NFL Week 12 Games to Watch

            Happy Thanksgiving to all of my loyal followers, readers, and sports junkies anonymous! There’s some great Thanksgiving Day football coming our way, as well as a couple more exciting matchups to look forward to as we recover from our food comas on Sunday afternoon. This is the first time in a while where all 32 teams will be playing during the same week of the season, as zero NFL teams claim their bye week this week, and so there are 16 games are on tap. Upsets could happen around the league this week/weekend, with several contending teams (Bills, Seahawks, Eagles) playing several inferior opponents “on paper” (Lions, Raiders, and Packers). That doesn’t always make for great football, but it is an interesting note to watch for this week. Let’s dive in and take a look at the hottest NFL games to watch during your Thanksgiving break!

Giants at Cowboys on FOX (Thanksgiving afternoon)

            You will probably have stuffed your third plate by this point in the day, but if you’re still awake by 4:30 PM East Coast time, there is clearly some great football to watch on your TV set. There are massive playoff implications on the line here, as both teams share identical 7-3 records and are tied for 2^nd place in the NFC East, right behind the division-leading Eagles, who are 9-1. The Cowboys beat the Vikings so bad last week that CBS switched games during the broadcast! That’s certainly not unprecedented, but it’s a very rare occurrence in today’s parity-driven NFL. On the flip side, the Giants were embarrassed by the Lions at home, with a final score of 31-18. Prior to that disappointing effort, the G-Men were playing remarkably well, with their only two losses of the year coming against the Cowboys (23-16 at home) and Seahawks (27-13 in Seattle). Which of these two teams shows up big in an important divisional contest on Thanksgiving Day?

Patriots at Vikings on NBC (Thanksgiving evening)

            Kirk Cousins is dead to me, as he cost my fantasy team -4.80 points in last week’s game. Anyways, I’m cautiously optimistic that he’ll rebound against the Patriots because there’s nowhere else for him to go but up, right? Not quite, as this is another primetime game for Kirk. Historically speaking, Cousins struggles in these exact types of situations; however, the Vikings desperately need a legit bounce back effort from him on a short week after such a miserable loss.  Meanwhile, the Patriots didn’t need any offense in last week’s victory over the Jets, a game in which they converted a huge punt return touchdown to win in the final seconds of the contest.  Will the Vikings bounce back, or will the Patriots stretch their winning streak into December?

Bengals at Titans on CBS (Sunday early afternoon)

            Ah yes, a rematch of last year’s AFC Divisional Round matchup featuring these teams. Both teams are coming off of pivotal wins, as the Titans throttled the Packers in primetime last week while the Bengals squeaked out a victory over their division rival Steelers in Pittsburgh. Derrick Henry should make a huge difference for the Titans in the rematch, as he was out during last year’s contest with a foot injury. Ja’Marr Chase could make his return on the opposing sideline, as Joe Burrow expects him to play for the first time since injuring his hip in Week 7. Will football fans finally remember the Titans? Or will the legend of Joe Cool be remembered?

Falcons at Commanders on FOX (Sunday early afternoon)

            This game has huge playoff implications for both teams as far as the NFC playoff picture. The Falcons badly need this win to keep pace with the Buccaneers atop the NFC South division, while the Commanders need this victory in order to stay relevant in the NFC Wild Card picture. Injuries could play a factor here, as the Falcons lost TE Kyle Pitts & DE Ta’Quon Graham to IR. Meanwhile, the Commanders could be set for the return of DE Chase Young from IR this week. Both teams have a slim shot to make it into the tournament as it is, but never tell them the odds. After all, each team took care of its business last week against awful opponents (Bears, Texans). Will the Falcons get revenge from last year’s meltdown against the then-named Football Team? Or could it be the Commanders who continue their winning ways with Taylor Heinicke as QB1?