NFL Thanksgiving, Black Friday capsules
–Thursday
Chicago Bears (4-7) at Detroit Lions (10-1), 12:30 p.m. ET, CBS
With a nine-game winning streak and 2-0 record in the division, the Lions are no easy prey for the Bears in the first game of the holiday tripleheader on Thursday. Chicago lost another game in walkoff fashion, 30-27 to the Vikings in overtime, their third such defeat in a five-game losing streak to deflate a feel-good 4-2 start. Signs of growth are evident for Bears rookie No. 1 pick Caleb Williams. Facing Minnesota’s notably blitz-happy defense, Williams guided the Bears to 17 points in the fourth quarter to force OT. He had his third 300-yard game of the season and hasn’t thrown an interception during the ongoing five-game skid. A lasting pain point since the Bears tasted victory at London in Week 6 is execution on third downs converting 21 of 73 since the bye week. With the short and fruitless drives becoming habitual, Chicago has seen improvement with Thomas Brown calling plays the past two games, although there are signs of a weary defense late in games. No time for a breather at Ford Field. The Lions are all-gas, no-brakes with 10 total touchdowns the past eight quarters. The Bears have 12 touchdowns in their past six games. Old friend David Montgomery faces his former Bears’ teammates and is doing his part to put points up for the Lions with 11 rushing TDs in 11 games. Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown has more touchdowns (nine) than all Bears wide receivers combined (eight). Chicago’s defense picked off Jared Goff five times in two games last season. He has 20 touchdown passes — one TD catch — and seven games with multiple TD passes in 2024. In recent games, the Bears’ defense is getting scorched. Chicago has surrendered a league-worst 1,977 total yards since Week 8.
New York Giants (2-9) at Dallas Cowboys (4-7), 4:30 p.m. ET, FOX
Backup Tommy DeVito didn’t enjoy much of his first start this season for the Giants behind an offensive line breached by the Buccaneers repeatedly. DeVito, elevated to the starting role upon the demotion and release of Daniel Jones, was sacked four times and hit early and often. But there are a couple of reasons the Giants might stick around in the rematch of their 20-15 loss to Dallas earlier this season. For starters, the Cowboys are 0-5 at home and also pushed their backup into a starting role. Cooper Rush threw two TD passes last week but he wasn’t entirely responsible for Dallas putting up 34 points to upset Washington. They also had two implausible fourth-quarter kickoff return TDs and the Commanders suffered self-inflicted wounds, not the least of which was a missed extra point that would have tied the game at 27 with 14 seconds remaining. Given the state of affairs in New York, where rookie WR Malik Nabers defined the team’s effort as soft, and the questionable health of DeVito’s offensive line, the Cowboys are favored to sweep the two-game series from the Giants for the fourth consecutive season. Rush (knee) started the week hobbled but head coach Mike McCarthy said he was confident the QB would be ready for Thursday.
Miami Dolphins (5-6) at Green Bay Packers (8-3), 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC
If it’s Miami on the road late in the season, we’re talking temperature and the Dolphins’ miserable record in sub-freezing conditions tells a depressing tale for the fish. Miami is 0-12 in its last 12 games when temps at kickoff are 26 degrees or lower and it could be at or under that number Thursday night. Green Bay’s offensive line is setting the tone of late and it is built for plowing the path in front of RB Josh Jacobs, a downhill runner who is breaking tackles and taking names. Jacobs has six rushing touchdowns and three games with 95 rushing yards or more in the past four contests. The Dolphins haven’t proven capable of being a run-first outfit with De’Von Achane limited to 32 yards on 10 carries last week. But he flashes big-play potential as a secondary option to QB Tua Tagovailoa. Since returning from IR, Tagovailoa has 1,043 passing yards, 10 TD passes and a completion percentage over 77. The Packers are in the primetime spotlight the next four weeks while attempting to work their way up the playoff pecking order. They’ve won five of the past six games with the Dolphins. This is the second consecutive game for Packers coach Matt LaFleur opposing a former co-worker in Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel. He beat Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers last week. All three overlapped on staffs with the Houston Texans (2008), Washington Redskins (2011-13) and Atlanta Falcons (2015-16).
–Friday
Las Vegas Raiders (2-9) at Kansas City Chiefs (10-1), 3 p.m. ET, Amazon Prime
Normally cool and collected Chiefs coach Andy Reid nearly witnessed the coronary in Carolina courtesy of Bryce Young and the Panthers, who darted back into the game Sunday from an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit to force a game-ending field goal by Kansas City’s fill-in kicker Spencer Shrader. As if there was a reason needed to take the Raiders seriously, Las Vegas beat Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City on Christmas Day last season. Reid is 19-4 against the Raiders with the Chiefs and Mahomes is 11-2 since becoming the starter in 2018. Mahomes will become the Chiefs’ all-time leader in TD passes with his next score, breaking an existing tie with Len Dawson (237). Mahomes has an entertaining history with Raiders pass rusher Maxx Crosby, largely out of respectful competition. Crosby’s stamina will be tested by the Chiefs’ methodical offense. Kansas City is first in the NFL in 10-play drives (32) and third-down percentage (52.7), areas where the Raiders’ defense is below-average. Las Vegas is No. 22 in the NFL in third-down defense and allowed 104 total points in the past three games. Raiders QB Aidan O’Connell is preparing to start Friday and make his first appearance since a thumb injury sent him to IR Week 7. O’Connell returns to an offense leaning heavily on rookie TE Brock Bowers to produce. He leads the team with 74 receptions, 744 yards and three TD catches. He had five receptions for 55 yards in the Raiders’ 27-20 loss to the Chiefs on Oct. 27.
–Field Level Media
Comments