We are unfortunately short of time to record the pod this week, so instead I come to you by way of pen and paper…or keyboard and screen, you get the point. It’s Thanksgiving week, the week the league builds its whole regular season around. The NFL along with college football is bringing you a jam packed five day period of football, which should keep you out of your turkey induced coma. Before we move onto this week’s games, let’s look back at a wild week 12!

First Down

How Bout Dem Cowboys: Of all the games on last week’s card, the Cowboys clash with the Eagles was the one I was most interested in. It’s never dull in Dallas, and this year is perhaps the truest example of that. From Parsons being traded, to their acquisitions at the deadline and the tragic passing of Marshawn Kneeland, the star has been at the center of a lot of stories. But this home clash with the Eagles presented a chance to get the season on track.

The game started off poorly for the boys, trailing 21-0 early in the second quarter, but their vaunted offense woke up and got them back in it. They managed to tie the game on a Prescott scramble and after a wild fourth quarter, they won it on a Brandon Aubrey field goal, 24-21. Their defense looks much improved and the offense is humming, at 5-5-1 look out for the playoff hungry Cowboys!

Second Down

Buffalo Hunt in Houston: Thursday night in Houston, it was a red out in the stands. Maybe that color was enough to piss off the Texans pass rush, who terrorized Josh Allen for four quarters. Allen was sacked 8 times, and threw two interceptions in the eventual 23-19 loss to the Texans. Leading the assault was defensive player of the year candidate Will Anderson, who had 2.5 sacks on the night, running his total to 10.5 for the season.

Anderson and his pass rushing partner Danielle Hunter, who has 11 sacks of his own, lead the leagues number one defense in numerous categories. That unit, has combined with backup quarterback Davis Mills to turn Houston’s season around, as they have gone from 0-3 to 6-5. With CJ Stroud returning soon, their o-line and running game improving, and the defense dominating teams, the Texans are thinking playoffs. They may even be able to catch the sliding Colts, who they play twice down the stretch!

Third Down

Motor City Masterpiece: Let’s get out of the lone star state and up to the Motor City where Jahmyr Gibbs painted his masterpiece. For three quarters the Lions slept walked through their contest with the Giants. They seemingly had nothing in the tank, and looked destined for another frustrating loss, further hurting their playoff chances. But they were about to get saved by a brilliant solo performance.

Running back Jahmyr Gibbs put the team on his back Sunday, going for 219 yards and two touchdowns on just 15 carries. He also caught 11 passes for 45 yards and one touchdown. His 69-yard house call in overtime put the Lions up 34-27, a lead they would not relinquish as their defense shut the door on the Giants. The Lions still seem to have some real flaws, but this win was critical for them to keep pace in the North and the NFC wild card race. As for Gibbs, this performance, further solidifies him as one of the best players in the sport.

Fourth Down

Taking on Water: For much of the early season, the Buccaneers were an impressive story. The team battled their way through a series of injuries to first place in the NFC South and Baker Mayfield leading the MVP race. But over the last few weeks the pirate ship is taking on water, with a string of defeats, capped by being demolished by the Rams, dropping them to 6-5.

Worse than the loss was that Baker Mayfield went down with an apparent injury. He was replaced by Teddy “Two Gloves” Bridgewater, and the injury is being reported as a sprain to Baker’s non-throwing left shoulder. With Mike Evans, Bucky Irving, and many more already injured, Tampa can’t possibly survive losing Baker too. Time to bail out some water!

Chain Mover

A Pair of Record Breakers?: Good news is we moved the chains and have room for one more topic. First up is Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba who has having a video game type season for Seattle. Number 11 in white has 1,313 yards receiving, a staggering number through eleven games, putting him on a record setting pace. The all time single season receiving yards record is held by Calvin Johnson at 1,964 yards, which JSN is on pace to shatter with 2,029 yards. He’s going to need Sam Darnold to keep on throwing him the rock if he wants to do it, but he’s got a real shot at it.

Meanwhile on the defensive side of things there is Myles Garrett, who is enjoying one of the greatest pass rushing seasons in NFL history. Garrett has 18 sacks in just eleven games, a number that’s hard to wrap your head around, and one that has him on pace to break the single season NFL record. The mark is currently held by Michael Strahan and TJ Watt, both of whom finished with 22.5 sacks in a season. With five games to go, the future Browns Hall of Famer is in great shape to pass the current holders. I have even better news for Myles, his Browns won a game this weekend, 24-10 over the Raiders in Shedeur Sanders NFL debut.

I want to wish all of you reading along with us a Happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy it with your family and friends alike, and don’t forget, do what John Madden would do. Eat lots of food, and watch lots of football! I leave you with my picks for the week!

Lions over Packers

Cowboys over Chiefs

Ravens over Bengals

Eagles over Bears

Browns over 49ers

Buccaneers over Cardinals

Jaguars over Titans

Jets over Falcons

Colts over Texans

Rams over Panthers

Dolphins over Saints

Seahawks over Vikings

Steelers over Bills

Chargers over Raiders

Broncos over Commanders

Patriots over Giants

On twitter you can find Mike @Mike_Sheerin, Tyler @TMon_19 and Sean @SeanMartinNFL. Subscribe to the site by hitting the follow button in the bottom right corner and entering your email address. Check out our Instagram feed @thebroadwaybreakdownsports for special gameday and promotional content. Our podcasts are available on Spotify. Visit the Rangers Ed Shop by clicking the link on our homepage. Check out our mailbag page to join the conversation here on the site and on our partners show, The Rangers Ed Podcast! We’ll be back with more soon.