Thanksgiving preview: What’s the main dish among the 3 Thanksgiving games?

NFL games on Thanksgiving are a tradition dating back to the first season of the league’s existence, in 1920.

The NFL had six games on Thanksgiving that first season. Over the years, the tradition as we know it took shape: the Detroit Lions hosted their first Thanksgiving game in 1934 as a way for the team to drum up attendance, the Dallas Cowboys thankfully volunteered to host another game, that started in 1966 and the league added a third rotating game on Thanksgiving night in 2006.

NFL football has become a holiday staple. For the three games this season, let’s compare the quality of each of the three games with a dish on the Thanksgiving table:

Turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes: Bears at Lions

For years, there was a constant drumbeat for the Lions to be kicked out of their annual Thanksgiving berth. Detroit was terrible. Why have one of the three (or, in many years, two) games on Thanksgiving ruined by a terrible team.

It has changed in a big way.

This is the main course of the day because you get a chance to see the best team in football. Yes, it’s the lions. Seriously, the Lions are the best team in the NFL. Once again: The Detroit Lions is the top team in the National Football League. It’s the first time we can say that in our lifetime, unless you were born before 1957. It’s the last time the Lions won a championship. They are capable of winning a Super Bowl this season. They have never been to a Super Bowl in their history.

Will this be a great game? Probably not, but we did see the Packers upset the Lions on Thanksgiving last season. The Bears aren’t a great team, but they’re interesting to watch because they have the No. 1 overall, Caleb Williams. Williams has had an up-and-down rookie season, but he’s still compelling. At least the Bears can give us a good show to start the day. Hopefully, because if we don’t get a good game to start the day…

The strange accessory your aunt brought: Giants at Cowboys

The NFL releases its schedule in April or May, and sometimes they are unlucky with important games. Sometimes injuries or just bad play from a team they wanted to highlight in prime time or other independent play will ruin the game unexpectedly.

We all could have predicted that Giants at Cowboys wasn’t going to be great.

The NFL really believes we want to see the Giants in marker areas all the time, and that’s not the case. That’s how we hang with the giants on Thanksgiving. The Cowboys being bad wasn’t part of the plan. They struggled early and their season cratered. At least they got a nice win last week against the Washington Commanders.

The Giants haven’t won since Oct. 6, and if they don’t win Thursday, it’s possible they won’t win again until 2025. New York cut quarterback Daniel Jones last week, starting Tommy DeVito hoping to recreate DeVito’s funny story from last week. season, but DeVito struggled hard and the Giants’ season somehow got even worse.

It is simply a game between two bad teams. And it may not matter in terms of viewership.

Last season’s Cowboys game on Thanksgiving drew 41.4 million viewers, the third-most viewers in NFL regular-season history. And people will watch again this year, even if they shouldn’t. But hey, just because that side dish on the table looks a little weird and you can’t pronounce what it is doesn’t mean it doesn’t taste good.

Pumpkin Pie: Dolphins at Packers

You want to save room for dessert.

On paper, the 5-6 Miami Dolphins at the 8-3 Green Bay Packers isn’t the best matchup. But it should be a good game. The Dolphins got off to a rough start this season due to a Tua Tagovailoa injury and some bad luck in close games when he returned. Miami has won three straight games, with Tagovailoa playing like a top-five quarterback, and is desperate to keep piling up wins and make the AFC playoffs. The Dolphins may need an upset win in Green Bay to stay in the race. They are a better team than their record indicates, they are desperate and that makes them dangerous against a good Packers team.

The Packers are one of the best teams in football. They have won six out of seven games, with the only loss coming to an excellent Lions side. Green Bay is getting better offensively with Jordan Love coming off some early season injuries. The Packers happen to play in the NFL’s toughest division; they might be the best third place team you’ll ever see.

It must be a good way to end a day full of family, food and football. Even Giants-Cowboys is better than no football at all.