When you think of Thanksgiving in the US, there are certain things that jump straight to mind: turkey, pumpkin pie, Pilgrims and, of course, football – American football that is. Thanksgiving Day, which is on the last Thursday of November, is one of the biggest days of the regular NFL season. Viewership goes through the roof as people settle in with friends and family to fill their bellies and gorge on the gridiron action.
Thanksgiving has been celebrated since the late 19th century and is a nod to the First Thanksgiving, which took place at Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1621. The holiday is steeped in tradition but, of course, has had some modernity breathed into it along the way, such as a blockbuster day of NFL action.
Expect celebrities to be picked out of the crowds and dragged in front of interviewers during broadcasts and be ready for plenty of hype during the week in the build-up to the big day. It’s a bit like everyone is waiting to get through 25th December just to get the enormous St. Stephen’s Day of sport and its host of horse racing, rugby, football and more across Ireland and the UK.
2024 Thanksgiving NFL
What do NFL fans have to be grateful for in the 2024 Thanksgiving football line-up? There are three fixtures scheduled for the day, and it’s going to be a long one, because the matches – the Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions, New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins at Green Bay Packers – run consecutively on Thursday 28th November.
The first kick-off is at 12:30pm Eastern Time in the US (5:30pm GMT), and the other two matches are each approximately four hours apart following that.
The NFL in action
An NFL match only lasts one hour in clock time, but from kick-off to the final play of the fourth quarter, you are typically looking at around four hours for a match to be completed. This is because, unlike in rugby, the clock stops after each play, aside from the final two minutes of each half. However, even then, a team can call a timeout to pause the game.
With all the in-game stoppages combined with the break after each quarter and a longer half-time pause, the time mounts up. So, come Thanksgiving, fans will be able to settle in and watch around 12 consecutive hours of top NFL action, which may well whet the appetite for some American football betting. If so, you can find all the latest odds here at Tonybet.
Chicago Bears vs Detroit Lions
First up on Thanksgiving is the Chicago Bears vs Detroit Lions game, which is an NFC North rivalry. Chicago and Detroit are the two largest metropolitan areas of the American Midwest, and these two have been going at it since 1930.
The Bears are the only one of the two to have claimed a Super Bowl victory, in 1986 against the New England Patriots. That was also their first-ever Super Bowl appearance. As for the Detroit Lions, they are still seeking their first appearance in the showcase match.
Midway through the 2024 season, the Detroit Lions were shifted into the position of being the Super Bowl favourites for the first time in their franchise history. The Lions can strengthen their claims with a convincing win over the Bears on Thanksgiving.
Ten games into the new season, there were very different stories for the two teams. The Detroit Lions had powered together an eight-week winning streak to move to a W9 L1 record, while the Chicago Bears had struggled along to a W4 L6 record, losing four on the spin at one point.
Key players
The Detroit Lions have the top-scoring offence in the NFL this season, with quarterback Jared Goff combining well with wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and running back Jahmyr Gibbs. Bears QB Caleb Williams hasn’t had the same kind of success in connecting with receivers this season, with receptions evenly split between Rome Odunze and D. J. Moore.
Bears vs Lions head-to-head
The last six meetings have been even between the two teams, with three wins each. Overall, the Chicago Bears lead the series 105-78-5 against the Lions, but Detroit have lost their last two home fixtures at Ford Field against the visiting Bears.
During the NFL 2023 regular season, the Lions were smashed 41-10 by their rivals in a bruising home defeat. Before that, however, Detroit had been on a four-match winning home streak against the Bears. Looking back at the longer head-to-head form, the Bears have won eight of the last 12 meetings with their divisional rivals.
Who will win?
The Detroit Lions produced a phenomenal attacking output through Week 10 of the 2024 NFL season. They aren’t the new Super Bowl favourites for nothing, and with a staggering 159 net points in 10 games of the campaign, averaging 33.6 points per game, the Bears are unlikely to have much of an answer.
What to say to impress your mates
With the Chicago offence largely being underwhelming for most of the season and number one draft pick Caleb Williams struggling to record touchdown passes, at any missed opportunity, you will want to say: “Williams is never going to be a Sid Luckman.” This is a reference to the franchise’s greatest ever QB, who took them to four NFL championships.
New York Giants vs Dallas Cowboys
This is just one of those unique, specifically NFL rivalries that don’t make a lot of sense. The geographical distance between Texas and New York isn’t the kind of thing that makes for a typical derby. However, this one was created simply due to the fact that the Cowboys became the first NFL franchise to enter a division alongside a team from New York. It’s as uncomplicated as that.
Also, in the early 1960s, when the Dallas Cowboys moved to the Eastern Division, the Giants were coming off the back of a period of success and their powerhouse status in the game was starting to dwindle. Through much of the 1960s, the Cowboys fuelled the burgeoning rivalry by getting the upper hand over the Giants in meetings, which was the theme for the best part of a couple of decades.
Neither the Giants nor the Cowboys have been talked about in Super Bowl contention for the 2024 season, and are essentially fighting each other to avoid the wooden spoon in the NFC East. The Giants held a W2 L8 record after 10 games of the regular season, with the Cowboys faring just slightly better at W3 L7.
