Jan’s Thanksgiving Special: Week 13 NFL Preview

After a few weeks away, I’m back with an early Thanksgiving edition of my NFL preview. I’m just going to focus on the Thursday games for this week, but never fret! I’ll have the remaining games in a post later this week. Thanksgiving and football go together like turkey and stuffing, which is convenient since you can enjoy some turkey and stuffing while watching football on Thanksgiving. The NFL scheduling gods blessed us with some pretty great divisional match-ups this year, so when Aunt Gladys asks you to baste the turkey, you can tell her the game you’re watching is really important, so she can ask someone else.

Chicago Bears (5-6) at Detroit Lions (7-4)
Ford Field, 12:30 PM ET – CBS

The Lions are returning home after a difficult two-game road trip that didn’t do much but deflate any momentum the Lions had before week 11. After an embarrassing defeat in New England, the Lions will face the Bears in an NFC North battle. Well, the only thing that’s a battle about this game is whether or not the Bears can get to .500 and the Lions can stop their losing streak before it turns into the typical second-half implosion causing them to miss the playoffs. As of right now, the Lions are still in the hunt for a playoff spot. Fun fact: the Lions will be playing their 75th Thanksgiving game on Thursday and have unveiled a new logo for the game:

Detroitlions.com

According to a press release from the Lions, they started the tradition of playing on Thanksgiving in 1934 when they hosted… the Bears. The Bears beat the Lions 19-16 in that game and they’ll do it again.

Jan’s pick: Bears

Philadelphia Eagles (8-3) at Dallas Cowboys (8-3)
AT&T Stadium, 4:30 PM ET – FOX

Ever since I can remember, the Cowboys have always played on Thanksgiving and personally, I’m much more thankful when the Cowboys lose on Thanksgiving. After barely escaping an NFC East match-up against the Giants… SPEAKING OF THE GIANTS! Did you see that catch Odell Beckham Jr. made?! If you’ve been living under a rock, here you go:

HOLY CRAP STICKS, RIGHT?! Yeah!

So anyway, the Cowboys are facing another NFC East foe in the Eagles. The Eagles just barely lead the Cowboys in the division race, and both are still very much in the playoff picture. The Eagles were stomped by the Packers two weeks ago but did some stomping of their own last Sunday against the Titans. LeSean McCoy finally woke from his slumber last week as well, rushing for over 100 yards and a touchdown. If the Eagles are going to make a big push for the playoffs, they’re going to need McCoy at full strength. Dallas is still undefeated on the road, which is pretty dang hard to do in the NFL. Romo’s back is a seemingly non-factor, as he threw for four touchdowns. DeMarco Murray was held without a touchdown, but ran for 121 yards against the Giants. It’s going to be a pretty evenly matched game, but the Eagles fly to victory.

Jan’s pick: Eagles

Seattle Seahawks (7-4) at San Francisco 49ers (7-4)
Levi’s Stadium, 8:30 PM ET – NBC

Look! Another divisional game where the opponents have identical records! This is quite the main event on Thanksgiving night, friends. The last time these two teams met, Richard Sherman did this:

After he did that, the Seahawks did this:

So yeah, I’d say the Niners are ready to host the champs in their shiny new Field of Jeans. In terms of defense, San Francisco and Seattle are ranked neck and neck. After the Seahawks shut down the NFL’s best Arizona Cardinals last week in a game where the team seemed to find their swagger, look for Seattle’s defense to come up big again on Thursday. San Francisco just barely escaped a loss last week against Washington, as their offensive struggles continued. The short week won’t be enough time for the Niners to fix their offensive issues, and the Legion of Boom will capitalize. With the Seahawks playing their best ball at the right time and both teams playing for their playoff lives, look for this to be one of the best games of the year to bring Thanksgiving to a close.

Jan’s pick: Seahawks

I hope everyone has a happy and safe Thanksgiving!

Don’t eat too much turkey and feel free to let me know how wrong I am on Twitter @janyewestt. You can also follow 630 The Fan on Twitter @630theFan. Not on Twitter? Give us a like on Facebook!