The annual Thanksgiving weekend is a big event for the National Football League, but even the schedule planners would be surprised at a Week 13 lineup featuring only three games between teams with winning records.

The standout matchup amid such a dearth of highlights is clearly that between the 8-4 Baltimore Ravens and 9-2 Philadelphia Eagles at M&T Bank Stadium. Both teams are coming off massive wins at either end of the Week 12 slate and could be embarking on a potential rehearsal for a return game in Super Bowl LIX.

The Eagles have won seven in a row and currently own the #2 seed in the NFC. QB Jalen Hurts is 41 rushing yards away from 3,000 for his career and already has 14 total touchdowns in six road games in 2024 — but has been overshadowed of late by RB Saquon Barkley, who has played himself into the MVP conversation with a league-leading 1,649 yards from scrimmage, including 302 — the ninth-most in a single game in NFL history — that came against the Rams just last weekend. The Ravens, meanwhile, lead the NFL with 426.7 yards a game on offense this season, with QB Lamar Jackson a massive driver behind that success. Jackson has 3,053 passing yards and 599 rushing yards so far in 2024, and racked up 186 passing and 108 rushing the last time these two sides met, helping him establish a 23-1 record against NFC teams. Running back Derrick Henry, meanwhile, leads the NFL with 15 touchdowns this season and has scored in every home game since becoming a member of the Ravens over the summer. He needs 79 yards from scrimmage to reach 1,500 for the season, giving him his fourth such season in his career, but now has a long way to go to catch up with Barkley in the yardage stats. Ravens WR Zay Flowers, by the way, has 125 receiving yards in two of his last three games and is fifth in the NFL with 789 receiving yards so far this season.

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With the same 9-2 record as Philadelphia, the Minnesota Vikings are sniffing at the heels of Detroit in the NFC North and will be looking for a win this weekend to secure their second 10-win season under Kevin O’Connell. The Vikes are taking on the 6-5 Arizona Cardinals, who stumbled against the Seahawks last week to drop out of the NFC playoff places. Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray has cleared 325 passing yards in two career starts against the Vikings, and has three passing scores in both games, so should be looking for a repeat this time around. Tight end target Trey McBride is second among all tight ends with 685 receiving yards — and third in that group with 61 receptions — but is yet to catch a touchdown in 2024. McBride had a career-best 12 receptions and 133 yards last week and, with five receptions on Sunday, would become the just second tight end ever with at least five receptions in ten straight road games. The Vikings will also need to keep an eye on Cardinals safety Budda Baker, who averages almost ten tackles per game in three games against Minnesota in his career.

Resurgent quarterback Sam Darnold, meanwhile, leads the NFL with eight games with at least two touchdown passes and a 100+ rating in 2024. Running back Aaron Jones has found the endzone on the ground in his last two games against the Arizona, while the Cardinals will always hold a special place in T.J. Hockenson’s heart, as he made his NFL debut against them back in 2019 as a member of the Lions, snagging six catches for 131 yards and his first NFL touchdown. Justin Jefferson needs 61 receiving yards to reach 1,000 yards for the fifth straight season, and would be only the fourth player ever to manage this feat in the first five seasons of his career. Jefferson has at least six receptions in his last four home games and at least 80 receiving yards in his last five at U.S. Bank.

The remaining game between two teams above .500 features the 6-5 Atlanta Falcons, who still lead the NFC South despite losing their last two games before a Week 12 bye, and the 7-4 Los Angeles Chargers, who have won the last three meetings between the two sides, but fell down against the indomitable Ravens on Monday night. Despite the defeat, the Chargers are still allowing an NFL best 15.9 points per game this season, but new Falcons quarterback, Kirk Cousins, hung 367 yards and three touchdowns on them when they last played, albeit as a member of the 2023 Vikings. Cousins is 193 yards and three touchdown passes away from a ninth career season with 3,000 yards and 20 touchdowns, while RB Bijan Robinson has at least 50 yards from scrimmage in his last 14 games and needs just five receptions for a second 50-catch season to start his career. In a well-rounded offense, Drake London leads the team with 61 receptions and six touchdowns while forming half of the only pair of teammates with 700+ receiving yards in 2024. London has 710, while Darnell Mooney — who should return from an injury scare this weekend — has 711.

Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert has a 90+ rating in ten games this season and has passed for at least 240 yards in both of his previous games against the Falcons, winning each time. Herbert’s favourite target in 2024, rookie wide receiver Ladd McConkey, is currently second among all first-year players with 698 receiving yards and has secured at least five catches in five of his last six games.

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*Thanksgiving gets underway, as usual, with the traditional Detroit Lions home game, with the Chicago Bears visiting Ford Field this Thursday. The 10-1 Lions have won each of their last nine games and would be the NFC’s top seed if the playoffs started today. This is the first season since 1934 that the Lions have won 10 of their first 11 games. The Bears, meanwhile, have lost their last five straight and sit bottom of the NFC North with a 4-7 record. Somewhat surprisingly, the Lions have not won a Thanksgiving game since 2016, while the Bears have won their last three Thanksgiving games at Detroit, so perhaps something has got to change this year.

Bears rookie QB Caleb Williams passed for 340 yards against the Vikings last week, his third 300-yard game of the season, while D.J. Moore accounted for 106 of those yards and is one of only three players with 50+ receptions and 500+ yards in the last seven seasons. Moore’s fellow wide receiver, Keenan Allen, has at least eight catches and 95 yards in his last three games against the Lions, so Detroit will have to be on their guard defensively. The Lions, meanwhile, have scored a rushing touchdown in each of their last 25 games, including the postseason, extending the longest such streak in NFL history, as the running back tandem of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery became the first to score 10 rushing touchdowns apiece in back-to-back NFL seasons. Montgomery, it should be remembered, spent the first four seasons of his career with the Bears, amassing 4,849 yards from scrimmage and scoring 30 touchdowns in 60 games between 2019-2022, so this one will have a little personal edge.

Lions QB Jared Goff is just 239 yards away from his eighth straight season with 3,000 passing yards, and could easily attain that landmark this week. Goff also has at least two touchdown passes in his last four home games against the Bears and a repat, if it leads to a win for the Lions could secure them a postseason berth if a host of other results go their way.

While the Lions-Bears games has the potential for upset given Chicago’s refusal to lie down against Minnesota last weekend, the annual game at Jerryworld could be seriously underwhelming, as the 4-7 Cowboys welcome the 2-9 New York Giants. While the Cowboys won a ridiculous Week 12 game against the Washington Commanders at the start of a run of games that could potentially scupper a decent draft spot, the Giants have dropped their last six, including a walloping at home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first game of the post-Daniel Jones era. The Giants would own the second pick in the draft if the season ended today, a spot from which they selected Saquon Barkley back in 2018. I wonder what he’s up to…

Tommy DeVito is in line to make his second straight start for the Giants pending recovery from injury — Drew Lock is the backup — and is going up against the team he made his first career start against last season. Giants running back Tyrone Tracy leads all first-year backs with 587 rushing yards in 2024, while fellow rookie Malik Nabers is the first player in NFL history with five or more catches and at least 50 receiving yards in eight of his first nine career games — and had 12 catches for 115 yards in his last game against the Cowboys. Cowboys quarterback Cooper Rush is making his second career start against the Giants after passing for 215 yards and a touchdown against them back in 2022. Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb racked up 10 catches for 67 yards against the Commanders last week, marking the 12th time in his career he has caught at least ten passes. He is 14 yards away from 6,000 in his career.

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The late game on Thursday is between two sides with something to play for as we enter the home straight of the season. The 5-6 Miami Dolphins will travel to Wisconsin to clash with an 8-3 Green Bay Packers team that has won their last two games and would be the sixth seed in the NFC if the playoffs started today. The Dolphins, meanwhile, are on a three-game winning streak of their own but remain on the outside looking in, sitting one spot beyond a playoff berth. The Dolphins own a 10-6 advantage in this series but have lost five of the last six meetings. Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa took 317 yards and four touchdowns off the Patriots last week and boasts a 12-5 career record against NFC teams in his career, while wide receiver Tyreek Hill has cleared 75 yards in two of his three career games against the Packers and averages 91.3 receiving yards in nine career games played on a Thursday. Notable in a high-speed offense, however, tight end Jonnu Smith now has six or more catches, at least 85 receiving yards and a touchdown in back-to-back games. Packers quarterback Jordan Love has 26 touchdown passes in 13 starts at home in his career and has two or more touchdown passes in eight of his last nine at Lambeau. Josh Jacobs, with 944 yards and seven rushing scores in his debut season as a Packer, is one of four players in NFL history with 800+ rushing yards and 6+ rushing touchdowns in the first six seasons of his career. He has 100+ yards from scrimmage in his last four games on a Thursday.

