Photo: Dave Anderson / Unsplash
By Charles Collier
The 2023 Packers were like the kid being chased home by the neighborhood bully and it wasn’t clear whether they would stand up to the bully or continue to be chased home. Based on yesterday’s performance-It looks like the Packers have stood up to the bully and chased him home. The Packers, led by Jordan Love, played their best game of the season and they sent Detroit players home to their family and friends in no festive mood. The Packers won 29-22 in Love’s most consistent game of the season. Love threw for 268 yards and three touchdowns. He completed 22 out of 32 of his passes and ended up with a 125.5 QB rating, his highest of the season in a game.
The defense played well, led by Rashan Gary’s dominant performance. Gary played one of the best games by a linebacker in the history of the Packers. He had three sacks, forced two fumbles and had seven tackles in the defense’s best performance of the season. Gary’s performance earned him a red cape and the game ball. Maybe not the red cape, but his performance was certainly superman-like. Gary is a Packer fan favorite with his blue-collar approach to the game. He puts on his hard hat, punches the clock and puts in work! Gary has 8 sacks on the season and his play will make him a candidate for Defensive Player of The Year.
Love won his first Madden Player of The Game Award. The Packers’ have won three of their last four games and are 5-6. Over that span, Love has shown the promise and potential that led the Packers to draft him in the first round of the 2020 draft. If he continues his play, the Packers have a realistic chance of making the playoffs this season.
In the late afternoon game, the Dallas Cowboys and Dak Prescott made easy work of the Washington Commanders in a 45-10 win. Dak threw for 331 yards and tossed four touchdown passes for a QB rating of 142.1. Over Dak’s last five games he has thrown for 1,543 yards and has 14 touchdown passes with only 2 interceptions and he had a QB rating of 118.7. Prescott is making a strong case for the MVP and based on his play, Dallas is one of the most feared teams in the NFL. Dallas’ defense was dominant behind the play of favorite Defensive Player of The Year Micah Parsons as they continue to play inspired football. Mike McCarthy’s play calling has been excellent over the last five games and if McCarthy’s Cowboys keep winning, I opine he has a shot to win his second NFL Coach of The Year Award.
In the late game, the 49ers man- handled the Seattle Seahawks defeating them, 31-13. Many sports analysts think the 49ers are the team to beat and they will represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. Yesterday’s performance did nothing but provide ammunition to that argument.
Yesterday’s Thanksgiving games were entertaining and gave football fans something to cheer about on Turkey Day!