Welcome to Football Army. We just survived an
absolute marathon of holiday football from the
Thanksgiving triple header all the way through
the first ever Black Friday game. It was an incredible
slate. And now we pivot right into the chaos
of College Rivalry Week. It never stops. So today
we're going to break down all the fallout from
those massive games and then look ahead to what
might be the most dangerous Iron Bowl in years.
It was, um... It was a Thanksgiving that really
reshaped the league. Just as at the table, we
saw the Packers go into Detroit and beat the
Lions 31 -24. Huge divisional game. Then the
Cowboys, in a really emotional game, managed
to hold off the Chiefs 31 -28. The reigning champs,
no less. Exactly. And to cap it all off, Joe
Burrow comes back. And the Bengals just stunned
the Baltimore Ravens 32 -14. And just like that,
the NFC playoff picture gets a whole lot tighter.
That Packers win especially changes the entire
dynamic in the NFC North. Oh, for sure. Before
we jump into that first game, you really have
to look at that division now. The Bears are sitting
at 8 -3, but right behind them are the Packers
at 8 -3 -1. And now the Lions have slid all the
way back. to 7 -5. The margin for error is just
gone. It's zero. It's completely gone. Yeah.
And that season sweep the Packers just pulled
off against Detroit. That's basically like having
a two -game lead because of the tiebreakers.
That's the stuff that wins you a division title
in December. Okay, let's start there then. Game
one on Thanksgiving. Green Bay 31, Detroit 24.
This result feels, I don't know, almost tectonic
for that division. It really is. Completing that
regular season sweep is just massive. It's the
first time they've done it since 2020. And for
a young team like Green Bay, that kind of road
win in that environment, it builds a ton of confidence.
It does. And the way they won was defined by...
A clear philosophy from the head coach. It was
all about aggression. Matt LeFleur, right. He
basically came out and said it afterwards. He
was totally transparent. His quote was that the
game came down to fourth down and that he'd rather
go down swinging. That wasn't just talk either.
That mindset shaped the entire game. I love that
quote. It gives the team an identity. And they
proved it on the field, didn't they? They went
for it right away. Right out of the gate. That
fourth and three early in the game. Instead of
kicking a field goal, they go for it. And it
pays off big time. A 22 -yard touchdown pass
to Dontavian Wicks, the rookie. Exactly. That's
not just a conversion. That's a seven -point
swing. You go from a potential three points to
a definite seven, and you send a message to the
other sideline. That you're not going to play
scared. Not at all. And they kept doing it. Later
on, they had a fourth and one, and what do they
do? Another touchdown. To Romeo Doubts, I think.
Made it 17 -7. That's the one. When you hit on
those plays, it's just demoralizing for a defense.
They feel like they did their job, they got the
stop on third down, and they still can't get
off the field. But the real dagger, the moment
that showed ultimate confidence, came late in
the fourth quarter. Oh, yeah. The game -sealing
one. Green Bay is up by seven, just trying to
run out the clock. They face another fourth and
three. Most... Coaches in the league are punting
there. 100%. You punt the ball, pin him deep,
and you trust your defense to get one final stop.
Not LeFleur. He put the ball right back in Jordan
Love's hands. Which is the ultimate vote of confidence
for your young quarterback. And Love delivered.
He finds Wicks again. For a 16 -yard game that
just completely ices the game. And the craziest
part of that play, if you watch the replay, is
that Wicks literally lost his shoe mid -round.
No way. Yeah, he stumbles, his shoe flies off,
but he somehow keeps his balance, secures the
catch, and gets the first down. Just an incredible
effort. And that caps off a career day for him.
94 yards and two touchdowns for an undrafted
rookie on Thanksgiving. That's a huge story.
That whole young receiving core is growing up
fast. But this game was also about Jordan Love
taking that next step. He had a monster day.
Four touchdowns, and I saw a stat that really
put his performance in historical context for
the Packers. It was a big one. He became the
first Packers quarterback to throw for four or
more touchdowns on Thanksgiving, with a passer
rating over 120 cents. Wait for it. Bart Starr
in 1966. Wow. That's nearly 60 years. To 59 years.
