CNN
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While people were tucking into their turkey, there was plenty of football for fans to enjoy on Thanksgiving as well.

Games were played in Detroit, Dallas and Green Bay with the winning teams celebrating, as usual, by eating turkey during their post-game interviews.

Here’s what happened in the NFL over Thanksgiving.

A missed timeout call by Bears head coach Matt Eberflus ultimately cost Chicago as they attempted a late comeback against the Detroit Lions in Thanksgiving’s first game of the day, falling short 23-20 in the Motor City.

The Bears had fallen into a 16-0 hole in what looked like a one-sided affair at Ford Field as the Chicago offense struggled to move the ball and Detroit dominated the time of possession.

Three field goals from Jake Bates and a touchdown catch from Sam LaPorta looked like Detroit would comfortably cruise to a tenth straight victory.

But to Chicago’s credit, the Bears fought their way back, with rookie quarterback Caleb Williams throwing three touchdown passes — two to Keenan Allen and one to DJ Moore — to cut the lead to three when they got the ball back on their own seven meters. line with 3:31 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Williams drove the Bears into Lions territory in an attempt to set up a field goal that would have sent the game to overtime, but the 2024 No. 1 overall pick was sacked on second-and-20 from the 35-yard line.

With the clock ticking down with less than 30 seconds left, Williams rushed to get the offense going before throwing a pass as time expired, which fell incomplete to Rome Odunze, meaning the game was over and the Bears lost.

What was baffling to the many in attendance and those watching the game at home was that Chicago had one timeout remaining, which Eberflus could have used to stop the clock so his team could get back into field goal position to trying to send the game to extra time. .

After the disastrous end to the match, Eberflus said he “took the blame” but defended his handling of the situation.

“Our hope was – because third (down) went to fourth – that we would replay that play at 18 seconds, throw it in, get within field goal range and then call a timeout,” Eberflus told reporters. “That was where it was and that was our decision-making process on that. “Once again we were out of field goal range, so we had to get a few more yards there, as close as we could, and then we were going to call a timeout, and that’s why we called that last timeout.”

He added: “I like what we did there. Again, once it’s less than 12 (seconds) there, you’re going to call a timeout there, you have no option. … For me, I think we handled it the right way.” I really believe you should replay the game, get it inbounds and then call a timeout. That’s why we kept it and it didn’t turn out the way we wanted.”

The manner in which the defeat came about only sought to exacerbate the feelings of disappointment Chicago fans felt as they lost their sixth straight game, adding another heartbreaking loss to the ever-growing list of them this season .

For the Lions, the win improves them to 11-1 – the best start to a season in franchise history.

In the end, it was the Lions players who, as usual, celebrated eating roasted turkey during the postgame show. While many players tucked in, running back David Montgomery chewed on a carrot off to the side with a sheepish smile on his face.

The Dallas Cowboys continued their improbable late-season playoff run as they defeated their NFC East division rivals, the New York Giants, 27-20 in the second game of Thanksgiving.

The win was the Cowboys’ second in a row – and their first at home this season – moving them to 5-7.

While they may not start quarterback Dak Prescott after he underwent season-ending surgery on a hamstring injury weeks ago, Dallas’ star pass rusher Micah Parsons isn’t ruling out a late postseason push from “America’s Team.”

“To be honest, it was really, ‘Why not us?’” Parsons told Erin Andrews of Fox Sports after the win over the Giants. “Everyone was counting us out, and it was like, ‘Enough is enough.’ We know what we have, we know what we can do here, and I believe in all these guys, and I believe we’re going to turn it around and run.

According to NFL.com, the Cowboys’ chances of reaching the postseason after the win are 4%.

Dallas was powered by a solid performance from backup quarterback Cooper Rush and a career performance from running back Rico Dowdle.

Rush threw 21 of 36 for 195 yards and a touchdown to Brandin Cooks, while Dowdle racked up a career-high 112 yards and a score and became the first Cowboys running back with more than 100 yards and a touchdown since Week 10 of 2022.

Although the Giants scored the game’s opening touchdown through rookie running back Tyrone Tracy Jr, a 23-yard DeMarvion Overshown pick-six by Giants QB Drew Lock and two first-half field goals by Brandon Aubrey put Dallas up 13 at halftime -10 was ahead. .

But two touchdowns from Dallas in the third quarter gave the home team a commanding lead before ten fourth-quarter points from the Giants put it to a nail-biting end, but the Cowboys managed to hold on.

“Well, where we are right now, I haven’t really had time to look beyond the quarter as far as how we can get a win,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told reporters afterward. “This is the NFL. Any team can give you the loss. But the bottom line is, I’m happy to get this one. We have Cincinnati coming up. We will be better.

“The bottom line is I see improvement, and with improvement we have teams in front of us that we can (beat).”

In the final game of Thanksgiving, a scoring barrage from the Green Bay Packers was enough to hold off the Miami Dolphins 30-17 at Lambeau Field.

QB Jordan Love had two touchdown passes, both to Jayden Reed, and running back Josh Jacobs scored again as Green Bay exploded on offense early. Brandon McManus also added three field goals.

It was another impressive showing for Jacobs, who completed his fifth straight game with more than 100 scrimmage yards – 43 on the ground and 74 through the air – which is the longest streak by a Green Bay player since Eddie Lacy in 2014 ( nine games in a row) and is tied with Atlanta’s Bijan Robinson for the longest streak by a player in 2024.

At the 7:42 mark of the third quarter, the Packers led 27-3 in frigid temperatures in Wisconsin before the Dolphins scored 14 points in garbage time.

It was a complete performance for Green Bay, with the defense rushing Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa all evening; five players were pressured at least three times and Tagovailoa was sacked four times.

Afterwards, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur called it a “total team win.”

“Well, there was a lot to like. We’re coming out with a big lead but we’d like to finish it off and we’ve allowed them to get back into the game a little bit,” he said.

The win improves the Packers to 9-3 and sets up a huge NFC North clash with the Lions at Ford Field next week.