November 26, 2014
by Dakota Antelman
Over the past few decades, football as an industry has grown to the point where it has become an integral part of a holiday devoted towards spending time with family. We eat our mounds and mounds of food and then collapse into our recliners, stuffed and happy, to watch football that most of the time does not involve our team.
But at its core, football is tradition. Thanksgiving and football are forever linked. As a result, as much as we pour over making our mashed potatoes and cooking up our turkey just right, we cannot help but glance to the sports world in eager anticipation of an edition of Thursday Night Football that nobody complains about playing on.
This year's slate of NFL Thanksgiving games includes three match ups. The Bears and Lions will throw down in Detroit at 12:30. The Eagles and Cowboys match up in a 4:30 divisional showdown all before the Seahawks and 49ers cap off the night with an 8:30 kickoff in Santa Clara.
Ahead of those games, Go Titletown gives you a trio of brief previews to give you all the background you need to fall asleep on the couch with the TV faintly broadcasting Al Michael's play by play across the living room...
Chicago Bears vs Detroit Lions - 12:30pm - Ford Field - Detroit, Michigan
The Detroit Lions (7-4) face off against the Chicago Bears (5-6) in the earliest game of the 2014 season. Kickoff is at 12:30 at Ford Field in Detroit with the Lions looking to avenge a harsh loss to the Patriots a week ago.
Of the Lions players looking to improve upon their performance last Sunday is quarterback Matthew Stafford. Stafford completed just 39% of his passes vs the Patriots further calling attention to a rather painful year for him.
Beyond Stafford, the Lions receivers will have to get better if they are to win this week. Namely, Calvin Johnson, who caught just four passes when matched up against New England CB Brandon Browner, knows he needs to work harder to simply beat coverage down the field. He is not sure where to start though.
"If I knew what was wrong, I would have already fixed it,” Johnson said.
Nonetheless, Bears quarterback Jay Cutler understands the potency of the Lions offence.
"Their offense is up and down at times but I'm sure they'll play well on Thursday," Cutler said. "They're reeling a bit, so we're going to get their very best shot.”
Even after Tom Brady ripped them apart last week, the Lions defense is one of the best in football allowing just over 17 points per game. Cutler and the Bears offense , which has had its own ups and downs this season, will also have their hands full trying to combat the wide array of defensive excellence that the Lions throw at them.
This game will be a marquee battle of desperate teams with quarterbacks hungry to prove their worth.
Philadelphia Eagles vs Dallas Cowboys - 4:30pm - AT&T Stadium - Arlington, Texas
Chip Kelly’s Philadelphia Eagles (8-3) and the surprisingly successful Dallas Cowboys (8-3) face off at 4:30 in balmy Arlington Texas.
The game will be huge for both teams as its winner will walk out of AT&T Stadium as the NFC East division leader.
“It's going to be a great game," Philadelphia DE, Fletcher Cox, said of the game. "I'm really excited, man. I'm looking forward to it. We're ready to roll. We're ready for Thursday."
The Eagles, who dropped 43 points on the Titans last week, will be relying on star running back LeSean McCoy to keep their momentum going through this marquee game. McCoy rushed for 130 yards and a touchdown vs the Titans seemingly rationalizing what was a tough week of preparation for the team.
Furthermore, though for some, a tough week like that, combined with the fact that Thursday’s game will start less than four days after the one in Tennessee, would be tiresome, the Eagles are riding enhanced emotions and intense anticipation of this game.
"I think the excitement and adrenaline can override how tired you are," receiver Jason Witten said. "It's a great opportunity for us. You can't worry about anything else. Just get through it and move forward."
The Cowboys team trying to stop Witten and McCoy, will be one with a similarly cast array of big playmakers. Dallas QB, Tony Romo has been, much to the delight of Cowboys fans, effective in the red zone this year. More specifically he is coming off of a lights out four touchdown performance a week ago in New York.
The Cowboys will also have a chance to take advantage of what is becoming a bit of a quarterback controversy in Philadelphia. Newly instated Mark Sanchez has been decent in the red zone but has thrown four interceptions in two games.
All and all, the Cowboys and Eagles will participate in what, on paper, seems to be the most competitive of this year’s Thanksgiving games.
Seattle Seahawks vs San Fransico 49er's - 8:30pm - Levi's Stadium - Santa Clara, California
Playing in the nightcap of Thursday’s set of games are the Seattle Seahawks (7-4) and the San Francisco 49ers (7-4).
Both teams have at times failed to live up to expectations this season but will likely put it all aside in what history predicts to be a great game.
Looking no further than last winter, the memories of Richard Sherman’s famed tip play on Colin Kaepernick’s pass in the final seconds of the NFC Championship Game are rehashed for the Seahawks and made raw for the 49ers.
Though Kaepernick insists that play is in the past, the memory of that game ads distinct fire and excitement to the lead up to this one.
"A Thanksgiving game where everybody will be watching," Seahawks quarterback Russel Wilson said. "Do you hype that up? Do you downgrade it? I don't know. It's going to kind of elevate the game in general, and it's the 49ers. It's one of those things you're gonna get pumped up for."
The game’s storylines go beyond Sherman and Crabtree though. As famous as Century Link Field is for its ability to disrupt games, 49ers fans are almost as loud, especially when the Seahawks are in town. This will also be Wilson’s first time playing in the new Levi’s Stadium.
"It's going to be a tough crowd, first time playing in that stadium," said Wilson.
It will be a tough crowd and a tough game.
Needless to say, the long awaited rematch of the NFC title game of 2013 will likely not disappoint.
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