When you're putting your name next to Bart Starr
in the Packers history books, you're doing something
right. He just looks so poised, so in control.
It really does feel like they've found their
guy again. It's starting to look that way. But,
you know, wasn't all good news for Green Bay.
The win came at a pretty significant cost. The
injury to Devontae Wyatt. Yeah, their big defensive
lineman. He went down late with what looked like
a serious ankle injury. And LeFleur called it
a critical loss after the game, which is never
what you want to hear. No. Wyatt is their key
guy in the middle for stopping the run. If he's
out for any extended period of time, that...
fundamentally changes what they can do on defense,
especially with some run -heavy teams coming
up on the schedule. So while Green Bay's offense
is celebrating, their defense might have a huge
problem. A huge hole to fill. And speaking of
defense, we have to talk about the guy who completely
wrecked the game for the Lions offense, Micah
Parsons. An absolute game wrecker. And you have
to remember, the price Green Bay paid to get
him, it was a king's ransom. Two first -round
picks, plus Kenny Clark, right. And then they
gave him that massive contract. $188 million.
That's the kind of investment you make for a
player you believe is a true cornerstone, a generational
talent. And against the Lions, he looked every
bit the part. What was his final stat line? It
was insane. It was. Two and a half sacks, eight
tackles, four quarterback hits, and 10 total
pressures on Jared Goff. He was just living in
the backfield. That is complete and utter dominance.
And those sacks pushed him past a... pretty significant
historical marker. It did. He's now at 12 .5
sacks for the season. And that makes him the
first player in the history of the NFL to record
at least 12 sacks in each of his first five seasons.
The first ever. That's incredible. I know he
was tied with Reggie White for a similar record.
Right. They both had started their careers with
five straight seasons of double -digit sacks.
But Parsons just took it a step further, hitting
12 in all five of those years. Nobody's ever
done that. So when you pay a guy almost $200
million, you're paying for that kind of history.
You're paying for him to be an outlier, and he
is. But what's maybe even more impressive is
his mindset about it. His quote after the game
was perfect. Yeah, they asked him about the record,
and he didn't even pause. He just said, how can
we get to six? That's the mindset. I love that.
No celebrating, just what's next? How do you
get better? Once you do six, how do you get to
seven? That's the mentality. It's an all -time
great. He's not chasing stats. He's chasing perfection.
And to top it all off, he also tied the NFL record
for most career sacks on Thanksgiving Day. He
just owns the holiday. With eight and a half.
He's basically become a Thanksgiving tradition,
just like turkey and stuffing. All right. So
let's flip to the other side of that game. The
Detroit Lions. This loss has to be a gut punch
for them. A huge one. They're down to 7 -5 now.
And Dan Campbell himself said they've dug ourselves
a little bit of a hole. And it's not just the
loss. It's how they're losing. Their whole identity
seems to be backfiring on them right now. It
really is. I mean, their Thanksgiving record
is already abysmal, something like one to eight
in their last nine games on the holiday. But
the bigger issue is their aggression on fourth
down. It used to be their strength. And now.
Now it's a crisis. They failed twice on fourth
down against the Packers. And that's become a
trend. What's the stat on that? It's pretty damning,
isn't it? It is. Since week 11. The Lions are
now zero for seven on fourth down attempts. That
is the most tries in the league in that span
without a single conversion. Zero for seven.
Ouch. And Campbell said he's going to stick with
it, that it's who they are. But at some point,
you have to execute. The league has tape on them
now. They know it's coming. And the Lions haven't
adjusted. And to make a really bad day even worse.
They lost their best offensive player. Amon Ross
St. Brown. It's a brutal blow. He goes down with
an ankle injury in the first quarter, and he's
their engine. Leading receiver, leading in yards,
touchdowns, everything. And Campbell's prognosis
wasn't great. A week or two, maybe, if we're
lucky. Yeah, and you have to connect that to
the fact that they already lost their star tight
end, Sam Laporta, for the season. Right, so you
take away Goff's top two targets. And suddenly
you're asking a whole lot from Jamison Williams
and the rookie running back, Jameer Gibbs. It
just puts immense pressure on a much smaller
group of players to carry the entire offense.
