That Sports Thing?

Adam Troxtell

There are two things I look forward to the most when Thanksgiving comes: food and football. Usually, both are quality products and have me full both as an NFL fan and as a fan of my mother's green-bean casserole. However, this year it was only the turkey and stuffing which left me satisfied.

Let's start with the Packers and Detroit. Despite the Lions' struggling recently, I thought this might actually be a decent match-up. That was until Stafford decided to pull his usual stint of gifting the opposing team opportunities to score. Seriously, does he know what color Detroit's jerseys are? Luckily by the time Green Bay had opened up a sizeable lead, the bread and butter had already made its trip around the table twice.

The entire family gathered around for the Cowboys game, and I am not saying I didn't enjoy a Dallas win. The most disappointing thing about this match: it was against the Raiders. Really?! The schedulers pit Dallas, America's Team, against someone like Oakland on a true American holiday. They could not have played the 49ers, or even Washington? Thanksgiving is a day for exciting football, not an almost for certain white-washing.

Then when it came time for the final game of the day, featuring two struggling teams desperate for hope, the glorious NFL Network had to ruin the day. What kind of world do we live in when someone has to pay extra just to watch a football game on Thanksgiving? Lucky for me, the pumpkin pie was immeasurable and the coffee kept on flowing. It's a good thing Thanksgiving is a day synonymous with too much food for any human being to consume, because that was the only entertaining aspect of a great holiday.

Caleb Slinkard

On the surface, the NFL games played this past Thanksgiving look boring and trivial, hardly something that stuffed football fans want to see as they doze off some of that homemade stuffing.  The Dallas Cowboys overcame their offensive struggles to outscore the perennial dormat that is the Oakland Raiders 24-7, Green Bay dominated a Detroit Lions team that has won two games in the past two years, and the New York Giants continued their second-half woes against the also-skidding Denver Broncos by losing 26-6.  Yawn, right?

Wrong.  This Thanksgiving showcased some amazing football play.  Here are three reasons that the best 2009 Thanksgiving football was not at your local Turkey Bowl.

1. Miles Austin.  This guy can fly.  He's the best receiver on America's team, and easily the biggest surprise of the 2009 NFL season.  Sure, he was facing the Oakland Raiders, but he dropped 145 yards and a touchdown, and most of that in the first half.  Every time he catches the ball, he's apt to turn it into big yards.  2009 will be known as Austin's breakout year, and his Thanksgiving Day game is his best games.  His performance made the Dallas v. Oakland match-up worth watching.

2. Matthew Stafford's interception throws.  Stafford was the number one pick in the 2009 NFL draft, and now we all know why.  The way he completes passes to other teams is amazing.  He makes it look so flawless, it's like he's not even trying.  If I didn't know better, I would think that he was actually attempting to complete passes to his own teammates.

3. The collapse of the New York Giants and Denver Broncos respectively. The Giants were 5-0 to start the season, while the Broncos were a surprising 6-0.  Both teams decided to follow up their winning streaks by losing four straight, effectively dropping themselves out of serious playoff contention.  In the end, the Broncos won, but no one really cares.  Especially New York and Denver.