I always love Thanksgiving football with a passion; it's a wonderful part of an amazing holiday that also includes family time, and WONDERFUL DELICIOUS FOOD!!! First off, a bit of a history lesson that I myself just learned. So Thanksgiving NFL football has actually been a thing longer than I thought; NFL games have been playing on Thanksgiving ever since the league started back in 1920. It wasn't until 1934 that the Detroit Lions started the tradition of hosting a game on Turkey Day, while the Dallas Cowboys started hosting Thanksgiving games in 1966. 

For decades, it was just those two teams on Thanksgiving, with the Lions playing in the early time slot, while the Cowboys were the second game in the late time slot. A third game was added in 2006, and that third game was often on primetime and featured various teams--usually teams who had a shot at going somewhere. The NFL Network used to air that third game, but NBC has aired the third Thanksgiving game since 2011. I remember for a number of years, many NFL fans and talking heads suggested removing the Lions from Thanksgiving because of their perennial bad years, which included going 0-16 in 2008. I recall that year, the Lions hosted the Green Bay Packers on Turkey Day.

Regarding this year, the Lions host the Chicago Bears in an NFC North clash. The second game will see the Dallas Cowboys face the New York Giants, a game that has been on the receiving end of mocking and eyerolls from fans because neither team has a realistic shot at the playoffs this year, but the game should still be a good one. Finally, the third game will feature the Miami Dolphins and the aforementioned Packers--marking the second straight year that the Packers will play on Thanksgiving. On the following day, Black Friday, the Las Vegas Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs will face each other, and that game will air on Amazon Prime.

During this NFL weekend, three teams have a chance to clinch playoff spots. The Buffalo Bills are in if they win and the Dolphins lose. The Chiefs can get in as early as Friday if the Dolphins lose on Thursday and KC wins on Friday. The Lions can get in, but they'll need a win and a hell of a lot of outside help. The Bills play against the San Francisco 49ers on NBC's Sunday Night Football.

This week will be amazing, I'm very excited for Week 13 and I'm especially looking forward to Thanksgiving!!

Here's my story about Week 13's playoff picture:  Let's Get This Party Started! (Week 13)