They're running out of weapons fast. All right,
let's move to the second game of the day. The
Dallas Cowboys taking down the Kansas City Chiefs
31 -28. A huge win for Dallas, extending their
win streak to three. It was a massive statement
win. To do it against the defending AFC champs,
it shows that this Cowboys team might have a
different level of resilience this year. And
it really felt like their offense has found a
consistent rhythm lately. It has. Dak Prescott
was excellent again. Two touchdowns, 320 yards
through the air. But you really have to give
a ton of credit to the offensive line. They were
fantastic. Kept them clean all day. Zero sacks
allowed. That was against the Chiefs defense
that was blitzing like crazy trying to throw
them off. The O -line just stoned them. And that
protection allows the other parts of the offense
to get going. The run game, for example, is finally
looking consistent. Three straight weeks with
over 100 yards on the ground now. They had 137
against the Chiefs. including that big 43 -yard
touchdown run from Malik Davis. When they can
run the ball like that, it makes everything Dak
does in the passing game, especially the play
action, so much more dangerous. And his receivers
really stepped up, CeeDee Lamb especially. Yeah,
he had a couple of uncharacteristic drops the
week before against Philly, and you wondered
how he'd respond? He responded like a true number
one receiver. Seven catches, 112 yards, and a
touchdown. Just bounced right back. And then
there's George Pickens on the other side, who's
just been a model of consistency all season.
Unbelievable season for him. He had another six
catches for 88 yards, but the biggest one was
that 13 -yard catch on third and two to seal
the game. Just a clutch, chain -moving play when
they absolutely needed it. And he's putting up
such huge numbers, over 1 ,100 yards and eight
touchdowns already, that the talk is already
starting about his next contract. The franchise
tag, right? Yep. The non -exclusive tag is projected
to be around $28 million. It just shows that
Dallas is ready to pay up to keep their stars,
both on offense with Pickens and on defense with
Parsons. Speaking of the defense, they made the
plays they had to. Holding that Chiefs offense
scoreless for a long stretch in the middle of
the game was the key. Forcing four straight punts
in the second and third quarters. That's how
you beat Patrick Mahomes. And Jadeveon Clanny
had a huge game. Two sacks on Mahomes. Yeah,
and one of those sacks took him something like
11 seconds to finally get there. It just shows
you how hard it is to bring Mahomes down, but
also how relentless Clowney's motor is. And the
guys they brought in off the deadline are contributing.
Quinn and Williams had a bunch of pressures.
He did. Six pressures and four run tackles. He's
been a perfect fit. They're getting pressure
from multiple spots now, which is exactly what
you need in the playoffs. But this game and this
whole win streak, really, it's been about more
than just football for the Cowboys. It's been
happening under this cloud of tragedy. It has.
This 3A run started right after the tragic death
of their defensive end, Marshawn Neeland. And
the team has clearly rallied together. The halftime
show tribute from Post Malone was incredibly
powerful. It was. You could feel the emotion
when he shouted, we love you, 94. Yeah. And Dak
Prescott talked about it after the game, how
they're honoring him, hanging his jersey in the
locker room, carrying the number 94 flag on the
field. They're playing for something bigger.
It's an incredible story of resilience, and there
was another really personal kind of emotional
angle to this game for one of the coaches. For
Brian Schottenheimer, yeah. It was his first
Thanksgiving win, and it came against the Chiefs,
the team his late father, Marty Schottenheimer,
famously coached. And he said he carries his
dad's old football card with him for every game.
Just a little reminder of how deep these connections
run in the football world. It's more than just
a game. It really is. Okay, let's look at the
team that lost that game, the Kansas City Chiefs.
Falling to 6 -6. This is uncharted territory
for them. Completely. And what's so jarring is
that they lost a game where Patrick Mahomes was
statistically brilliant. Four touchdowns, zero
interceptions. Right. And he had never lost a
game in his career with that stat line before.
He was 12 -U. It just proves that the Chiefs'
problems run a lot deeper than their quarterback.
Mahomes even said it himself. The quote was something
like, we can beat anybody, but we've shown that
we can lose to anybody. That's a quarterback
who is deeply frustrated with his team's inconsistency.
