NFL Thanksgiving is an important day for a lot of the league. It’s usually pretty late in the season, so wins are key. There are usually a few legitimate contenders playing, which means it’s even more important to get those wins. Unfortunately, for those who could not get the job done on Thursday, there’s not a whole lot to be thankful for.
Thanksgiving NFL slate unkind to Ravens, Chiefs, and Lions
In the very first game of the Thanksgiving slate, the Detroit Lions faced off with the Green Bay Packers. The new-look Packers, thanks to Micah Parsons, dominated Detroit in Week 1, and they won again in Week 13. It was a really disappointing outing for Detroit all around.
The Lions needed to win to keep pace with the Chicago Bears and put some distance between them and Green Bay, who would’ve faced a really uphill battle to the playoffs with a loss. The Lions also needed to avenge their early loss.
They couldn’t do that, which does not bode well for their playoff chances. There’s a possibility the Lions and Packers meet for a third time, and while three wins against one team in a year is rare, the Lions clearly do not match up well against the Packers. Oh, and Amon-Ra St. Brown got hurt after one target and left the game. His status moving forward is crucial, so Thursday was pretty awful for the Lions altogether.
Up next, the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys faced off. This was a must-win for both teams. The Cowboys’ slim playoff chances rest on them essentially winning out, and the Chiefs needed a win to keep pace in the AFC Wild Card as they try to move ahead of teams they do not have the tiebreaker over.
At this point, the playoffs now look unlikely for the Chiefs, who fell to 6-6. Their defense couldn’t get a stop when it mattered most, wasting a four-TD day from Patrick Mahomes. Dak Prescott overcame an early interception to lead the Cowboys to 31 points and a crucial win. The Cowboys now have a 30% chance of making it, so they’re still facing an uphill battle, but a loss would’ve tanked their chances. The Chiefs now sit at 44%, which feels a little generous, but they would’ve been in a much better spot at 7-5 rather than 6-6. Neither team feels like a remotely safe pick to make the playoffs, but the Cowboys are surging, and the Chiefs are not.
Finally, Joe Burrow returned as the 3-8 Cincinnati Bengals took on the 6-5 Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens had won five in a row to take the lead in the AFC North, but they couldn’t hold that lead. They couldn’t stop Burrow and the Bengals, allowing 32 points. It didn’t help that Lamar Jackson had the worst game he’s played in quite some time, either. It was a disastrous showing that puts the Pittsburgh Steelers back in front in the North.
The Ravens still have a 60% chance to make the playoffs, but their path forward just got a whole lot harder. They have two games left with the Steelers, who don’t seem like much of a threat. But as we can see from last night, an inferior opponent doesn’t always matter in divisional races, and the Ravens have a slim margin for error with their remaining slate. They remain the favorites to win this division, but it’s not going to be easy.
For all three losers on Thanksgiving, the loss doesn’t totally bury them at all. Each one still has a path to the playoffs, but it was far less than ideal to lose those games. Baltimore could’ve really cemented itself as the AFC North’s team to beat, Kansas City could’ve pushed back into the wild-card race, and Detroit could’ve moved up in the standings and exorcised some demons. None of them did.
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