Dallas and make a post-season push.
PREDICTIONS
LOWE: PHI 31, DAL 24
SIMMONS: PHI 34, DAL 31
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS AT SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS, 8 P.M. ET – SPORTSNET
Can Seattle win in Santa Clara? Since joining the Seahawks, Pete Carroll has never won a game in San Francisco. The 49ers have won at home in each of Carroll’s four attempts, including last season’s 19-17 victory on Dec. 8 that snapped the Seahawks’ seven-game winning streak. But this time, the game will be in Santa Clara. Historically, Seattle has been a mediocre road team, and they haven’t helped that moniker with a 2-3 record away from CenturyLink Field in 2014. If Seattle wants to stay alive in the NFC West division race, they’ll need to reverse the trend.
Which Frank Gore will show up? Frank Gore hasn’t been the dominant force that 49ers fans are used to seeing, but he remains productive at the age of 31. He’s still averaging four yards per carry, but the powerful running back has not exceeded the 100-yard mark since early October. The Seahawks will be on alert, however. Gore has burned Seattle in the past – especially in San Francisco – and he’ll be looking for a big game after posting just 16 yards on nine carries in the NFC Championship. If Gore hits triple digits this time around, you have to give the edge to the 49ers.
Will Jonathan Martin hold up in pass protection? The 49ers won’t have starting right tackle Anthony Davis available for Thursday’s game, so backup Jonathan Martin will take over the spot. Yes, the same Jonathan Martin who was the focus of Miami’s bullying scandal last season. The offensive lineman will have his hands full trying to block Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett, who both rank in the top 10 in pass rush productivity by Pro Football Focus when lining up on the left side. Avril had two sacks — both from the left side — in last week’s win over Arizona and the veteran pass rusher caused problems for the 49ers’ linemen in last year’s NFC title game. How Martin holds up in the trenches could be the defining story of the game.
PREDICTIONS
LOWE: SEA 17, SF 10
SIMMONS: SF 23, SEA 20