He pointed to missed opportunities, getting the
ball at midfield twice to start the second half,
and coming away with zero points. That's losing
football. And now the playoff picture looks genuinely
scary for them. It does. Their chances dropped
from 63 % down to 47 % with this loss. Mahomes
said it grimly. You've got to win every game
now and hope that's enough. Their margin for
error is gone. And just when you think it can't
get any worse, you look at their injury report.
It's a catastrophe on the offensive line. They
came into the game without their starting right
guard, Trey Smith. OK, that's one starter. Then
during the game, they lose their right tackle,
Juwan Taylor, to an elbow injury. That's two.
And then the biggest blow of all, their rookie
left tackle, Josh Simmons, goes down with a dislocated
and fractured wrist. He's done for a long, long
time. So that's three starting offensive linemen
down. For a team that relies on Mahomes extending
plays, that is, that is a potential death blow
to their season. It's an absolute crisis. Even
a magician like Mahomes can't operate if the
pocket is collapsing from three different spots
on every single play. The pressure is now immense
on a group of backups to somehow hold it together.
Unbelievable. Let's get to the Thanksgiving nightcap.
The Cincinnati Bengals stunning the Baltimore
Ravens, 32 -14. And the headline here is pretty
simple, isn't it? It is. Joe Burrow is back.
And he looked like he hadn't missed a beat. Not
at all. He comes back after missing nine games
with that toe injury and just looks completely
comfortable. 261 yards, two touchdowns, zero
picks. The numbers with him versus without him
are just staggering. It's night and day. They're
3 -0 when he plays. And they were 1 -8 without
him. He is the franchise. And they didn't ease
him back in either. They came out throwing the
ball all over the yard. They trusted him immediately.
He threw the ball 40 times in the first three
quarters alone. That's a statement of intent.
They were going to be timid. But as good as Burrow
was, this game was won because of how poorly
the Ravens played. Oh, without a doubt. Baltimore
just could not hold on to the football. A season
high, five turnovers. Five. That's almost impossible
to win with. Four fumbles and an interception.
And Lamar Jackson was responsible for three of
them himself. It's just it's a shocking lack
of ball security from a team that was on a five
game win streak. And there was one turnover,
one specific fumble that completely changed the
entire game. The Isaiah likely fumble. It was
one of the biggest momentum swings you will ever
see. Set the scene. He catches a pass. He's rumbling
down the field. It's a 44 yard play. He's heading
for the end zone about to give the Ravens an
eight point lead. It looks like a done deal.
And then the Bengals safety Jordan battle just
makes a perfect play. A perfect punch knocks
the ball out right at the goal line just before
likely crosses the plane. So instead of a Baltimore
touchdown. The ball rolls through the end zone.
It's a touchback. Bengals ball. It was a potential
14 point swing on a single play. Absolutely devastating
for Baltimore. And you have to credit that Bengals
defense. They've been ranked near the bottom
of the league all year, but they stepped up.
Big time. They did. They forced the turnovers
and they capitalized. A defensive end, Cedric
Johnson, recovered two fumbles himself. They
held a really good Ravens offense to just 14
points. Now, in that game, we also saw a bit
of history from the Ravens running back, Derrick
Henry. We did. He passed the legendary Jim Brown
to move into 11th on the all -time rushing list.
An incredible accomplishment. And he joined LaDainian
Tomlinson in a pretty exclusive club, too. The
only two players ever with 10 or more rushing
touchdowns in eight or more straight seasons.
Just a model of sustained dominance. But for
all that history, his usage in the game was weird,
to say the least. It was very strange. In the
first quarter, he was gashing them. Five carries,
33 yards, a touchdown. He looked great. And then
in the second quarter... He got zero carries,
not one. How does that even happen? Your quarterback
is struggling with turnovers, your Hall of Fame
running back is playing well, and you just stop
giving him the ball. It makes no sense. It speaks
to a real identity crisis on offense for Baltimore.
They get so focused on trying to make the passing
game work that they abandon what's actually working
on the ground. It's a major flaw. And while we're
talking about the Ravens, they had a key injury
in that game as well. Cornerback Nate Wiggins.
