CNN —
The National Football League’s annual Thanksgiving Day triple-header is back for the 90th installment of the ‘Turkey Day’ tradition.
This year features the Green Bay Packers meeting the Lions for Detroit’s 84th Thanksgiving Day game, an NFC East rivalry matchup between the Washington Commanders and Dallas Cowboys, and a primetime showdown between the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks.
Here’s what you need to know ahead of an exciting day full of food, family and football.
Here’s how to catch these teams in action, from wherever you are.
Australia: NFL+, ESPN, 7Plus
Brazil: NFL+, ESPN
Canada: NFL+, CTV, TSN, RDS
Germany: NFL+, ProSieben MAXX, DAZN
Mexico: NFL+, TUDN, ESPN, Fox Sports, Sky Sports
UK: NFL+, Sky Sports, ITV, Channel 5
US: NFL+, CBS, NBC, FOX, ESPN, Amazon Prime
The action kicks off in the Motor City as the Packers visit their NFC North rival, the Lions.
The divisional foes are no stranger to the holiday stage. Detroit has been an annual participant in the tradition since 1934. In addition to making their 84th Thanksgiving appearance, the Lions will look to earn their first win on the holiday in six years. Detroit is favored in the matchup for the first time since 2016, boasting an 8-2 record on the season and a 7-0 streak against divisional opponents.
“We’re trying to turn over a new leaf here, to do something different, and do some things that haven’t been done in a while,” Lions head coach Dan Campbell told reporters. “This is another one of those opportunities for us.”
Green Bay is making its 37th Thanksgiving appearance and its 22nd against Detroit. The Pack enter this week’s game as the underdog, despite winning two of its last three games. Green Bay has not won on the road since defeating the Bears in Week 1.Another major concern is injuries, as 17 players are listed on the Week 12 injury report.
“It’s the next man up mentality,” Packers quarterback Jordan Love said. “When there’s injuries, it’s always up to the next guys to be ready, get themselves in the best position to go out there and execute, know what they gotta do.”
To see if Packers will do just that, tune in at 12:30 p.m. ET. on Fox.
Washington Commanders at Dallas CowboysThe afternoon slate features an NFC East battle in the Lone Star State. Quarterback Dak Prescott will make his seventh Thanksgiving Day start as the Cowboys take on the Commanders.
Dallas enters this week’s matchup riding the high of a domineering Week 11 victory over the Carolina Panthers. The Cowboys dominated on both sides of the ball, building on the momentum set by their Week 10 win over the New York Giants. Dallas won the two games by a combined score of 82-27 for a whopping +55 point differential.
The Commanders, on the other hand, enter the matchup fresh off a disappointing loss to the Giants. Washington committed six offensive turnovers during the 31-19 defeat and struggled to stay consistent on defense.
Ahead of this week’s game, Washington head coach Ron Rivera discussed how the team is trying to get back in sync after the difficult loss.
“Each game has a personality and, as it unfolds, you try to get things during the game,” Rivera told reporters. “And hopefully, going into a game like this, our guys know what’s at stake. You know what the opportunity is. You know who your opponent is. Truly, they’re playing in one of the greatest football rivalries, period.”
The rivalry Rivera described stems back decades. The pair have met in multiple winner-takes-all postseason matchups, as well as countless high-stakes regular season clashes.
They’ve faced off 10 times on Thanksgiving Day, with Dallas thoroughly controlling the win column 8-2.
While the Cowboys are favored again on Thursday, Prescott believes the Commanders are not to be underestimated.
“It’ll be my job as a leader to make sure guys understand that, once again, you’re looking [at a] lesser opponent, but we’ve got to come in and take care of business on Thanksgiving,” the Cowboys QB said.
“Then we can enjoy our holidays the right way.”
The game takes place at 4:30 p.m. ET. on CBS.
The 49ers and Seahawks will close out the holiday slate with the third and final divisional matchup of the day, which will take place at 8:20 p.m. ET. on NBC.
As it stands, the pair are the two best teams in the NFC West. San Francisco boasts a 7-3 record after its comfortable Week 11 victory of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Seattle is just one game behind after losing twice to another divisional rival, the Los Angeles Rams.
“[The Seahawks are] so competitive, doesn’t matter what the record is, where you play – offense, defense, special teams – they all go extremely hard,” 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said of the Seahawks. “They practice hard. I think just the style of their play and, when you watch the silent tape, it’s as close to ours as anyone else. I think we’re very similar in the style our teams play with.”
A Seahawks win on Thursday would create a tie for first place, making the postseason race even tighter than it already is.
“We’re right in the thick of the playoff race,” Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith told reporters. “We’re right in the thick of our division race and we have a big chance in front of us, but it’s also a big opponent.”
As for the Niners, a win would create more separation in the standings and bump their win streak to three.
“Yeah, we’re at the point of the season where obviously every single game is crucial. It’s huge,” 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy said. “And going into a hostile environment in Seattle, with the great team that they have, it’s going to be a great challenge for us and we’re excited about it.
“Obviously, the history goes back with these two organizations and being able to play on Thanksgiving against them with the division where it’s at, doesn’t get any better than that. I’m excited for it.”
Thursday
Green Bay Packers @ Detroit Lions, 12:30 p.m. ET
Washington Commanders @ Dallas Cowboys, 4:30 p.m. ET
San Francisco 49ers @ Seattle Seahawks, 8:20 p.m. ET
Friday
Miami Dolphins @ New York Jets, 3:00 p.m. ET
Sunday
New Orleans Saints @ Atlanta Falcons, 1:00 p.m. ET
Pittsburgh Steelers @ Cincinnati Bengals, 1:00 p.m. ET
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Houston Texans, 1:00 p.m. ET
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Indianapolis Colts, 1:00 p.m. ET
New England Patriots @ New York Giants, 1:00 p.m. ET
Carolina Panthers @ Tennessee Titans, 1:00 p.m. ET
Los Angeles Rams @ Arizona Cardinals, 4:05 p.m. ET
Cleveland Browns @ Denver Broncos, 4:05 p.m. ET
Kansas City Chiefs @ Las Vegas Raiders, 4:25 p.m. ET
Buffalo Bills @ Philadelphia Eagles, 4:25 p.m. ET
Baltimore Ravens @ Los Angeles Chargers, 8:20 p.m. ET
Monday
Chicago Bears @ Minnesota Vikings, 8:15 p.m. ET
