12/01/09 - Thanksgiving is a holiday known for families coming together, eating a large feast, and watching plenty of football.This past Thanksgiving featured three NFL games. Many people like to nap after eating the large meal, and these one-sided and, overall, unentertaining games served as a lullaby for those who watched.
The first game of the afternoon featured the Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions. The Packers are fighting for a playoff spot and the Lions are one of the worst teams in the league. The Packers improved their record to 7-4 with the victory over the Lions, who fell to 2-9 with the loss.
The coin toss was won by the Packers, who chose to receive the ball. Kick returner Jordy Nelson fumbled the ball, and the Lions recovered. Detroit was able to take advantage of the mistake, eventually scoring on a one-yard touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford to wide receiver Calvin Johnson. Detroit's defense backed up the offense, and after one quarter the Lions held a 7-0 lead.
Green Bay evened the score early in the second quarter on a seven-yard pass from Aaron Rodgers to tight end Donald Lee. The Packers' defense continued to dominate the Lions, forcing them to punt in the following possession. Green Bay drove down the field and scored on a 20-yard field goal by Mason Crosby to take a 10-7 lead.
In the following drive, the Packers picked off Stafford for the second time in the game to regain possession. Once again, the drive was capped off by a Crosby field goal, giving the Packers a 13-7 advantage. The Lions ran out the remainder of the clock and went into halftime trailing by six.
Detroit started the second half with the ball, but on the second play of the drive Stafford threw his third interception of the game, giving the Packers a prime field position. Detroit forced Rodgers to fumble on the following play and regained possession of the ball. The Lions went three and out and punted the ball back to the Packers. Then, Rodgers led Green Bay down the field on a 90-yard touchdown drive, scoring on a 7-yard pass to veteran wide-receiver Donald Driver, giving the Packers a 20-7 lead.
The Lions responded by driving to mid-field, but a 54-yard field goal was missed wide right by Jason Hanson to run Detroit's streak to seven drives without scoring. The Packers responded by driving 54 yards and scoring on a 21-yard touchdown catch by James Jones. The third quarter ended with the Packers leading 27-7.
In the fourth quarter, the Lions were able to make it to Green Bay's one yard line. Three straight incomplete passes by Stafford gave the Packers the goal line stand and possession of the ball on their own one-yard line. On the second play, Green Bay running back Ryan Grant was tackled in the back field and fumbled the ball in the end zone. Detroit recovered for a touchdown, but the play was challenged and reversed into a safety. On the ensuing drive, the Lions drove down and hit a 22-yard field goal to close the score to 27-12.
Detroit got the ball back and attempted to drive and close the gap, but Stafford threw his fourth interception to corner-back Charles Woodson, who returned the pick for a touchdown. Green Bay held on to win the game 34-12.
Rodgers was clearly the player of the game, passing for 348 yards and three touchdowns. Driver finished the afternoon with a robust 142 receiving yards, while adding a touchdown of his own. Woodson finished the game with seven tackles, one sack, two interceptions and one touchdown.
The second game of the afternoon featured the Dallas Cowboys (8-3) and the Oakland Raiders (3-8).
The game was very defensive early on, as it took six total drives for either team to score after Dallas kicker Nick Folk hit a 36-yard field goal late in the first quarter. In the Cowboys' following possession, running back Felix Jones broke off a 36-yard touch down run to give Dallas a 10-0 lead. The Cowboys' defense continued to dominate, keeping the offense on the field. Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo threw his first touch down pass late in the second quarter to Miles Austin, giving the Cowboys a 17-0 lead heading into halftime.
The Raiders' defense stopped the Cowboys to open the second half, and started a drive on their own 12-yard line. Quarterback Bruce Gradkowski led the Raiders to the promised land, scoring on a 4-yard pass to rookie receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey. The third quarter ended with the score still close, 17-7. In the Cowboys first drive of the fourth quarter, they drove 52 yards in three plays to score their third touchdown of their afternoon. The 6-yard reception by Roy Williams gave the Cowboys a commanding 24-7 lead, which would turn out to be the final score.
Romo threw for 309 yards and two touchdowns in the win, completing 18 of 29 passes to six different receivers. Austin led all receivers with 145 yards and a touchdown. Dallas linebacker Anthony Spencer finished the afternoon with eight tackles, including two sacks.
The third and final Thanksgiving game was the most even match of the evening. The New York Giants (6-5) traveled to take on the Denver Broncos (7-4) in a game with major playoff implications.
The Denver defense was downright impenetrable in the first half, causing the Giants to punt on five of their first six possessions. Denver kicker Matt Prater was able to convert on field goals of 26 and 32 yards in back-to-back possessions to give the Broncos a 6-0 lead. Following a fumble by Giants running back Danny Ware, the Broncos scored on a 1-yard touchdown run by Knowshon Moreno to take a 13-0 lead. Another Prater field goal in the following possession sent the teams into halftime with a 16-0 score.
The Giants used their defense to get their offense going in the third quarter. Cornerback Terrell Thomas intercepted Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton to give the Giants a solid field position. Quarterback Eli Manning was able to lead the team close to the red zone, but the drive was stalled by the Broncos' defense. Giants' kicker Lawrence Tynes converted a 39-yard field goal to get his team on the board for the first time.
is a member of the 
Be the first to comment on this article!