A brief look ahead to the triple-header of football awaiting on Thanksgiving Day:
Chicago Bears (5-6) at Detroit Lions (7-4)
Detroit, Mich. - After being discarded 34-9 by the New England Patriots Sunday, the Lions return to Ford Field to host their annual Thanksgiving contest looking to avoid a third-straight defeat.
Injuries have hampered Detroit's offensive campaign, which now ranks 28th in football (17.9 ppg). Calvin Johnson, Reggie Bush, and Joique Bell have all missed time, and their front-five has been picked apart by the injury bug. Tackle Riley Reiff and guard Larry Watford both have been bothered by hurt knees.
Which is largely the reason Detroit ranks 30th in rushing (80.8 ypg) and only 3 yards per attempt. Quarterback Matthew Stafford has thrown 6 interceptions in his last 5 outings and 10 overall, and will face Chicago's 28th-ranked pass defense (260.5 ypg).
Not that the Bears will likely fare better offensively. Enjoying a two-game winning streak against lowly Minnesota and lowlier Tampa Bay, they previously were handed two embarrassing defeats: a 55-14 laugher to the Packers and a 51-23 decision to the Patriots, both road games.
Jay Cutler has thrown 22 touchdown passes to 12 interceptions on 2,825 yards this season and leads the 14th-best pass game in football. He had not thrown a pick at Ford Field in his first five appearances there before making up for it, throwing three in the Bears' 40-32 defeat last year.
"Against a team like this," Cutler said this week, "you have to get the ball out."
Matt Forte heads the Bears' 20th-ranked rushing offense with 822 yards on the season and 5 touchdowns, and Alshon Jeffery and Michael Bennett split 10 receiving touchdowns evenly between them.
Forte will face the league's best rush defense (70.7 ypg) and the Bears receivers the 10th-best pass defense (233.1 ypg).
Philadelphia Eagles (8-3) at Dallas Cowboys (8-3)
Arlington, Tex. - Not that the Cowboys-Eagles rivalry was bitter enough, but with both teams clamoring for first-place in the NFC East, with both teams meeting again in two weeks, with both teams sharing the same record, and playing on Thanksgiving, the bitterness of this 54-year-old rivalry has been sent into overdrive.
"We want to win our division," Eagles corner Cary Williams said this week. "They [Dallas] are a great opponent. They have a great team and are playing at a high level right now."
Dallas features the 2nd-best rush offense in football (150.1 ypg) and the league's best back, DeMarco Murray, who has rushed for 1,154 yards overall and 7 touchdowns. His yardage mark is good for 9th-best in Cowboys history, and is on pace for 1,970, which, if achieved, would be their best mark all-time.
Thursday he will face the Eagles' 17th-ranked rush defense.
Tony Romo heads the league's 14th-best passing game (237.2 ypg) against the Eagles' 30th-ranked pass defense (266.3 ypg). He threw 4 touchdowns in their Sunday night victory over the Giants as the Cowboys enjoy a two-game winning streak.
He has thrown 22 touchdowns to 6 interceptions this season.
Philadelphia secured five sacks last Sunday in a rout of the Titans, two each from Trent Cole and Connor Barwin. Barwin is second in football with 12 1/2 sacks, his career-high, and has his sights set on powering through the Cowboys' stout offensive line to their quarterback.
"He [Romo] has one of the best offensive lines in the league in front of him," Barwin said. "And he's one of the best at eluding the rush. He's a huge challenge to us up front."
Mark Sanchez has thrown for an average of 328 yards in four-games' relief of starter Nick Foles. He tossed 5 touchdowns in those games, but in the last two threw four interceptions, and is responsible for 8 turnovers overall.
That could spell bad news for the Eagles as Dallas has secured an interception in their last four outings.
Seattle Seahawks (7-4) at San Francisco 49ers (7-4)
Santa Clara, Cal. - The 49ers seek a sixth-straight home victory over the Seahawks in the first of their two meetings in 18 days.
The last time the two teams met, in last year's NFC Championship Game, Colin Kaepernick's pass for Michael Crabtree in the end zone was tipped by Richard Sherman and intercepted by Malcolm Smith to send the Seahawks to their eventual first Super Bowl championship.
Kaepernick has thrown 15 touchdowns to 6 interceptions on 2,615 yards this season and has thrown a touchdown pass in 18 straight contests, a franchise record. He will have to earn his 19th the hard way Thursday.
Seattle, against whom Kaepernick is 1-3 all-time, boasts the best overall defense in football as the "Legion of Boom" is holding opponents to 297 total yards per game, though the Niners are second-best in that category (300.1 ypg).
And when looking for points, the Seahawks feature the best rush attack in the game (169.6 ypg). Marshawn Lynch, powered solely by Skittles, has rushed for 9 touchdowns this year on 852 yards. Quarterback Russell Wilson added 4 more on the ground and has 644 yards with his feet.
In the pocket, however, Wilson heads the 30th-ranked pass game in football, averaging only 190 yards with his arm, and is yet to take a snap at Levi's Stadium.
"It's going to be a tough crowd, playing at that stadium," Wilson said this week. "We're going to have to play great football. Play lights out, that's it." Wilson was 0-2 at Candlestick Park, tossing one touchdown to two interceptions.
Win or lose, the result will likely be seen by the greatest number Thursday as the nation retires from their feast to take in the primetime contest.
"A Thanksgiving game where everybody will be watching," Wilson added. "It's going to kind of elevate the game in general, and it's the 49ers. It's one of those things you're gonna get pumped up for."
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