NFL: Thanksgiving Day Review

Green Bay def. Detroit 34-12:

Pretty quiet first half, followed by an offensive explosion by the Packers towards the end. The Lions had a meagre 83 yards in total offense three minutes into the third quarter. Their running game never got off the bus, it seems, and as a result, Matt Stafford was called upon to throw the rock 43 times, completing only 20 of those attempts for a lone TD and 213 yards. He also threw 4 INTs. I understand that the Lions are not exactly in a good place offensively, but a 30.5 QB rating is terrible, as is Stafford's TD to INT ratio. Stafford will be good...as soon as he is no longer required to force throws into bad places because a) the offensive line can't protect him and b) the running game is a non entity.

On the other side of the football, the Packers tried their best to lose the game in the first half, turning over the ball and missing a FG attempt. In the end, their offense won the day. Despite little in the way of offensive line talent, Aaron Rodgers, the most sacked QB in the NFL this year, put up strong individual numbers today - 28/39 for 348 yards and 3 TDs - which will please anyone who has him starting as their fantasy QB. Of course, it's the Detroit D so we shouldn't get too excited!

The Galloping Gobler award handed out by FOX was one by Donald Driver. He had a lazy 7 receptions for 142 yards and a score, a nice 20.3 yard-per-catch average. Let's not forget, people, that this is the same trophy that Emmitt Smith decided in 2002 looked like Cris Collinsworth. In 2007, Brett Favre won it. When asked by Joe Buck about the excitement of getting such a prestigious trophy, Favre replied, "Well, I guess it's better than not getting it."

Dallas def. Oakland 24-7:

Wow, the NFL schedulers are owed a case of Bud from Jerry Jones and the Cowboys. Their last four Thanksgiving Classic opponents have been Oakland, Seattle the NY Jets, and, back in 2006, Tampa Bay. Not exactly tough match-ups either at the time or right now. That explains why the Cowboys haven't lost since 2003 in regulation and 2005 in OT.

You kinda had the thought that maybe the Raiders, who've killed giants including Cincinnati and Philadelphia this season, might have a shot. They seem to have found some life with new QB Bruce Gradkowski, who is somewhat less horrible (but still horrible) than the man he displaced, JaMarcus Russell. Unfortunately, no one told the Raiders that they were supposed to play the spoiler this Turkey Day. They were down 17-0 before they got on the board, Gradkowski's lone TD of the day.

Tony Romo, on the other hand, threw for two scores and 304 yards, while the Dallas D did their job, getting to Gradkowski three times. Romo should thank Miles Austin, who had 7 receptions for 145 yards and a score. Apparently disgruntled receiver Roy Williams - a new T.O.?? - scored the other from Romo, and Felix Jones ran one in, taking it a whopping 46 yards. So much for the Raiders defense being their best unit. Doesn't say much about the offense, does it?

While not as...interesting as the Galloping Gobler over on FOX, Miles Austin won CBS' All-Iron Award for MVP.

Denver def. NY Giants 26-6:

The tale of two teams who started out really well, and have faded terribly in the month or so since. The Giants started out 5-0, the Broncos 6-0. Coming in, both teams were 6-4. New York had won last week, the Broncos hadn't won since they were undefeated at 6-0. Whoever lost this game was always going to find it tough to get to the playoffs. Both teams have lost handy grasps on their respective division titles, so Wild Card berths were the only hope.

Much as it pains me to say as a proud Big Blue supporter, the Broncos played all over the top of the Giants. Kyle Orton looked a little like QB we saw leading the team to a 6-0 start. Their running game was good. The Giants simply could not stop them. Their defense was excellent. Dumervil got Manning 3 times, and Brian Dawkins led from the front, like everyone knew he could. That players-only meeting apparently worked.

As for the Giants, their effort on offense was just as poor. Manning was 20/40 for 230 yards, no scores and one INT. Orton went 18/28 for 245 yards, a TD and an INT. Basically, though, he just needed to hand the rock to Corell Buckhalter (51 yards) and Knowshon Moreno (88 yards and a TD) and watch things happen. Perhaps this will be the win that gets the Broncos back on track. They certainly looked a different football team tonight as compared with the last few weeks. More like the impressive team that beat Dallas and Cincinnati and New England on the way to 6-0. We shouldn't make plans to cricuify Josh McDaniels just yet.

Brandon Marshall won the NFL-N MVP Award, but half of America couldn't see the game, so it hardly counts!