Cincy Jungle staff picks for Thanksgiving/Black Friday games and open thread

Here are who our staff is taking on the Thursday and Friday games.

Thanksgiving Day games are quite the NFL tradition. Before the NFL opted for Thursday Night Football games, Thanksgiving was the only time you would see NFL games on Thursday, which made it a special tradition that many families shared during the holiday.

Now, the NFL has expanded it to not just two games, but they added a third game to be a primetime game to close off the night.

This will also be the first season we see a Black Friday day game. The day after Thanksgiving shopping retailers roll out some of their big deals. For whatever reason, the NFL decided they would throw their first Friday primetime game there. The best reasoning for that is probably giving Amazon Prime its exclusive game for the week.

Thanksgiving is filled with NFC matchups. The Green Bay Packers will be visiting the Detroit Lions. The Lions have only two losses and find themselves second in the NFC behind the Philadelphia Eagles. We saw Jared Goff lead a comeback last week after throwing three interceptions on the day.

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The Packers and Jordan Love are coming off a win against the Los Angeles Chargers, but at 4-6, they are on the outside looking in. They need to start a winning streak and fast. Otherwise, sticking it to the Lions with a loss could be a nice thing for their fanbase.

The Dallas Cowboys are hosting the Washington Commanders. Dak Prescott and the Cowboys have been rolling at 7-3, but their loss against their divisional rival Eagles looms large. If they want to keep up with Philadelphia, they need to take care of Washington.

The main event of Thanksgiving football is the Seattle Seahawks hosting their NFC West rival San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers are currently leading the division at 7-3, with Brock Purdy coming off his best game of the season. The Seahawks are just behind them at 6-4, but Geno Smith is going to possibly be banged up if he plays. This game could very well decide who ultimately ends up with this division.

Finally, the Friday game has the New York Jets hosting the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins have certainly looked more human than earlier in the season when they dropped 70 points on the Denver Broncos. However, the Jets are in flux as they will be starting Tim Boyle at quarterback after Zac Wilson’s struggles have continued in recent weeks. The Jets do have wins against the Eagles, Buffalo Bills and a very close game against the Kansas City Chiefs this season. Their defense is the real deal. Can the Jets also take off against their divisional rivals?

Here are our staff’s picks

This will also be our Thursday open thread, so come join the fun!