Previewing and picking today’s three NFL games for Thanksgiving; Auburn wins Maui Invitational

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🏈 Good morning to all, but especially to …

NFL FANS

Nothing goes together quite like Thanksgiving food and football, and we have huge servings of both today. I’ll be honest: A few weeks ago, this slate looked uninspiring. Now, I’m really excited for it.

The day begins with Bears-Lions, and while it’s easy to be excited to watch the 10-1 Lions, Caleb Williams‘ progress over the past few weeks with interim offensive coordinator Thomas Brown has been really encouraging. Over the past two weeks, Williams has eight completions of 20+ yards, tied for third-most in the NFL. As I wrote, we’re getting more of the college-version, Heisman-winning, highlight machine.

• Pereles: “Under Shane Waldron, Williams seemed glued to the pocket. It felt robotic. Under Thomas Brown, Williams has been outstanding extending plays to either run or pass. On Sunday, on throws that took three seconds or more, Williams went 7 for 9 for 146 yards and a touchdown. Both the completion rate and the yardage were career bests. Even the plays that didn’t result in huge gains were impressive.”

Lions coach Dan Campbell has taken notice of Williams’ improvement, but lucky for Campbell, his team has the league’s best safety duo, as Doug Clawson writes, and the “Sonic and Knuckles” Jahmyr Gibbs-David Montgomery duo at running back. The Lions are atop Pete Prisco’s Power Rankings, and I fully expect them to win this one.

I’ll be honest again: The second game, Giants-Cowboys, is a bit tougher to get super pumped for. Tommy DeVito is unlikely to play, meaning it could be Drew Lock time, and New York’s biggest stars have been walking back their critical comments. On the other end, the Cowboys are talking like a team that very much believes it can make a late run. I think they’ll continue that late run here.

Then comes an intriguing Dolphins-Packers nightcap. Miami has won three straight to get back into the AFC playoff hunt, but this is a team that doesn’t especially love the cold. Cody Benjamin has bold predictions for all three Thanksgiving games, and for this one, he has Miami’s offense going even colder than the projected temperature.

Don’t forget, we’re also getting a Black Friday game with the Chiefs facing the Raiders, so make sure to get your shopping done early.

We also have expert picks for every game.

👍 Honorable mentions

👍 Not so honorable mentions

🙏 One thing for every NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL team to be thankful for

There are 124 teams across the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL, and we have reasons to be thankful for every single one.

Let’s start with the NFL, because this is Thanksgiving, and the NFL rules on Thanksgiving. The two-time defending Super Bowl champs have had plenty to be thankful for over the past few years, and even though an undefeated season is no longer possible, one thing always rings true, Cody writes:

• Benjamin: “Patrick Mahomes’ killer instinct remains intact. Everyone around him is seemingly either aging, hurt or spare parts, but the quarterback’s ridiculously efficient late-game scrambling has kept them a winner.”

We’re not too far away from 2025, and there are plenty of teams that can’t wait for the calendar to flip, including …

• Benjamin: “Jaguars: Change is on the horizon. Doug Pederson helped cure the culture in 2022, but his injury-riddled offense has been stagnant for a while, leaving Trevor Lawrence as more of a question mark than a bona fide star.”

I still believe in Lawrence, FWIW. Josh Edwards, meanwhile, has rookies every team should be thankful for.

Moving to the NBA, Victor Wembanyama is making “the jump” in his second year, but another Texas team should be thankful there’s still time to jump to last year’s heights, Sam Quinn writes.

• Quinn: “We do this every year in Dallas. Last year’s Mavericks hung around .500 until they took off after the trade deadline. The 2022 Western Conference finals team split its first 38 games. If the Mavericks panicked every time they started slow they’d have traded Luka Doncic by now. So no, don’t worry about the uneven 10-8 start. They’ll right the ship and start ripping off victories shortly.”

Here’s why every MLB team should be thankful and why every NHL team should be thankful.

🏆 No. 4 Auburn wins Maui Invitational on wild day across college basketball

By winning the best early-season tournament in college basketball, No. 4 Auburn has firmly asserted its claim for the best team in college basketball. The Tigers roared past Memphis, 90-76, to win the Maui Invitational and now has wins over No. 4 Houston, No. 5 Iowa State and No. 12 North Carolina on this young season. Bruce Pearl‘s club heads to No. 11 Duke next week looking to add to its outstanding resume.

