There was no shortage of things to be thankful for from the NFL this week with one of the more entertaining weeks of the season.
A number of games went down to the wire, there were plenty of upsets and no shortage of storylines to keep us intrigued as we had all 32 teams in action for the first time since early October.
Philadelphia rolled, Green Bay might have lost Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady lost to his former backup and Houston won… the second half of their game.
We’re recapping our five big Thanksgiving takeaways from Week 12 of the NFL season below!
1 – Best Thanksgiving Slate of Games in Years
Thanksgiving games have been a bit hit and miss over the last few years with some teams struggling to handle the short turnaround however we had a trio of exciting contests on Friday.
The Lions have been one of the main reasons we have had some subpar Thanksgiving games with quarterbacks being out injured or just not being very good but they, like everyone else, came to play.
All three games finished with a one score margin and were in doubt at various points in the respective fourth quarters.
Despite being heavy outsiders, Buffalo got all they could handle from a Detroit team desperate to keep their winning streak active.
But Josh Allen would not be denied with this strike down the middle of the field to consign the Lions to another “honourable” defeat thanks to Tyler Bass’s game winning field goal.
Then we moved to Dallas for a game between NFC East rivals who were both at 7-3 and needing to win to keep pace with the Philadelphia Eagles.
It was a back and forth affair but the Cowboys pass catchers were the big difference between the two teams scoring for fun and winning the celebration battle too.
Finally New England travelled to Minnesota for their first game in US Bank Stadium since Super Bowl 52 in the 2017 season and just like against the Eagles, New England left its defence at home as Kirk Cousins had a field day.
Thankfully the Patriots were able to keep pace as Mac Jones had his best game in over a year, throwing for 380 yards and he got off to a great start as well.
It was back and forth all night in the Great White North but Minnesota just made too many plays in the second half and came away with a 33-26 win.
Thursday Night Football this week has plenty of intrigue attached to it as well with New England hosting Buffalo as the teams face off for the first time since the Bills beat down of the Patriots in last year’s playoffs.
It will be a chance for a statement showing from both teams and one well worth tuning in for.
2 – What’s Up With Saquon?
The running back might not matter as much as it did 20 years ago, but there’s no denying that when one of the best in the game is in full flight they are a joy to watch.
One of the main reasons the New York Giants are competitive in 2022 is the form of running back Saquon Barkley, however his drop off over the last few weeks is somewhat concerning.
In Week 10 off the bye, he tallied 36 total touches on offence as the Giants battled past the Houston Texans, before a sharp decline over the last two games including a season low 11 carries against Dallas.
Is it possible that the guy who has spent so long on the injured list might be starting to hit a wall after already recording the second highest number of carries in his five year career?
He scored a touchdown against the Giants after being shut out a week earlier, finishing off a drive with this bulldozing run.
Unfortunately for him, that was as good as his day would get with a grand total of 39 yards on 11 carries and a miserable day against a stout Cowboys defence.
Now on a losing streak, New York needs to find a way to get Barkley rolling when they face Washington or risk being dragged further into the mire of a Wild Card race.
The problem for them is that their offence goes as he goes and if he’s starting to waver under the workload they might have to give him some rest they probably can’t afford to.
3 – Justin Jefferson is the Best Receiver in the NFL
There’s no shortage of candidates but as we saw in his dominating performance on Thanksgiving, there is no better receiver in the NFL than Justin Jefferson.
In the Vikings shootout win over the Patriots, Jefferson did it all by catching…
Throwing…
And scoring… but you’ve already seen that clip.
His career could not have begun in a more impressive fashion as he continues to break records for receivers in the early days of their career.
Now it just comes down to what sort of legacy he wants to leave in Minneapolis because as long as he doesn’t shoot his way out of town the way Randy Moss did (twice), he will go down as the franchise’s best ever receiver.
4 – Baltimore’s Immaturity Continues to Cost Them
The Ravens just went and did it again.
With a comfortable lead over Jacksonville, Baltimore looked like it was on its way to a huge win in the divisional race but instead they let Jacksonville back into the game before Doug Pedersen called game with this two-point conversion.
It’s not as though it’s a fluke either, there is a pattern of this within the Ravens organisation as of late.
It’s fair to say Lamar Jackson was a bit frustrated with his team’s effort in the defeat and decided the best thing to do is to take it out on some random guy on Twitter.
For better or worse, Baltimore has always been a team that played with an edge but that consistent inability to close a game has to go against the coaching staff.
After all, it’s their job to manage things and right now, they have a team prone to bad mistakes that allow opponents to stay in it.
This sort of stuff just cannot happen.
They simply have to find a way to put a beat down on a hapless Denver team next week to show they are a contender.
5 – The Raiders Find Ways to Keep Things Interesting
It might not always be for the right reasons but Las Vegas is turning into a must watch team.
With an offence that is starting to click and a defence that can get run over at any given moment, they seem to be destined for a few high scoring shootouts.
Playing back to back games that have ended in walk-off wins would make life a bit easier for Raiders fans too.
This week, Josh Jacobs decided that he was done playing against the Seahawks and rattled off this touchdown to end the game in overtime.
That capped a huge afternoon for the running back with over 300 yards from scrimmage and just a few touchdowns too.
After their division rival Chargers pulled off a dramatic win of their own this week, it sets up a fascinating AFC West battle in Vegas next Monday morning.