NFL Thanksgiving Day open thread

Ed: Happy Thanksgiving to all of the NFL fans at Hot Air! On this day, we love nothing better than getting our fill of turkeys — except on the field. Last week Jazz and I tied at 5-2, which brings my season record to 54-25. Seeing how a few of my earlier seasons turned out here, that record’s something for which to be thankful, along with all of the usual blessings to be counted.

Jazz: That 5-2 week was the best I’ve done pretty much all season, bringing me to 38 and 42 on the year. One more good week could possibly get me back to 500. Things were not as good at Politinerds, where Ed scored another win while I was crushed by Doug Mataconis. I’ve fallen to third place at 6-6 while Ed has 2nd all to himself. Must do better.

Ed: The NFL serves up three games today, and hopefully not a turkey among them. All three are big rivalries, and all three have playoff implications, although that doesn’t apply to all six teams. The schedule starts at 12:30 (all times ET) in Detroit:

• Bears at Lions (12:30, CBS) – Da Bears may be struggling at home, but they do a little better on the road. Unfortunately for them, Detroit plays pretty good at home and the Lions really need to win to keep up with the Packers. Detroit has a strong passing defense and the #1 rushing defense, along with a tenth-ranked passing offense. Every phase of Chicago’s game is mediocre … at best. Lions will gobble up Da Bears in this one, 24-13.
• Eagles at Cowboys (4:30, Fox) – This will be the game of the day, with the two teams in a tie for the NFC East lead. Neither team is playing lights-out defense, and the Eagles offense is at least a little less reliable on the road under Mark Sanchez. Dallas just took two easy road wins and gets to come home where they only have a .500 record. It’ll be a great game, maybe down to the last minute or even OT, but Dallas has to have the edge here with their running game and (dare I say?) Tony Romo’s experience as the difference. Cowboys 37-34 over the Eagles.
• Seahawks at 49ers (8:30, NBC) – This should also be a good game between division rivals, but this game won’t decide the lead; Arizona is two games in front of both. It might be big for the wild card race. Seattle has a tough defense and the #1 rushing offense, but its passing game is near the bottom of the league. San Francisco has almost the same situation, although their rushing game isn’t quite as good nor their passing game quite as bad. The 49ers have won three close games in a row, while Seattle’s coming off an upset win against the Cardinals. I’ll go with the hot hand this time and pick Seattle in a mild upset, 21-17.

Jazz:

• Bears at Lions (12:30, CBS) – The Lions have started looking a little more like those lions again and their average points per game has not been impressive of late. But the Bears defense is pretty weak against the pass and Stafford may not look great, but he should be up to this task. Lions win this in an air war 24-17.
• Eagles at Cowboys (4:30, Fox) – The Cowboys looked great against the Giants last week, but they have been far better on the road than at home. There’s an opportunity here for the Eagles, but it all comes down to … (I CAN NOT BELIEVE I’M ABOUT TO TYPE THIS) Mark Sanchez. Assuming that he only performs the butt fumble when playing for the Jets, he may just deliver against the Boys. I’ll take the Eagles 31-21.
• Seahawks at 49ers (8:30, NBC) – I’m really not sure why the niners are coming into this game as a 1.5 point favorite. Their offense hasn’t been able to rack up all that many points, even against mediocre opponents. Seattle has lost a lot of their locker room drama by shipping their problem child to the Jets. Also, their defense is still strong enough to handle San Francisco. I’ll also take the Seahawks in a close match, 24-21.

Ed: The New York Post reminds us of Mark Sanchez’ notorious Thanksgiving Day 2012 play that first introduced the term “butt fumble” into the NFL lexicon:

Mark Sanchez and Thanksgiving go together like “butt” and “fumble.”

The ex-Jets quarterback gets a golden chance to make that sentence hurt a lot less here Thursday afternoon.

After spending the past two years trying — and failing — to live down his infamous Thanksgiving night butt-fumble against the Patriots, Sanchez couldn’t ask for a better opportunity to redeem himself than leading the Eagles over the archrival Cowboys at AT&T Stadium.

While video clips of Sanchez running into the behind of Brandon Moore and fumbling in a 49-19 home loss will never not be hilarious, helping 8-3 Philly knock 8-3 Dallas out of a first-place tie in the NFC East would certainly help Sanchez regain some dignity.

Aaaaaaand here’s the Post’s sports page in print for today:

Ah, New York Post — never change, and never forgive, I guess. The Eagles hope it’s not Call of Booty 2 today, of course.

Happy Thanksgiving!