Auburn not only might be the best team, but it might have the best player: On Wednesday, Johni Broome had a line of 21 points, 16 rebounds, six assists and four blocks and was an easy pick for Maui Invitational MVP. What a three-day stretch it was for Broome and his team, Matt Norlander writes.

• Norlander: “Championships in this beautiful land can often provide the ever-coveted ‘Maui bump.’ You win three games in three days here, it portends well for your season. (Five times a Maui champ has gone on to win March Madness, and seven former NCAA champs were in Maui fields the same season they played in this bracket.) … Broome went on the type of run that will be remembered and associated with Auburn basketball and the Maui Invitational for a long time.”

Here are Matt’s takeaways from a wonderful tournament.

There was plenty of madness outside Maui, too: West Virginia upset No. 3 Gonzaga, and Louisville walloped No. 14 Indiana.

⚽ UEFA Champions League: Liverpool tops Real Madrid, 2-0

Real Madrid is in real trouble after a hapless 2-0 loss to Liverpool dropped Los Blancos to 24th place in the League Phase of the UEFA Champions League. This is a club that’s won this competition 15 times, including last year, but with Vinicius Jr. injured and Kylian Mbappe struggling, titles are the furthest thing from front of mind, writes Francesco Porzio. Surviving is the goal right now.

• Porzio: “Against Liverpool, Mbappe missed the penalty in the second half but also lost 15 ball possessions, not creating much and only having one shot on target in the exact same game where he was called for something different, also considering the absence of Vinicius Jr. That’s the key aspect here as in this crucial moment of the season, Vinicius won’t be able to help his teammates and Mbappe is not delivering.”

On the brighter side, Arsenal asserted itself as a favorite with a 5-1 thrashing of Sporting. Here’s more:

📺 What we’re watching Thursday and Friday

Thursday

🏈 Bears at Lions, 12:30 p.m. on CBS
🏀 No. 4 South Carolina vs. No. 15 Iowa State (W), 1:30 p.m. on Fox
🏀 No. 14 Indiana vs. No. 3 Gonzaga (M), 2:30 p.m. on ESPN2
🏀 No. 18 Florida vs. Wake Forest (M), 2:30 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 No. 13 Purdue vs. NC State (M), 3 p.m. on FS1
🏀 No. 19 Arkansas vs. Illinois (M), 4 p.m. on CBS
🏈 Giants at Cowboys, 4:30 p.m. on Fox
🏀 BYU vs. No. 23 Ole Miss (M), 5:30 p.m. on FS1
🏀 Northwestern vs. Butler (M), 7 p.m. on CBS Sports Network
🏀 Seton Hall vs. No. 6 USC (W), 7 p.m. on truTV
🏈 Memphis at No. 17 Tulane, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
🏈 Dolphins at Packers, 8:20 p.m. on NBC
🏀 No. 25 Mississippi State vs. UNLV (M), 9:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network

Friday

🏈 Oregon State at No. 11 Boise State, noon on Fox
🏈 Oklahoma State at Colorado, noon on ABC
🏈 Minnesota at Wisconsin, noon on CBS
🏈 Miami (OH) at Bowling Green, noon on ESPNU
🏀 NBA Cup: Knicks at Hornets, noon on NBA TV
🏀 NBA Cup: Cavaliers at Hawks, 2:30 p.m. on NBA TV
🏈 Raiders at Chiefs, 3 p.m. on Prime Video
🏈 Mississippi State at No. 14 Ole Miss, 3:30 p.m. on ABC
🏀 NBA Cup: Pelicans at Grizzlies, 5 p.m. on NBA TV
🏒 Penguins at Bruins, 6:30 p.m. on TNT
🏈 Georgia Tech at No. 7 Georgia, 7:30 p.m. on ABC
🏀 NBA Cup: Clippers at Timberwolves, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
🏒 Avalanche at Stars, 9 p.m. on TNT
🏀 NBA Cup: Thunder at Lakers, 10 p.m. on ESPN