Thanksgiving Day NFL: Bears, Lions, Redskins, Cowboys, Falcons and Saints live on Sky Sports
Sky Sports' NFL previews are powered by the guys at Pro Football Focus; watch live coverage of Thanksgiving night in the NFL on Sky Sports Action from 5pm
Friday 23 November 2018 01:46, UK
It's Thanksgiving! To celebrate, Sky Sports has a triple-header of NFC divisional games on Thursday night, with the Chicago Bears at the Detroit Lions, Washington Redskins at Dallas Cowboys and Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints.
We are live on Sky Sports Action from 5pm for half-an-hour's build-up to the first game of the night. Here's a look ahead to what you can expect...
Chicago Bears @ Detroit Lions, KO 5.30pm
Form guide
The Bears (7-3) have been one of the surprise packages of the season. Many expected an improvement on their 5-11 2017 season, but not necessarily to be leading the NFC North as they are after 11 weeks. This is their third divisional game in as many weeks, having already disposed of the Lions once before and beaten the Minnesota Vikings in their biggest game of the season on Sunday night.
The Lions (4-6) bounced back nicely from that Chicago beating less than a fortnight ago, getting the better of the Carolina Panthers to end a sequence of three-straight defeats. In a closely-fought contest, Detroit came out on top 20-19 courtesy of failed two-point conversion attempt from Carolina when they could have tied things up instead following a late TD.
Stat Attack
The Bears lead the NFL in takeaways through 10 games this season with 27. It's the most through the first 10 games of a season since 2012, when the Bears forced 30 turnovers on their way to an NFL-best 44 that season.
Key battle
Ones to watch
Mitch Trubisky is seemingly struggling with a shoulder injury, which could severely handicap Chicago. If he fails to make the game as is being reported, the Bears will need to lean heavily on the run game - lead back Jordan Howard and explosive change-of-pace guy Tarik Cohen, who has proven a particularly potent weapon in the passing game. Also, the defense will need to continue to impress, led by star signing for 2018 Khalil Mack.
That Chicago defense sacked Matthew Stafford six times during their last meeting 10 days ago, with Mack getting two of them. But, the quarterback and the Lions have been strong of late on Thanksgiving, winning four straight before the Vikings spoiled the party last season. Meanwhile, receiver Kenny Golladay has really stepped up in his second year, so much so that Detroit were willing to trade Golden Tate away to the Philadelphia Eagles. Keep an eye out for some spectacular plays from him.
Washington Redskins @ Dallas Cowboys, KO 9.30pm
Form guide
The Redskins (6-4) have been strong on the road so far this season, losing only to the Saints in the Superdome - easily done. That's just as well, because Washington have a tricky run of four road games over the next five weeks that will likely determine their playoff fate. A worry heading into that stretch is the devastating loss of quarterback Alex Smith to a broken leg in their loss to the Houston Texans on Sunday.
The Cowboys (5-5) come into Thanksgiving in their best form of the year, having won two games on the spin for the first time this season - a big divisional win over the Eagles before victory over the Falcons, both on the road. In contrast to the Redskins, Dallas now enter a stretch of four home games out of the next five and will be keen to rectify a loss to the Tennessee Titans when they last played host in Week Nine.
Stat Attack
Colt McCoy is the next man up for the Redskins after Smith's injury. McCoy hasn't started a game in the NFL since 2014, when he went 1-3 as a starter for the Redskins. That one win, though, it came against the Cowboys,
Key battle
Ones to watch
Colt McCoy will be one to watch, if only to see if last week's showing in relief of Smith was just a flash in the pan. He is now a starting quarterback for a playoff contender, heading into a crucial game against the biggest challengers in their division and, as such, is likely to lean heavily on experienced running back Adrian Peterson, who is enjoying an Indian summer to his career at 33 years old.
Talking of running backs, the Cowboys' recent upturn in fortune has been a result of feeding the ball to their main man Ezekiel Elliott, who has enjoyed his best couple of outings of the season. Plus, Dak Prescott finally has a No 1 target to throw the ball to in Amari Cooper, who has added an extra dimension to the Dallas offense since his trade from the Oakland Raiders.
Atlanta Falcons @ New Orleans Saints, KO 1.20am
Form guide
The Falcons (4-6) appeared to have turned a corner and put themselves back in contention in the NFC with three-straight wins - the last of which, an impressive 38-14 battering of the Redskins - but, consecutive losses have since followed in Cleveland and to the Cowboys. It's nearing must-win territory as they prepare to play New Orleans, who got the better of them 43-37 in a thrilling overtime finish in Week Three.
The Saints (9-1) are the most in-form team in the NFL right now, winning nine on the bounce. They suffered a surprise defeat at home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on opening weekend, but are generally lights out in the Superdome, as proven by their 48-7 battering of the defending Super Bowl-champion Eagles - the third game running the explosive Saints offense have put up 45 points plus.
Stat Attack
The Saints have already tied the record for most 40-point games in the Super Bowl era, and they still have six games left in the season. The other teams to score 40+ points six times in a season are the 2013 Denver Broncos, 2011 Green Bay Packers, 2011 Saints and the 2000 St Louis Rams.
Key battle
Ones to watch
While the Falcons may have been struggling as a whole in 2018, it can't be said about Matt Ryan and Julio Jones. There had been some concerns over Jones' continued failure to find the endzone - only three in 2017 and failing to register one through the first eight weeks - but he has since scored in three-straight outings, while he is also the league's leading receiver, with 1,158 yards. Outside of the QB and receiver combo, Tevin Coleman has emerged as a true No 1 out of the backfield with the injury to Devonta Freeman.
As for the Saints, how long do we have? Their offense has been utterly explosive in recent weeks, with veteran quarterback Drew Brees at the heart of it. Undoubtedly his favourite target is wide receiver Michael Thomas, but also look out for rookie Tre'Quan Smith, who went off last week against the Eagles with 10 catches for 157 yards and a TD. Alvin Kamara is also a huge weapon in the passing game, complimented perfectly by Mark Ingram out of the backfield.
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