Santiago Leon and Dan Madden preview the 2023 #NFL Thanksgiving Games.
Contributors
Santiago Leon – @sleon
Dan Madden – @danimal2478
PHI 21 KC 17
the Eagles shut out Patrick Mahomes and Co. over the final 30 minutes. Jalen Hurts overcame a poor start in a cold, driving rain to run for a pair of touchdowns, and his go-ahead tush-push in the fourth quarter allowed the Eagles to walk away with a 21-17 victory.
The Eagles (9-1) became the first team to win at least nine of their first 10 games in consecutive seasons since the Colts in 2005-06, and they did it by beating former coach Andy Reid for the first time in five tries since he landed in Kansas City.
The Chiefs still had a chance with less than 2 minutes to go, converting on fourth down and getting help from a roughing-the-passer penalty. But a perfectly placed ball from Mahomes went right through the hands of Marquez Valdes-Scantling for a would-be 51-yard touchdown, and the Eagles stopped Kansas City on fourth down to put the game away.
D’Andre Swift, who ran for 76 yards and a score, and DeVonta Smith, who caught six balls for 99 yards.
Mahomes was held to 177 yards passing with two touchdowns and an interception in the end zone. Isiah Pacheco added 89 yards rushing for the Chiefs, who couldn’t overcome their two red-zone turnovers and a plethora of penalties.
PIT 10 CLE 13
The Cleveland Browns defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 13-10 in a key AFC North game on Sunday, November 19, 2023. The Browns’ Dustin Hopkins kicked a 34-yard field goal with two seconds remaining to win the game.
Rookie quarterback: Dorian Thompson-Robinson started in place of the injured Deshaun Watson.
Offensive struggles: The two quarterbacks combined for only 271 passing yards.
Steelers running back: Jaylen Warren had one long run.
Thanksgiving Day:
• Packers (+7.5) at Lions (12:30pm ET, Fox): Detroit has hosted a Thanksgiving Day game every year since 1934 (save during World War II) — their first year in the Motor City — after the new owner conceived of the idea as a way to attract fans in the Tigers-crazed city.
• Commanders (+11) at Cowboys (4:30pm, CBS): Dallas has hosted in all but two years since 1966, when GM Tex Schramm thought it would garner more national publicity for his franchise. A decade later, they came to be known as “America’s Team.” Guess it worked.
• 49ers (-7) at Seahawks (8:20pm, NBC): The NFL added a third Thanksgiving Day game in 2006, giving viewers a primetime matchup to cap an 11-hour day of food and football.
Black Friday: Amazon is streaming the league’s first-ever Black Friday game as part of its $11 billion deal to stream “Thursday Night Football.” As you might imagine, given Amazon’s place as the world’s largest online retailer, there will be Black Friday deals aplenty during the livestream.
• Dolphins (-10) at Jets (3pm, Prime Video): The NFL chose the Jets as the inaugural host because New York is the nation’s retail capital, and the Giants are playing on Christmas.
Sunday:
• Early window: Saints (-1) at Falcons (1pm, Fox); Steelers (-1) at Bengals (1pm, CBS); Panthers (+3.5) at Titans (1pm, Fox); Buccaneers (+2.5) at Colts (1pm, CBS); Patriots (-3) at Giants (1pm, Fox); Jaguars (-1.5) at Texans (1pm, CBS)
• Afternoon: Browns (+2.5) at Broncos (4:05pm, Fox); Rams (-1) at Cardinals (4:05pm, Fox); Chiefs (-9) at Raiders (4:25pm, CBS); Bills (+3) at Eagles (4:25pm, CBS)
• Night: Ravens (-3.5) at Chargers (8:20pm, NBC)
Santiago Leon is the Founder and CEO of the Sports Cast. He covers NFL, NBA, and world soccer. He’s also founder of sleon productions, which he specializes in technology and serves clients with solutions to make their business grow.
