Welcome to the Thanksgiving edition of the Week 13 grades!

 

Everyone loves Thanksgiving football and the NFL gave us three games on Thursday. The Turkey Day action started with a wild game in Detroit where the Lions escaped with a 23-20 win over the Chicago Bears. The victory ended a seven-game losing streak on Thanksgiving for the Lions while improving their record to 11-1, which now gives them the best start in franchise history.

The second game of the day ended up being a good time for a Thanksgiving nap with the Cowboys taking down the Giants, 27-20, to pull off a season sweep of their NFC East rivals.

The Thanksgiving nightcap took place in Green Bay where the Dolphins’ cold-weather struggles continued in a 30-17 loss to the Packers.

With that in mind, let’s get to the Thanksgiving grades, starting with the Lions’ wild win.

 

Matt Eberflus has been on the hot seat all season and after this loss, that seat is going to be hotter than the oven you cooked your turkey in. The Bears had a chance to win or tie this game in the final minute, but Eberflus totally botched the clock management in the final 30 seconds. On top of that, the Bears didn’t look prepared to play during a first half where they fell behind 16-0 while totaling just 53 yards.

The Bears did come back from the dead during a wild second half that saw Caleb Williams throw for 222 yards and three touchdowns. The defense also stepped up its game in the second half, holding the Lions to just 126 yards over the final two quarters. Keenan Allen and DJ Moore both came up with some huge plays for an offense that has looked completely rejuvenated under Thomas Brown.

The problem for the Bears is that they continue to be held back by coaching. This is arguably the fourth game this year that Eberflus cost his team with questionable coaching late in the fourth quarter. C+

The Lions had a chance to run away with this game in the first half, but they couldn’t get anything done in the red zone, which allowed the Bears to stay in the game. The Lions only scored on two touchdowns on five trips to the red zone and that’s something they’re going to have to clean up if they want to hold on to the No. 1 seed in the NFC.

The Lions also took a Thanksgiving nap in the second half, because they appeared to be sleep-walking through the final two quarters. The Lions got several uncharacteristic mistakes from players like Jahmyr Gibbs (who lost a fumble) and Jake Bates (who missed his first field goal of the year). The Lions rushing attack disappeared in the second half with just 50 yards and that’s a big reason why the offense slowed down. After his scare, you can bet Dan Campbell will be keeping his foot on the gas in every game going forward.

Green Bay 30-17 over Miami

The Dolphins always seem to struggle in cold weather and those struggles continued on Thursday night. The offense got off to a slow start and the defense wasn’t much better during a first half where the Packers shot out to a 24-3 lead.

The Dolphins’ rushing attack was nonexistent and although Tua Tagovailoa put up decent numbers (365 yards, two touchdowns), he came up empty on two big fourth-down attempts in Green Bay territory with one of those coming from the 1-yard line in the fourth quarter.

The Dolphins weren’t helped by the fact that Malik Washington muffed a punt inside his own 10-yard line in the first three minutes of the game. The Dolphins have now lost 12 straight games when the temperature is under 40 degrees and if they can’t figure out how to play better in cold weather, it’s hard to imagine them ever being a serious playoff threat. A-

The cold temperatures seemed to bother the Dolphins, but they didn’t seem to bother Jordan Love. The Packers QB had one of his most efficient games of the year, throwing for 274 yards and two touchdowns. Josh Jacobs helped carry the offense through the cold weather with a solid all-around performance that included 117 total yards and one touchdown.

Defensively, the Packers might have been even more impressive. Not only did the unit hold Miami’s high-powered rushing attack to under 40 yards, but the defense also came up with four huge sacks of Tua Tagovailoa, including a sack by Quay Walker that came on a fourth-and-goal at the Packers’ 1-yard line.

The Packers have now won seven of eight and they’re looking more impressive every week. This could be a dangerous team come January.