Thanksgiving, Turkey, and Touchdowns

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. If you’re like me, and 30 million other Americans, you’ll carve out some portion of your day to catch some NFL action. It’s one of America’s most popular Thanksgiving traditions. So today, we’re taking a quick look back at three of the best games ever played on Thanksgiving Day.

In 1998, it was the coming out party for one of the all-time greats. Rookie wide receiver Randy Moss wasn’t even considered the best player on his team at the time. Moss played opposite Vikings wideout, Cris Carter. But on Thanksgiving Day, the entire country got a full serving of Randy Moss. He only caught three passes in the game against the Cowboys, but all three went for touchdowns. And all three were longer than 50 yards. Moss finished the game with 163 yards, 3 touchdowns, and a 46-36 victory over the 5-time Super Bowl champion, Dallas Cowboys.

Our second best game in Thanksgiving Day history actually happened on the same day, but it happened in Detroit. Jerome Bettis carried his Pittsburgh Steelers team to come back from behind and tie the game against the Lions in the Silverdome. You might remember the controversial coin flip, just after regulation. That led to the Steelers taking the ball down the field, and winning the contest, 19-16 in overtime.

Then, perhaps the greatest Thanksgiving Day game of all time, back in 1980. Not just one of the greatest Thanksgiving Day games, maybe one of the best comeback games in NFL history. Going into the 4th quarter, the Lions held a 17-3 lead over their rival, the Chicago Bears. The Bears only managed to score three points in three quarters. But when the game was on the line, it took just three short plays, for Walter Payton and the Bears to score 14 points and tie the game. Then in overtime, they capped off the comeback with a walk-off kick return for a touchdown, stunning the Lions, 23-17.

Speaking of Bears and Lions, the two NFC North rivals face off again this year, in the Motor City. Both teams struggling on offense, and fighting for a chance to play in the playoffs.

Meanwhile, in Dallas, it’s Tony Romo and the Cowboys playing host to Mark Sanchez, and the Philadelphia Eagles. But it’s the running game of LeSean McCoy and DeMarco Murray that could steal the show. All three games this year are divisional showdowns, between teams who share a little bad blood.

That leads us to the NFC West, and two hated rivals, one of them fresh off of a Super Bowl championship. Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks, looking to steal a road win from Colin Kaepernick and the Forty-Niners in their new stadium outside of San Francisco.