The second-ever Black Friday game sees an AFC West clash with the listing 2-9 Las Vegas Raiders looking to snap a seven-game losing streak as they take on the AFC’s #1 seed, the 10-1 Kansas City Chiefs. The Raiders have the same record as the Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Giants, but their Strength of Schedule would mean they pick third if the NFL Draft were today. The Chiefs have won seven of the last eight clashes between these two sides and, at the time of writing, it is not yet known if it will be Aidan O’Connell or Desmond Ridder under center for the Raiders. Whoever gets the start will be tasked with getting the ball to rookie tight end Brock Bowers, who has 74 grabs for 744 yards so far in 2024. Bowers leads all tight ends in receiving yards this season and has the most catches ever for a Raiders rookie.

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes had three touchdown passes last week, the 24th three-touchdown game of his career. He has 32 passing touchdowns in 13 career games against the Raiders, but faces Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby, who has at least one tackle for loss in five of his six road games this season and eight in five trips to Arrowhead. Tight end Travis Kelce leads the Chiefs with 68 receptions and 569 yards, but has only scored twice all season. While Kelce has at least five catches in his last five games against the Raiders, fellow tight end Noah Gray is currently the man for the endzone, with four receiving touchdowns in the last two weeks.

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The 9-2 Buffalo Bills have won their last six games and have made the race for the top seed in the AFC very interesting of late. They are looking for the fifth seven-game winning streak in franchise history and their first since 2022. They’ll look to keep the pressure on the Chiefs with a win over the listing San Francisco 49ers, who sit at 5-6 having lost their last two games, in what would normally be a game of the week. Brock Purdy is expected to return after missing the loss to the Packers last week, and has 31 passing scores and just six interceptions in 15 career starts on the road. Christian McCaffrey is on a 25-game streak with at least 50 yards from scrimmage and averages a touchdown per road game as a member of the 49ers. George Kittle has found the endzone in his last three games and in each of his last four road games. He needs 84 receiving yards to become the third tight end in NFL history with 500 receptions and 7,000 receiving yards in the first eight seasons of their career. Josh Allen is 6-2 in eight career games on Sunday Night Football and is looking for his third game in a row with 250+ passing yards and 50+ rushing yards. Allen has 39 games in his career with both a rushing and passing touchdown. James Cook has 100+ yards from scrimmage in his last four games against NFC opponents and is one of four running backs this season with three games with at least two rushing touchdowns. Khalil Shakir has at least six receptions and 50 receiving yards in his last five games.

The 2-9 Jaguars, in danger of securing the first overall pick for the third time in five years, did not, as many expected, fire head coach Doug Pederson during their bye week. Pedersen will instead be at the helm as his side, coming off four straight losses since they played in London, welcome the 7-5 AFC South-leading Houston Texans to EverBank Field. Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud averages 309 passing yards and two touchdown passes in three games against the Jaguars and has a 108 rating in nine career starts in AFC South matches. Joe Mixon is one of four running backs in the NFL this season with 1,000 yards from scrimmage and at least 10 touchdowns, boasting 1,012 and 11 scores. Nico Collins has taken 100 receiving yards and scored a receiving touchdown in his last two clashes with the Jaguars, with a career high 12 catches for 151 yards in Week 4 of this season.

Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence is expected to return to the starting lineup after dealing with a shoulder injury, and has thrown for at least two touchdowns in his three games against divisional opponents. Lawrence has 300+ passing yards in two of his last three games in Jacksonville, but may still have to lean on Jaguars running backs Travis Etienne and Tank Bigsby, who have been productive of late, with Etienne averaging 107.6 yards from scrimmage in five games against the Texans and Bigsby amassing 85+ total yards in two of his last three games at EverBank. Tight end Evan Engram has at least five receptions in his last two games against the Texans and at least five catches in five of his last six games.

The days of the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts clashes having a significant bearing on AFC playoff seedings seem a long way in the past, but these two old rivals get together at Gillette Stadium on Sunday. The 3-9 Patriots have lost their last two games while the 5-7 Colts have endured mixed results since returning Anthony Richardson to the starting lineup two games ago, winning one and losing the other. Richardson racked up a career-high 61 yards on the ground in the loss to the Lions, the most rushing yards by a Colts quarterback in almost 15 years, and averages a rushing touchdown per game on the road. The Colts actual RB, Jonathan Taylor, averages 122.5 yards from scrimmage per game against the Patriots in his career and needs one rushing score for 50 in his career. Josh Downs has at least 60 receiving yards in all five road games this season. Patriots quarterback Drake Maye has 225+ passing yards and two touchdown passes in two of his three home starts this season. Hunter Henry has five or more catches in five of his last six games and has managed at least 50 receiving yards in four of his five career games against the Colts.

The Geno Smith Bowl takes place at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, with the 3-8 New York Jets welcoming Smith and his 6-5 Seattle Seahawks. The Jets have lost their last two games and have gone almost a week without firing anyone, while the Seahawks are looking for a third win in a row as they seek to tighten their grip on a postseason berth. Smith has 3,035 passing yards in 2024, marking the fourth time in his career he has eclipsed the 3,000 yard mark. Kenneth Walker has at least 50 yards from scrimmage in 13 of his last 14 games and racked up 142 the last time these two sides met. Jaxon Smith-Njigba has at least six receptions and 65 receiving yards in four consecutive games.

Seahawks defensive lineman Leonard Williams, meanwhile, started his career with the Jets and racked up 32 tackles for loss and 17 sacks in 71 games for the franchise. With the pedestrian Aaron Rodgers remaining at quarterback for now for the Jets, Williams will be looking to turn the tables on Gang Green. Rodgers, however, has thrown for at least 275 yards in his last three games against the Seahawks. Breece Hall is second among all AFC running backs with 1,033 yards from scrimmage and is second in the NFL with 401 receiving yards. Garrett Wilson needs six catches to become only the seventh wide receiver in NFL history with at least 75 receptions in each of the first three seasons of his career, and has at least five catches in eight of his last nine games.

The Commanders will be looking to get back in the W column against the 3-8 Tennessee Titans on Sunday, even though the Titans beat the Texans in Week 12. QB Will Levis took eight sacks and tossed a pick-six in that game so the Commanders defense should have something to look forward to. In fairness, Levis also managed 278 passing yards, his second straight game with at least 275 yards through the air, and has completed at least 75% of his passes in his last three road games. Tony Pollard has eclipsed 60 yards from scrimmage in all six of his road games as a Titan, including 129 last week, while WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhine may only have caught 17 passes this season, but six have gone for touchdowns and all in the last seven games. On the other side, Jayden Daniels looked a bit more like his old self against the Cowboys as he became the second rookie quarterback ever with at least 250 passing yards, 70 rushing yards, two touchdown passes and a rushing touchdown in the same game. Terry McLaurin leads all players this season with five games of at least 100 receiving yards and has gone over 95 yards in his last five home games. Zach Ertz needs one reception to get to 50 receptions in a season for the eighth time in his career, and needs one touchdown catch for 50 regular season scores.