Yeah, he went out with a foot injury. The good
news is Coach Harbaugh said it's not serious
long term. But his status for their next game
against the Steelers is up in the air, right?
It is. And losing a starting corner for a must
-win divisional game against a rival is not ideal.
Not at all. Let's stay in the AFC for one more
piece of major news. This one's out of Indianapolis,
and it could shake up the whole conference. Yeah,
this is a big one. Colts quarterback Daniel Jones,
who has been having an incredible... Career best
season. Leading the Colts to an 8 -3 record,
top of the AFC South. He's dealing with a fractured
fibula. A fracture. And he's saying he's going
to play through it. He is. He insists he'll be
out there for week 14 against the Texans, but
you have to be hugely skeptical about that. I
mean, a fracture in your leg, that's got to affect
his mobility, his ability to plant and throw.
We saw that at the end of their last game. We
did. He was clearly hampered. He only completed
three of eight passes in the fourth quarter.
For a team that's been leading the league in
scoring, Any drop off from your quarterback is
potentially devastating. OK, let's turn our attention
to the Black Friday game, a massive NFC showdown
between two 8 -3 teams, the Chicago Bears and
the Philadelphia Eagles. The stakes here are
just enormous. The winner gets a huge leg up
in their divisional race and in the overall NFC
playoff picture. And the Eagles are coming into
this game in a really weird spot mentally. Reeling
is the word. They had that. Historic collapse,
as it's being called, against Dallas last week
blew a 21 -0 lead. That's the kind of loss that
can linger. The good news for them seems to be
on the injury front, at least for their skill
players. Right. Devonta Smith and Saquon Barkley
are both expected to play, which is huge. Smith
is their leading receiver. You need him out there.
But the bad news is on the offensive line. A
critical absence. The all -pro tackle Lane Johnson
is out with a foot injury. And when you take
an elite protector like him out of the lineup
and you combine it with the weather forecast.
High winds at Lincoln Financial Field. We've
seen that movie before. It completely neutralized
Jalen Hurts against the Lions a few weeks ago.
He couldn't throw the ball effectively at all.
So if the wind is howling again, they're going
to have to rely on their run game. And that's
where the problem is. Yeah. Their run game hasn't
been good. He was ranked 21st in the league.
It's been a huge point of criticism. And Nick
Foles, of all people, weighed in on it this week.
He did, and he was pretty direct. He basically
called out their offensive coordinator for a
lack of creativity and predictability. Saying
they're too reliant on certain formations, they
don't use play action enough, and they call the
same run plays over and over in the second half.
Exactly. He pointed out that for all the talent
they have, they rank 24th in total offense. That's
a damning indictment. And on the other side,
you have the Bears, who are coming in red hot.
A four -game winning streak. They're playing
with a ton of confidence. And their quarterback,
Caleb Williams, is chasing a big franchise milestone.
The 4 ,000 -yard mark. Yep. He needs to average
just under 240 yards a game the rest of the way
to get there. It just shows the kind of high
-powered passing attack they've become. And they're
getting healthy at the right time. Their two
best cornerbacks are coming back. Jalon Johnson
and Kyler Gordon. That is a massive boost for
their defense, especially when you're about to
face a receiver duo like Smith and A .J. Brown.
Johnson in particular is one of the best cover
corners in the game. All right. Let's leave the
NFL for a bit and dive into the pure, beautiful
chaos of college football's rivalry week. And
we have to start with the Iron Bowl. The Iron
Bowl. Auburn at 5 -6, hosting No. 10 Alabama
at 9 -2. And the stakes are just completely different
for each team. For Auburn, it's simple. Win and
you go to a bowl game. A huge accomplishment
for Hugh Freeze in his first year. And for Alabama,
it's also simple. Lose, and any tiny remote chance
you had of making the college football playoff
is completely, utterly gone. On paper, this looks
like an easy Alabama win. They've won the last
five Iron Bowls. And there's that one stat that
everyone points to. A top 10 ranked Alabama team
has never, ever lost to an unranked Auburn team
at Jordan -Hare Stadium. Never. That seems pretty
definitive. It seems that way. But this is where
you have to look past the stats and embrace the...
the famous voodoo of Jordan Hare. The chaos factor.
