NFL Week 12
Thanksgiving weekend is among the best sporting weeks of this year. As has been the custom, the 2022 NFL season will have three NFL Week 12 matchups on Turkey Day. Those games this year will be sandwiched around college football this year. One thing the NFL will have to compete with it typically doesn’t is the World Cup.
Soccer’s top sporting event was shifted to the winter for this cycle due to the temperatures in Qatar, the host country, being too hot to play in the summer. But the NFL matchups will also show the league’s playoff race is also starting to heat up as well.
NFL Games of the Week
Thursday, Nov. 24
Buffalo Bills
vs
Detroit Lions
New York Giants
vs
Dallas Cowboys
New England Patriots
vs
Minnesota Vikings
Sunday, Nov. 27
Denver Broncos
vs
Carolina Panthers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
vs
Cleveland Browns
Baltimore Ravens
vs
Jacksonville Jaguars
Houston Texans
vs
Miami Dolphins
Chicago Bears
vs
New York Jets
Cincinnati Bengals
vs
Tennessee Titans
Atlanta Falcons
vs
Washington Commanders
Los Angeles Chargers
vs
Arizona Cardinals
Las Vegas Raiders
vs
Seattle Seahawks
Los Angeles Rams
vs
Kansas City Chiefs
New Orleans Saints
vs
San Francisco 49ers
Green Bay Packers
vs
Philadelphia Eagles
Monday, Nov. 28
Pittsburgh Steelers
vs
Indianapolis Colts
Here’s a look at some interesting facts about NFL Week 12 matchups.
Leave Detroit Alone
With no NFL championships since 1957 and no playoff wins since 1991, Detroit Lions fans have suffered enough over the past 60-plus years. Recent talk has been about removing the Lions from their traditional slot as the noon game on Thanksgiving. But this year’s matchup with the Buffalo Bills, which the Bill should win comfortably, should never be under threat.
Detroit started its tradition of playing on Thanksgiving after the then-Spartans moved from Portsmouth, Ohio, to the Motor City in 1934. Rechristened the Lions, owner George Richards wanted to get more attention from the sports pages that typically went to the MLB’s Tigers, so he set up a Thanksgiving Day game with the Chicago Bears. The Lions sold out the University of Detroit’s 26,000-seat Stadium in what would be a 19-16 loss.
Detroit has played on the holiday ever since, save for a span of six years between 1939 and 1944. The Lions are 37-43-2 all-time on the holiday.
Other Important Matchups
- The Dallas Cowboys, another traditional Thanksgiving host team, will take on the New York Giants. The Cowboys are 31-22 all-time on Turkey Day, while the Giants are 7-5-3.
- The Thanksgiving night game will feature the New England Patriots traveling to the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings are 6-2 on Thanksgiving, while the Patriots are 3-2.
- The Los Angeles Rams will travel to Arrowhead Stadium for a meeting with the Kansas City Chiefs. Both teams have had a lot of success and have nearly met in the Super Bowl several times in the past five years.
