Welcome to Turkey Day! And Turkey weekend! Thanksgiving is here, and so too one of the biggest weeks in the NFL calendar. Some might say this is where the season truly begins. Well, it was once a famous quote by Bill Belichick, at least.
The first instance of American Football being played on Thanksgiving Day itself was way back in 1876 - not long after the sport itself came into being - while the first NFL game came in 1920, the year of the league's launch.
In that inaugural Thanksgiving clash, the Decatur Staleys faced off against the Chicago Tigers, with the Staleys winning 6-0. Those very same Staleys went on to become the franchise we now know as the Chicago Bears, while the Tigers folded at the end of that season.
The 100-plus year tradition resumes on Thursday, when the SportNews NFL team bring you the action live from AT&T Stadium in Dallas as the Cowboys face the Kansas City Chiefs as part of a Thanksgiving Day triple-header. We are back on the road again!
There has long-been a notion we are creeping into season-defining territory for Chiefs amid a stuttering campaign in which their playoff hopes have felt under unwavering threat. That may have been premature such is their nature and knack to find new and different ways to keep themselves alive. But now, this really is a window in which their fate will be decided.
They just delivered the latest warning sign of their ability to turn it on when the stakes are high, blunting Jonathan Taylor and Shane Steichen's high-powered Indiana offense by way of the stubborn defense that guided them to three straight Super Bowls. Andy Reid's side refuse to fade in the face of setbacks and inconsistency, and ever so often this year there is the feeling their rivals may rue not finishing them off for good. Time will tell, but January football is their baby - they need only get there.
Now comes the league's most potent passing attack in the Dak Prescott-led Dallas Cowboys, who have conjured a renewed belief in their own playoff credentials after out-battling the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in a stunning 21-point comeback win. George Pickens is a menace, and is beginning to assert himself among the league's most feared 'catches everything' receivers. Spags has his work cut out.
It is a Thanksgiving blockbuster between past and present titans with the potential to become the most-watched regular season game in NFL history.
A major storyline meanwhile awaits in the last of three games on Thursday with quarterback Joe Burrow primed to make his return for the Cincinnati Bengals from a turf toe injury that has sidelined him for the last nine games. The question is - is it worth it? Cincinnati enter their matchup with the Baltimore Ravens 3-8 and looking likely to miss out on the postseason in another wasted year for their talented roster. With Burrow under center they are legitimate contenders, as much as it fuels frustration over the former LSU man's latest injury setback.
And it would not be Thanksgiving without the Detroit Lions, who have endured hiccups while blessed with the luxury of leaning on game-changing individuals. They meet the Green Bay Packers, for whom the coming weeks present Jordan Love an opportunity to cement his ascent as one of the league's premier, needle-moving quarterbacks.
SportNews statistician - and Buffalo Bills fan - Benedict Bermange breaks down some of the key stats heading into Thursday's Thanksgiving matchups...
Green Bay Packers (7-3-1) @ Detroit Lions (7-4) - KO 6pm, SportNews NFL & Main Event
The Packers defense enters Thursday ranked fourth in total yards allowed and sixth against the run, with a Jahmyr Gibbs problem awaiting them in their bid to distance themselves from Detroit in the NFC North. Gibbs just exploded for 219 rushing yards and two touchdowns alongside 45 catches for a score, including a decisive 69-yard overtime house call, to inspire the Lions to a comeback win over the New York Giants, to rise to fifth in scrimmage yards in the NFL. Gibbs now has the second most scrimmage yards in the NFL since entering the league in 2023 and has feasted as a driving force in Detroit's playoff charge this season since Dan Campbell took over play-calling duties.
Packers wide receiver Jayden Reed was recently cleared to return from injured reserve having not practiced since Week Two, though the availability of both he and running back Josh Jacobs, who sat out Sunday's win over the Minnesota Vikings, remains unconfirmed. Emanuel Wilson profited significantly in the absence of Jacobs with 28 carries for 107 yards and two touchdowns to strengthen his case for an expanded role on a quiet day for Jordan Love and the passing game.
Kansas City Chiefs (6-5) @ Dallas Cowboys (5-5-1) - KO 9.30pm, SportNews NFL & Main Event
This one awaits as Steve Spagnuolo's Chiefs defense versus Dak Prescott's Cowboys offense. Kansas City's beloved defensive coordinator Spagnuolo just limited rushing leader Jonathan Taylor to 58 yards from 16 carries and is now tasked with blunting the NFL's No 1 passing attack led by Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, the latter of whom was outstanding in their 21-point comeback win over the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.
Spags has been seeking to squeeze every ounce of Hall of Fame-bound production left in Chris Jones during the latter stages of his career. The defensive lineman has long had a knack for rising to the biggest plays and the biggest moments as a one-man game-wrecker at times in Kansas City, so often thriving in the playoffs. And while his production and influence has undoubtedly regressed, he is coming off his best game of the year after hounding Daniel Jones to match his crowd-igniting animation on the sideline. The Chiefs are the fourth-ranked scoring defense - can they stop the fourth-ranked scoring attack?
