Thanksgiving (to me) is for family, food and football. I’m thankful for all of those entities in my life. It is not for a freaking dog show. With the Steelers not playing on Thursday, only one game is crucial to the fortunes of the black-and-gold. But if you love football and you want to escape Uncle Louie and Aunt Marge, you are definitely going to want to watch. So with that, here is a watching guide for the games.
If the season ended today, the Steelers would be the sixth seed in the AFC, but there are plenty of teams to root for in other action.
Here are the current AFC playoff standings.
- New England Patriots 10-1 (Would win AFC East and would earn a First Round Bye)
- Baltimore Ravens 8-2 (Would win AFC North and earn a First Round Bye)
- Houston Texans 7-4 (Would win AFC South and host Wild Card Pittsburgh)
- Kansas City Chiefs 7-4 (Would win AFC West and host Wild Card Buffalo)
- Buffalo Bills 8-3 (Would earn Wild Card and travel to Kansas City)
- Pittsburgh Steelers 6-5 (Would earn Wild Card and travel to Houston)
- Oakland Raiders 6-5
- Indianapolis Colts 6-5
- Tennessee Titans 6-5
- Cleveland Browns 5-6
- Jacksonville Jaguars 4-7
- Los Angeles Chargers 4-7
- New York Jets 4-7
- Denver Broncos 3-8
- Miami Dolphins 2-9
- X Cincinnati Bengals 0-11
(X) eliminated
Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions - Thursday 12:30 PM, FOX
1:00 PM
These two teams are having disappointing seasons. It’s too bad that this game is a repeat of last year and the game won’t feature Matthew Stafford or maybe not even Jeff Driskell. It will instead showcase Mitch Trubisky and maybe Lions rookie David Blough. I’m more excited that WWE Superstar Braun Strowman will present a championship belt to the winning team. Also, the Brothers Osborne will perform at Halftime. Until then, I’m praying that the tryptophan kicks in big time.
Who to root for: Your choice
Who is BAD rooting for: Detroit
Buffalo Bills at Dallas Cowboys - Thursday 4:25 PM, CBS
This is a really important game for the Steelers fans to take notice of on Thanksgiving Day. The Bills are two games ahead of the Steelers and they play each other on December 15th. A Bills loss to a decent Dallas team would put the Steelers in a good spot (should they keep winning) doing forward in the WC race. Plus, who doesn’t want to see Ellie Goulding perform at Halftime.
Who to root for: Dallas
Who is BAD rooting for: Dallas
New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons - Thursday 8:20 PM, NBC
C’mon NFL...two repeats? A lot of Steelers fans are still mad at the Saints for last year’s loss two days before Christmas. But with the Ravens on a roll, I’d like to see a team like New Orleans emerge as a credible NFC challenger.
Who to root for: Your choice
Who is BAD rooting for: New Orleans