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The 4-7 Cincinnati Bengals have lost their last two games and would have a top-ten pick in the draft if the season came to an end today. Their path to an unlikely postseason berth continues with a visit from the AFC North-leading Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers are 8-3 but lost a snowy game to the Cleveland Browns in Week 12. Russell Wilson is 4-1 since becoming the starting quarterback for the Steelers and has posted a 90+ rating in four of those games. Najee Harris has amassed at least 50 yards from scrimmage in every game this season and needs 56 to become the first Steeler ever to rack up 1,000 yards from scrimmage in each of his first four seasons in the NFL. George Pickens leads the Steelers with 52 receptions and 776 yards and, with 24 more, would become the second Steelers player with 800 yards in each of his first three seasons after Santonio Holmes. Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow leads the NFL with 27 touchdown passes and is third with 3,028 passing yards. He has 14 touchdown passes in his last four home games and at least 325 yards and two touchdowns in his last two games against the Steelers. Ja’Marr Chase leads the NFL with 1,056 receiving yards and 12 receiving scores and has 75+ yards and at least two touchdowns in his last two games. He has at least seven catches in his last four games. Tee Higgins has gone over 100 receiving yards in four of the six games he has played against the Steelers in his career.

The 4-7 New Orleans Saints have won both games since Darren Rizzi took temporary charge of the team and they will be looking to make it three in a row against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. The Rams suffered a beatdown at the hands of the Eagles on Sunday Night Football, and their 5-6 record would not currently be enough to secure a playoff berth. Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford has 17 touchdown passes in his last seven games against the Saints, throwing at least two in every game, and has at least 290 yards and two scores in his last two road games with at least two touchdown passes in four of his last five. Kyren Williams has at least 50 yards from scrimmage in 23 straight games and has 12 touchdowns in his last 11 road games. Cooper Kupp will be playing his 100th career game and needs three receptions to pass Keenan Allen’s 624 as the most by a player in that span. Fellow WR Puka Nacua has 115+ receiving yards in his last two games and has ten 100-yard games since 2023. Derek Carr has 125+ rating and at least two touchdown passes in his last two home games and passed for 319 yards and three scores the last time he played against the Rams. Alvin Kamara leads all NFL running backs with 443 receiving yards and needs 57 to reach 500 in a season for the fifth time in his career. ‘Mr Do-It-All’ Taysom Hill needs 82 yards from scrimmage for 500 for the season and is coming off the first game by a non-running back with 125+ rushing yards and three rushing scores in NFL history.

The 3-8 Carolina Panthers have won two of their last three games and, in Week 12, gave the vaunted Chiefs defense all they could handle in Bryce Young’s finest game as a pro. They’ll look to build on that moral victory with a clash against the 5-6 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who need to keep winning if they are to make a push to secure a postseason berth. Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield, up against one of his old teams, has at least two touchdown passes in three of his last four road games and needs 201 passing yards for his sixth-career 3,000 yard season. Bucky Irving leads in rookies with 831 yards from scrimmage and is second with 579 rushing yards. He leads the team with five rushing touchdowns. Mike Evans needs 97 receiving yards to get to 500 for the season and has at least 160 receiving yards in two of his last three games against the Panthers. Antoine Winfield has a sack in five of his seven career meetings with the Panthers and has picked up at least one tackle for loss in each of his last five in this series. Panthers quarterback Bryce Young has a touchdown pass in each of his last four games and hasn’t thrown an interception in his last two. Chuba Hubbard has at least 50 yards from scrimmage in ten straight games and in each of his last five against the Buccaneers. Adam Thielen needs 138 receiving yards to become the fourth undrafted player since 1967 to amass 8,000 receiving yards in his career.

Finally, the 7-5 Denver Broncos have won two games in a row following back-to-back losses, and will want to make it three against the 3-8 Cleveland Browns on Monday Night Football. The Browns beat the Steelers in Week 12 but are still one of eight teams with three wins or less this season. Jameis Winston is 2-2 as the starter for the Browns and owns a 2-1 record in three games on Monday nights in his career, while Jerry Jeudy faces the team that drafted him having enjoyed three consecutive games with five or more receptions and 70+ receiving yards. Jeudy racked up 3,053 receiving yards for the Broncos between 2020-2023, and would have been a nice target for rookie QB Bo Nix, who has accounted for 12 touchdowns in his last five starts and is looking to become the first rookie in NFL history to amass 200+ passing yards and two passing touchdowns in five straight home games. Courtland Sutton has 70+ receiving yards in five straight games, the longest active streak in the NFL, and has at least 55 receiving yards in his last three games against the Browns.