Exactly. Because while that never lost stat is
true, you look at the last two times Bama won
there. They were nail biters. How close were
they? They won by a combined five points total
against two Auburn teams that were pretty mediocre,
finished 6 -7. So they don't lose there, but
they also don't blow them out. Strange things
just tend to happen in that stadium. And you
look at Auburn's offense right now, and they
look like a different team since their coaching
change. A completely different team. Since they
fired Hugh Freeze as the play caller, they've
been playing faster, more exciting football with
Ashton Daniels at quarterback. and their star
receiver Cam Coleman has been unleashed. Yet
a monster game against Vanderbilt. This is not
the same plotting Auburn offense we saw earlier
in the year. They're going to try and use tempo
to put Alabama's defense on its heels. And on
the Alabama side, there are some real concerns
about their quarterback Ty Simpson. There are.
He's been in a bit of a slump. Really uncharacteristic
mistakes, turning the ball over. He had a pick
and a fumble against Oklahoma, then threw two
more interceptions last week against Eastern
Illinois. And if you're turning the ball over
against Eastern Illinois. Yeah, you're in big
trouble against your archrival in their stadium
with their fans going crazy. Auburn is going
to smell blood in the water and come after them.
So if Simpson struggles, Alabama will need to
lean on its defense. They will. And their run
defense has been much better in the second half
of the season. They might have to win this game
for them, create a few turnovers of their own,
and just grind out a low -scoring win. And that's
why, even though Alabama's a six -point favorite,
you're hearing so much upset buzz from analysts
this week. The chaos is calling to them. They
see an Auburn team playing loose and fast with
nothing to lose and an Alabama team that has
looked vulnerable and is facing immense pressure.
We've even seen some specific score predictions
floating around calling for the upset. Oh, yeah.
Auburn 24 -21, Auburn 29 -27. People are genuinely
picking the upset, which is rare in this rivalry
when the talent gap is this big. It all comes
down to one question. Does history prevail or
does chaos rain on the plains? And we can't wrap
up Rivalry Week without at least touching on
the other massive game. Number one, Ohio State
at number 15, Michigan. The game. And this one.
Unlike the Iron Bowl, has a pretty strong consensus.
Most people expect Ohio State to win and win
pretty comfortably. Because of their defense,
mostly. Their defense is elite and Michigan's
offense has just been inconsistent all year long.
The predictions are all in that 21 -17 to 35
-17 range for Ohio State. Michigan is trying
to win their fifth straight in the series, but
it feels like the talent gap is just too much
this year. It does. A win for Ohio State here
probably solidifies their spot in the playoff.
And just quickly, in the SEC, you've got number
three, Texas A &M favored over number 16, Texas.
And number four, Georgia is expected to handle
Georgia Tech. So the top teams are expected to
hold serve, setting up some massive conference
championship games next week. Assuming they can
avoid the rivalry week chaos, of course. Which
is never a guarantee. Okay, that was an incredible
amount of football to unpack. We saw Parsons
make history for the Packers, Burroughs' return
completely changed the Bengals' fortunes, and
the Cowboys gut out an emotional win over the
Chiefs. And if there's one major takeaway for
you listening, it's how tight all these divisional
races have become. The NFC North is now a total
dogfight between three teams. The Packers sweeping
the Lions might end up being the single most
important outcome of the entire season for that
division. It's true. The margin for error is
gone everywhere. And that brings me back to the
biggest question mark in the entire AFC right
now. The Kansas City Chiefs. Yeah. We watched
the most... dominant force in the conference
fall to 6 -6. We heard Patrick Mahomes basically
say they have to win out and pray that it's enough
to even make the playoff. And then you layer
on top of that the catastrophic injuries they
just suffered on their offensive line. They're
down three starters, including a long -term injury
to their left tackle. So here's the thought I
want to leave you with. Given how bad those injuries
are and given the inconsistency we've seen from
them all year, do you really believe Patrick
Mahomes can overcome all of that? Can he drag
this team through a must -win schedule into the
postseason, or has the magic and their margin
for error finally run out?