Welcome to the Thanksgiving edition of the Week 13 grades!
Grab your family, grab some food and buckle up, because the NFL's best regular-season tradition is here: Thanksgiving football.
The Turkey Day action started with a wild game in Detroit where the Lions escaped with a 23-20 win over the Chicago Bears. The victory ended a seven-game losing streak on Thanksgiving for the Lions while improving their record to 11-1, which now gives them the best start in franchise history.
The second game of the day ended up being a good time for a Thanksgiving nap with the Cowboys taking down the Giants, 27-20, to pull off a season sweep of their NFC East rivals.
The Thanksgiving nightcap will be taking place on the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field between the Miami Dolphins and Green Bay Packers. The kickoff temperature is expected to be slightly under 30 degrees, which isn't great news for a Dolphins team that has struggled in cold weather. Including the playoffs, the Dolphins have lost 11 straight games when the kickoff temperature is under 40 degrees, so they'll be looking to end that streak.
With that in mind, let's get to the Thanksgiving grades, starting with the Lions' dominant win.
Detroit 23-20 over Chicago
| C |  |
| Matt Eberflus has been on the hot seat all season and after this loss, that seat is going to be hotter than the oven you cooked your turkey in. The Bears had a chance to win or tie this game in the final minute, but Eberflus totally botched the clock management in the final 30 seconds. On top of that, the Bears didn't look prepared to play during a first half where they fell behind 16-0 while totaling just 53 yards. The Bears did come back from the dead during a wild second half that saw Caleb Williams throw for 222 yards and three touchdowns. The defense also stepped up its game in the second half, holding the Lions to just 126 yards over the final two quarters. Keenan Allen and DJ Moore both came up with some huge plays for an offense that has looked completely rejuvenated under Thomas Brown. The problem for the Bears is that they continue to be held back by coaching. This is arguably the fourth game this year that Eberflus cost his team with questionable coaching late in the fourth quarter. | |
| C+ |  |
| The Lions had a chance to run away with this game in the first half, but they couldn't get anything done in the red zone, which allowed the Bears to stay in the game. The Lions only scored on two touchdowns on five trips to the red zone and that's something they're going to have to clean up if they want to hold on to the No. 1 seed in the NFC. The Lions also took a Thanksgiving nap in the second half, because they appeared to be sleep-walking through the final two quarters. The Lions got several uncharacteristic mistakes from players like Jahmyr Gibbs (who lost a fumble) and Jake Bates (who missed his first field goal of the year). The Lions rushing attack disappeared in the second half with just 50 yards and that's a big reason why the offense slowed down. After his scare, you can bet Dan Campbell will be keeping his foot on the gas in every game going forward. | |
Dallas 27-20 over N.Y. Giants
| C+ |  |
| Drew Lock became the third QB of the season to start for the Giants and things didn't improve much with him under center. The offense struggled to move the ball through the air, as Lock threw for just 178 yards. Lock also committed two back-breaking turnovers with a pick six in the first half and a lost fumble in the second half. The Giants' offensive struggles can't be totally blamed on Lock, though. He got zero help from his offensive line -- Lock was sacked six times -- and he also got zero help from his rushing attack (Lock ran for 57 yards while the rest of the team totaled just 59 yards on the ground). If Giants fans are looking for something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, they should be thankful that the season is almost over and that the Giants just took one small step closer to possibly getting the top pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. | |
| B+ |  |
| For the second week in a row, the Cowboys defense took over the game and led Dallas to a win. DeMarvion Overshown came up with a pick six in the second quarter that put the Cowboys in control and they never trailed after that. The Cowboys pass rush beat up on Drew Lock who got sacked six times with Micah Parsons recording 1.5 of those. The offense wasn't flashy, but it got the job done, especially Rico Dowdle, who had a breakout game with a career-high 112 yards and one TD. Mike McCarthy might be on the hot seat, but he still has this team playing hard, which might be why Jerry Jones has suddenly shown some interest in possibly bringing him back. | |
Miami (5-6) at Green Bay (8-3), 8:20 p.m. ET (NBC)
| TBD |  |
| The Dolphins are playing on Thanksgiving for the eighth time and they've had a lot of success on the holiday, going 5-2 in their previous seven games. | |
| TBD |  |
| The Packers have played on Thanksgiving plenty of times before, but this will mark just the third time in franchise history that they've gotten to host a game on Turkey Day. The first home game came in 1923 and then they didn't host another one until 2015. | |
