NFL football has played a big part in Thanksgiving ever since its conception in 1934. This year, the games that are scheduled to take place are: Packers vs Lions, Bengals vs Ravens, and Chiefs vs Cowboys. The Lions and Cowboys always play, but these other teams can make good games for the NFL on Thanksgiving. In this column, I am going to be giving my personal predictions for the Thanksgiving games this year.
Lions vs Packers
The Lions and Packers are long-time division rivals. This fierce rivalry dates back to 1930 and remains strong to this day.
Both teams have 6 wins, but the Lions have 4 losses, which is worse than the Packers’ 3 losses and a tie.
The Lions have grown to be a star team in the past 5 years, but have seemed to slow down this year, perhaps because of the loss of players and coaches like Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn. The Packers, however, have been good for a lot longer than the Lions and seem to be growing in these more recent seasons with new players like Jordan Love.
My final prediction for Lions vs Packers is a Lions win over the Packers at home, 24-18. This game will be hard fought, and the Lions will squeeze out a win with help from the Detroit fans.
Chiefs vs Cowboys
This year, both of these teams haven’t played as they have in the past years. The Cowboys have a 4-5-1 record, and a rebuild seems imminent. The Chiefs, who have been a driving force in the league, have slowed down this year, starting with a 5-5 record.
My prediction for this game will be a Chiefs win 31-28 with a game-winning drive by Mahomes. I think that Mahomes will carry the Chiefs to a Thanksgiving win over the Cowboys, in a last drive win.
Bengals vs Ravens
This is the Prime-time game on Thanksgiving and is between 2 division rivals who have both been very good teams in the past year, though they haven’t been playing the best this year for many reasons. The Bengals lost their star QB Joe Burrow, and the Ravens have also had problems with injuries.
The Ravens have a 5-5 record but seem to be hot right now as they have a 4-game win streak. The Bengals are 3-7 with a 3-game losing streak.
The Ravens’ star QB, Lamar Jackson, has recently suffered and continues to suffer from leg injuries, which raises the debate of whether he will even play on Thanksgiving, which will drastically alter who is expected to win.
The prediction for this game is pretty obvious because of their win streak, record, and the fact that they are at home. I predict the Ravens win 35-10 in a blowout game if Lamar Jackson is healthy. If not, I expect a closer game but still a Ravens win over the Bengals.
