Every year, football fans plant themselves on the couch to watch marquee NFL matchups after filling their bellies with turkey. The traditional Thanksgiving games provide a great way to bring families together throughout the holiday in addition to their time around the dinner table. This year, nothing has changed as there are three games scheduled; each with the potential to be exciting.
To start a day filled with turkey and football the Chicago Bears are set to travel to Michigan to take on the Detroit Lions. These division rivals have had a long history, and it is punctuated by the Bears’ advantage in the teams’ all-time series. The team has a 25-game lead on their Motor City counterparts.
The Lions traditionally host a game on Thanksgiving, with last year’s contest also against the Bears. In that game, Chicago safety Eddie Jackson made an electrifying play by intercepting Lions’ quarterback Matthew Stafford in the fourth quarter and scoring the go-ahead touchdown. The Bears would go onto win 23-16.
The 2018 Chicago Bears team, however, was a noticeably different team from the team this year. They finished last season with a 12-4 record, shutting teams down with a suffocating defense and efficient offense stemming from quarterback Mitchell Trubisky’s play. However, this year the team has been struggling on both sides of the ball, with fans calling for the departure of third-year signal caller Trubisky.
The second game slated for Turkey Day is an early-90s throwback matchup between the Buffalo Bills and host Dallas Cowboys. Like the Lions, the Cowboys host a game every year on Thanksgiving; they were victorious over visiting division rival Washington Redskins last season with a score of 31-23. The Bills and Cowboys rarely meet during the regular season, with their last bout coming from four years ago in 2015. The history between these two teams comes from their back-to-back showdowns in the Super Bowl in 1993 and 1994. Bills fans who were around for the first four years of the 90s will remember the pain of going to four consecutive Super Bowls but walking away empty handed each time. Two of those loses came against the Cowboys, and the games weren’t close by any means.
Fast forward to this decade, however, and both teams have had solid 2019 campaigns so far, with the Bills off to their best start in 20 years and the Cowboys holding onto first place in the NFC East with a 6-4 record—one game ahead of the Philadelphia Eagles. Time will tell if the Bills can avenge those 20th century losses against the Cowboys and continue to perform this year.
The final Thanksgiving game will be a repeat of one from 2018, with the New Orleans Saints traveling to Atlanta, G.A. to take on their division rival Falcons. The history between these two teams is often glossed over when talking about the greatest rivalries in NFL history.
Since being drafted by the Falcons in 2008, quarterback Matt Ryan has only improved his abilities and continues to produce. He won the MVP award following the 2016 regular season and managed to lead his team to the Super Bowl. Unfortunately for Ryan, the New England Patriots managed to pull off one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the sport and stole a Lombardi trophy right from under his nose.
The Saints have been led by future Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees and crafty head coach Sean Payton, and are having yet another stellar season. Since joining the team in 2006, Brees has climbed his way to the top of statistical categories and brought New Orleans their first Super Bowl championship in 2010 under Payton’s play calling and guidance. After already losing at home to a surging Falcons team this season, the Saints are gearing up to even the 2019 series to one game apiece.
The NFL is giving us three games this year that have the potential to become exciting matchups, which means three opportunities to eat more than we probably should.