NFL - Week Thirteen Recap (Thanksgiving Day and Friday games)

 

Bears Head Coach Matt Eberflus was fired a day after the teams' sixth straight loss.

Oops, they did it again. 

The Chicago Bears (4-8) blew a chance to at least attempt a game tying field goal in a 23-20 loss on Thanksgiving Day against the host Detroit Lions. The Lions (11-1) won their tenth consecutive game and built a 16-0 halftime lead as quarterback Jared Goff (221 passing yards, 2 TD) threw the first of his two touchdown passes to tight end Sam LaPorta and kicker Jake Bates added three field goals.

 The Bears mounted a furious fourth quarter rally with QB Caleb Williams (256 passing yards, 3 TD) throwing two TD passes before the clock ran out on them as they failed to use their final timeout in the final 32 seconds of the game. And the following day, for the first time in team history, the Bears fired a Head Coach (Matt Eberflus) during the regular season.

In Dallas, the Cowboys (5-7) won on Thanksgiving Day, 27-20 against the New York Giants (2-10), who became the first team in the NFL to be officially eliminated from playoff contention. Dallas linebacker DeMarvion Overshown intercepted a pass and took it back 23 yards for a go ahead touchdown as the Cowboys had a 13-7 lead with 11:29 left in the second quarter and never looked back. Cowboys QB Cooper Rush threw a TD pass and running back Rico Dowdle (112 rushing yards) scored on a four-yard run in the third quarter to build a 27-10 lead. The Giants added a field goal and eight-yard scoring run by QB Drew Lock with 2:18 remaining in the game to account for the final score.

The third game on Thanksgiving saw the Green Bay Packers (9-3) win at home, 30-17 over the Miami Dolphins (5-7) as QB Jordan Love threw two touchdown passes along with 274 passing yards. Packers RB Josh Jacobs added a scoring run as they built a 30-11 lead. Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa passed for 365 yards and two touchdowns in the loss. 

In the Friday afternoon game in Kansas City, the Chiefs became the first team in the NFL to clinch a playoff spot and improved to 11-1 with another nail biting win.  The Chiefs won  a 19-17 decision against the Las Vegas Raiders (2-10) and wrapped up the victory when they recovered a fumbled shotgun snap to Raiders QB Aidan O' Connell in the closing seconds as the Raiders were driving into field goal range. Chiefs kicker Matthew Wright kicked four field goals and QB Patrick Mahomes had a TD pass and 306 passing yards to lead the way while O' Connell threw for 340 yards and a touchdown while Raiders tight end Brock Bowers had ten receptions for 140 yards and also a 33-yard touchdown reception in defeat.

WEEK THIRTEEN RESULTS 

Detroit 23, Chicago 20 

Dallas 27, N.Y. Giants 20

Green Bay 30, Miami 17

Kansas City 19, Las Vegas 17