Here are recaps from Thursday’s Thanksgiving Day games:
Packers 37, Lions 26
Brett Favre (31 for 41 for 381 yards, 3 TDs) and Donald Driver (10 rec., 147 yards) were both amazing, but I thought this game was won by the Packers’ defense. Mike Martz surprised GB (and everybody watching for that matter) by running the ball on the opening drive. It was a great game plan by Martz because the Packers, assuming the Lions were going to come out passing, had kept their safeties back and out of the box. That created running lanes for the Lions and they were able to move the ball with a great deal of success at the start. However, the difference was when Detroit got into obvious passing situations, because GB completely put the clamps down on the receivers and nobody could stop Aaron Kampman (a.k.a. the beast). It was clear that not only were the Packers getting pressure on Jon Kitna, but he also had nowhere to throw the ball. It seemed that every time that the Lions and Kitna needed to convert a big third down, the Packers would come up with a sack. Favre deserves praise for another remarkable performance, but I thought the game plan and execution of the Packers’ defense deserves a ton of credit too (even though they started to wilt in the fourth quarter).
Cowboys 34, Jets 3
As many expected it to be, this was a laugher from start to finish. The Jets just didn’t have the manpower to stay with the Cowboys the entire game. New York’s defense put up a fight in the first quarter, but the game turned when Terence Newman picked off Kellen Clemons and returned it 50 yards for a touchdown. After that, the Jets couldn’t gain any momentum and the game turned into the Tony Romo (21 of 28, 195 yards, 2 TDs) show. This game just turned out to be a warm up for the Cowboys big showdown with the Packers next week.
Colts 31, Falcons 13
The 15 people who actually got to watch this game on the NFL Network were treated to a decent game in the first half. The Falcons came out firing, moving the ball well on their first couple of possessions and mounting a 10-0 lead. However, like a true heavyweight fighter, the Colts took the Falcons’ best shots and suffered no real damage. Indy used a bogus running into the kicker penalty on the Falcons to change the momentum and Peyton Manning then proceeded to light up an injury-riddled Atlanta defense for 272 yards and three touchdowns. The Colts weren’t overly impressive, but they did appear to get back on track both offensively and defensively in the second half. This should give Indy confidence heading into an extended rest period.
