Thanksgiving Football recap

As is the custom for the NFL, the Lions and Cowboys played games against the Patriots and Saints today, respectively. This was absolutely valuable to all of us who needed our pre-feast entertainment, and it was entertaining. The first game to kick off today was the Lions-Patriots game, looking something like this:

Shayne Graham kicked a chip spot to open the scoring, and Shaun Hill connected with Calvin Johnson for 19 yards to give the Lions an early 7-3 lead. Into the second quarter, Maurice Morris had a short run for the TD, answered by BenJarvus Green-Ellis' 15 yard TD run as well, and Dave Rayner kicked a 44 yarder to conclude the 1st half with the Lions on top 17-10. Tom Brady connected with Wes Welker on a short pass to tie the game. Maurice Morris had another short TD run, and Tom Brady connected with Deion Branch for 79 yards to tie the game at 24 through the end of the third quarter. The fourth quarter brought two more Tom Brady touchdowns to Branch for 22 yards and Welker for 16, followed by a BenJarvus Green-Ellis short TD run, which caused a bit of a scrum at the end. The game finished with the Patriots on top 45-24, moving them to 9-2, and dropping the Lions to 2-9.

Moving on to the second game, the Saints and Cowboys from Cowboys Stadium. The Saints got out and dominated the first quarter, with two Chris Ivory TD runs of 3 and 6 yards, and a 50 yard Garrett Hartley field goal, producing an early 17-0 lead of their hosts. The second quarter was a kicker's paradise, with a 45 yard Hartley field goal sandwiched by a pair of David Buehler field goals of 21 and 53 yards. The Saints went into the locker room at halftime ahead by a score of 20-6. Early in the third quarter, Miles Austin ran for 60 yards and a touchdown. Hartley added another field goal of 28 yards, and five minutes later Marion Barber ran for a short TD, giving the Saints a slim 23-20 lead at the end of the third quarter. Later in the fourth quarter, Tashard Choice took a short run in for a touchdown, giving the Cowboys a 27-23 lead. The Cowboys did get the ball back, but Jon Kitna was picked off by Will Smith (not the musician of course) and the Saints were able to regain the lead on a Drew Brees touchdown pass to Lance Moore for 12 yards. This concluded the scoring, as Dallas could not convert a fourth and 10, and the Saints won to put them at 8-3, dropping the Cowboys down to a dismal 3-8.

The third game featured today is the New York Jets and Cincinnati Bengals. The first quarter at New Meadowlands stadium passed quietly, with no one denting the scoreboard until Nick Folk's 27 yard field goal in the middle of the second quarter. Carson Palmer and the Bengals responded with a 5 yard pass to Jordan Shipley for the touchdown. The Bengals took their 7-3 lead into halftime. Early in the third quarter, Brad Smith ran 53 yards for the touchdown, and the Jets backed it up with a Mark Sanchez touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes for 13 yards. The Jets led after the third quarter 17-7. Aaron Pettrey opened up the scoring in the fourth quarter with a 28 yard field goal, which was promptly followed by Brad Smith's 89 yard kickoff return for a touchdown, his second of the night. The Jets continued by sacking Carson Palmer for a safety. The Jets went on to win 26-10, improving themselves to 9-2 while knocking the Bengals to a measly 2-9.

It was a good day for football, and I was quite thankful I was able to watch most of it. The AFC East is shaping up to be a nice battle between the Jets and Patriots. The Saints also look ready to fight with Atlanta for the NFC south. The losers of today's games are pretty much all out of it already, as shown by their low records. And for those who know me know it was hard to be objective in writing about the Cowboys most-beautiful loss. A hockey recap should follow shortly featuring the Colorado Avalanche and Edmonton Oilers.