Cincinnati Bengals (3-8) @ Baltimore Ravens (6-5) - KO 1.20am Friday morning, SportNews NFL & Main Event
The Baltimore Ravens are riding a five-game winning streak, the last four of which have arrived under the guidance of Lamar Jackson since his four-touchdown return to action against the Miami Dolphins. The two-time MVP quarterback had missed three games due to a hamstring issue, and has continued to nurse knee and ankle issues over the past couple of weeks while working his way back to top form.
A Lamar Jackson far from his electric, elusive and window-threading best is still winning games, which is the major positive for John Harbaugh's side, but the Ravens will want to consolidate the AFC North sooner rather than later with the playoffs in sight. The rare sight has been his limited impact on the ground, where his legs aren't shredding defenses quite like they usually do; Jackson enters Thursday with just 46 carries for 237 yards and one touchdown.
Not only is Burrow expected back, but the Bengals are also set to have star receiver Ja'Marr Chase at their disposal once more after he served a one-game suspension for spitting at Steelers cornerback Jalen Ramsey.
Back in 1934, Detroit radio station owner George A Richards had just bought the then-Portsmouth Spartans - founded five years earlier - before deciding to relocate the team to Detroit.
But crowds did not initially flock to watch following the move. College football and baseball tended to dominate the sporting landscape of the time, and the Lions were left playing catch up to the Tigers, who had just won the 1934 American League pennant.
The Lions' largest crowd early in that season peaked at around 15,000, prompting Richards to stage a game on Thanksgiving in a bid to boost local and national recognition for his team.
The undefeated Bears duly obliged to play out the biggest game of the season in front of a sell-out 26,000 strong crowd - with many more having to be turned away at the gates. The Lions would lose 19-16, a tradition they have, on the whole, stayed loyal to while playing on Thanksgiving ever since.
The Super Bowl-less franchise have won just seven of 25 Thanksgiving match-ups since the turn of the century, including seven straight defeats since from 2016 onwards before snapping the run with a 23-20 victory over the Bears last November. Their poor return had previously raised questions over their inclusion in the NFL's most prominent prime-time window, though such questions have since disappeared such is Detroit's new-found Super Bowl contention as one of the league's most talented and entertaining teams.
Dallas, famously nicknamed 'America's Team', meanwhile, return to their familiar Thanksgiving slot as one of the most valuable sporting franchises on the planet, despite their agonising wait for another Super Bowl.
They have held a stake of Thanksgiving since 1966, with two exceptions in 1975 and 1977 when, at the behest of then-commissioner Pete Rozelle, the St Louis Cardinals replaced Dallas as a host team. But a series of ugly losses, and underwhelming attendances combined to see the Cowboys back on centre stage on the holiday ever since.
Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes after Sunday's win over the Colts: "We're still not where we want to be at but this was big."
Cowboys QB Dak Prescott on WR George Pickens: "My expectations are limitless with that guy, and he'll tell you, he's not from here. He's not from here. He's not from this planet."
Lions QB Jared Goff on RB Jahmyr Gibbs: "You can tell the fear in the defense when the ball gets in his hands, the way they rally to him."
Bengals HC Zac Taylor on Joe Burrow: "Winning is important. We want to win, and Joe gives us a great chance to win. Again, Flacco has given us every opportunity. We haven't lost games because of Joe Flacco. He's gone out there and given us everything, and he understands that."
Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase apologises for spitting on Steelers CB Jalen Ramsey: "What I did was wrong. The circumstances don't matter. My passion for the game is no excuse. There's zero place in our sport - or in life - for that level of disrespect. I want to personally apologise to everyone within the Pittsburgh Steelers organisation. I let my emotions in the moment get the better of me. I can only hope and trust you know none of it represents who I am - not as a competitor, team-mate or person."
Rams WR Davante Adams on QB Matthew Stafford: "He's playing like the most valuable player in the league."
SportNews NFL's Neil Reynolds explores the Dallas Cowboys resurgence as they brace for one of the most-watched games in NFL history.
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"I think that female flag football players are going to be the icons of LA 2028, it's happening."
Meet Samuel Oram-Jones, the old team-mate of George Russell and Max Verstappen who left racing and built an American football career spanning Nashville, Tokyo, Prague and Berlin.
Gabi Bankhardt is Samba. She is Bossa Nova. She is Christ the Redeemer and she is Carnival. She is the favelas. She is churrasco and she is Copacabana. She is mutirao.
Meet the face of Brazilian Flag Football inspiring the next generation of Latin American boys and girls.
Benson Jerry. The kid with the fancy footwork. The kid who borrowed 30p for the bus. The kid who had never tried lasagne. The kid who had never flown. The no-longer-a-kid becoming the inspiration kids like him never had.
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