Three games highlight the Week 12 slate on Thanksgiving Day in the NFL, and the great thing is that all of these games play a big role in the playoff picture going forward. Gone are the days where Thanksgiving football had no impact on the division and conference races as had been the last couple of years.
No more snooze fests aided by the food coma.
We have some good ones this year.
Houston Texans as Detroit Lions (12:30 pm ET, CBS)
The one-loss Houston Texans go on the road to Detroit to take on a Lions team needing a win to stay in the NFC playoff picture. the Lions suffered a big loss at the hands of NFC North rival Green Bay on Sunday, and need to rebound. On the other side of the field, Houston survived against a one-loss Jacksonville team in overtime that certainly exposed some vulnerabilities. The Texans are trying to move towards clinching the AFC South and the No.1 seed in the conference. They are just one game up on Baltimore in the AFC though.
Washington Redskins at Dallas Cowboys (4:15 pm ET, FOX)
The Cowboys are just one game behind the Giants in the NFC East for the division lead, while one up on the Redskins. This is a big one in terms of the NFC East, with a Dallas win putting the pressure on New York on Sunday. We thought at the start of the year the NFC East would be interesting, and so far, even without Philadelphia in the picture, it has been, Dallas escaped Cleveland with an overtime win, and are now back to .500 at 5-5 on the season. Let’s see how they respond.
New England Patriots at New York Jets (8:20 pm ET, NBC)
After all of the turkey is gone, sit back and relax with some prime time NFL action in the AFC East on Thanksgiving night. The New England Patriots will travel to take on the New York Jets. The Patriots put up 59 points on the Colts last week, while the Jets took care of the St. Louis Rams. The Jets have struggled this season, and despite getting this one at home, aren’t expected to compete against the Patriots. New England is simply playing too good right now, and the Jets have no playmakers on offense. Zero.