As I watch the end of the Lions / Falcons tilt (currently 27-0, Falcons), I am reminded of an op-ed piece I read a while back arguing that the Thanksgiving games should rotate around the league. The article stated that every year, the Lions and the Cowboys get a half game advantage over the rest of the league by getting a home game on Thanksgiving. Moreover, while the Cowboys have improved recently under Bill Parcells, the Lions are generally in the bottom half of the league, which sometimes makes for games like the one today.
Whoever represents each conference in the previous season’s Super Bowl should play a home game on Thanksgiving. The visiting teams should be non-division opponents that made the playoffs the previous year. I say “non-division” because the half game Turkey Day advantage shouldn’t be applied to a division contest. The other option is to pick a good rivalry in each conference, with each team alternating as host. How about the Packers / Bears and Raiders / Broncos? Or the Redskins / Cowboys and the Patriots / Jets?
I prefer the first option, but either would work and both would be better than the current setup. Let’s just hope that the Broncos / Cowboys can make up for a ho hum first game.