After Week 10, the Giants were the lowest-scoring team in the entire NFL at just 15.6 points per game, while the Cowboys were up at 18.7, which isn’t anything spectacular. So, the Thanksgiving clash is going to be about a bit of pride.
Key players
Look for Jude McAtamney lining up for the New York Giants. He became the first Irish player to score a point in the NFL in almost four decades when he sent over a successful extra-point effort against the Washington Commanders in early November. Because of injuries to kickers Greg Joseph and Graham Gano, the former Derry under-20 footballer took his chance after being promoted to the main roster.
Giants vs Cowboys head-to-head
The Giants are on a horrific run of form against the Cowboys, losing seven on the bounce. The worst of those was their 2023 meeting in New York, where they suffered a demoralising 40-0 reverse in their own backyard against the Cowboys. The Giants have a W1 L14 record in their last 15 matches, home and away, against the Dallas Cowboys.
Given that this one is in Texas, things don’t bode too well for the Giants, especially after losing all four of their matches against their division rivals that they played through Week 10 of the 2024 NFL season.
However, the two wins that the Giants recorded through Week 10 both happened on the road. The playing field could be levelled further as the Cowboys lost all five home fixtures played through Week 10, so they don’t exactly have much to cheer about on home turf.
Who will win?
This is probably going to be a war of attrition between the two teams. There’s not much to choose between them, with the Cowboys having a slightly better offensive record, but faring much worse in defence than the New York Giants. This is a real toss-up, but because the Giants have won on the road this season, maybe it will be a big Thanksgiving for them in ending what is a shocking streak against the Cowboys.
What to say to impress your mates
The Giants have been in a bit of shambles defensively this season, which will allow you to drop in a nugget of information to impress your friends. Simply say that “none of these current Giants defencemen would get anywhere near the Big Blue Wrecking Crew”. This is a reference to the epic defensive line that the Giants had in the 1980s, which won the franchise a couple of Super Bowls.
Miami Dolphins vs Green Bay Packers
There’s a change of gear for the third and final NFL Thanksgiving match, which is the Miami Dolphins vs Green Bay Packers. The other matches for the day have a bit of spark about them that comes from well-established rivalries. There’s none of that for this one.
The Miami Dolphins and Green Bay Packers have only played 16 times before, so this is a different sort of fixture. It’s a rare peek at two teams going against each other who very typically don’t, because they are in different conferences and their paths don’t cross very often.
The Miami Dolphins are in the AFC East, while the Packers are in the NFC North, and they will come together on Thanksgiving 2024 for the first time since a 2022 regular season match, which the Packers won by a six-point margin.
The Dolphins are two-time Super Bowl champions, winning the title in 1972 and 1973, with the early 70s being their golden era. As for the Green Bay Packers, they have four championships to their name, from five visits to the Super Bowl. The most recent of those came in 2010 when they beat the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Key players
The Miami Dolphins vs Green Bay Packers fixture will give fans a chance to see Irish-born kicker Dan Whelan who plays for the Packers. The punter is a permanent fixture on the roster. Whelan, who was born in Enniskerry, has a massive boot on him. Look for him to get some game time.
Packers QB Jordan Love has had a very productive and creative season and will be powering the attack again. Also, look for big efforts from Josh Jacobs with the ball in hand, as he has racked up some impressive rushing figures. Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa has bounced back from concussion, but he has lacked support from wide receivers putting up big numbers.
Dolphins vs Packers head-to-head
There have only been 16 previous meetings between the two teams, and Miami are ahead with a 10-6 record. However, things have certainly not gone the way of the Dolphins in more recent meetings – they have lost five of the last six clashes. Again, because these two rarely meet – they typically play once every four years – and teams change a lot in that period, it’s hard to definitively pinpoint advantages, though that recent Packers dominance stands out.
Who will win
Through Week 10 of the 2024 NFL season, the Dolphins posted a W4 L6 record, which leaves them with some work to do to try to claim a wild card spot in the postseason because they aren’t going to catch runaway AFC East favourites the Buffalo Bills.
The Packers posted a W7 L3 record through the first 10 matches of their season, which just about kept them in touch with the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings in the competitive NFC North. They look well positioned to make a run at a wild card spot entry to the playoffs because winning their division looks like a tough call.
The Packers put together a W3 L2 record from their five home matches played through Week 10 of the regular season. However, the telling factor ahead of this Thanksgiving showdown is that they won all four matches played against teams from the AFC.
With the Dolphins W2 L3 on their travels this season and losing two of three matches against NFC teams, the Packers at Lambeau Field could be a tough call for the Floridian franchise.
What to say to impress your mates
The Green Bay Packers play at the iconic Lambeau Field, with winter matches there often played in freezing temperatures, making it extremely intimidating for visiting teams. This doesn’t stop the fanatic Wisconsin ‘cheesehead’ supporters from roaring on the Packers though.
But do you know who Lambeau Field is named after? No? Then your friends most likely don’t either, so casually drop a “did you know” on them during the game that “Earl Louis ‘Curly’ Lambeau founded the Packers and that’s who the stadium is named after”. For bonus points, throw in the fact that Curly won six NFL championships for them as a coach.
Don’t miss a beat
Catch all the Thanksgiving action and the rest of the regular season with the latest odds at Tonybet. Get pre-match and in-play odds for all NFL matches throughout the campaign, including the playoffs and the Super Bowl.
