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While people were snuggling their turkey, there was also plenty of football for fans on Thanksgiving.

Games were played in Detroit, Dallas and Green Bay, with the winning teams traditionally celebrating with a turkey dinner during their postgame interviews.

Here’s what happened across the NFL on Thanksgiving.

A missed timeout by Bears head coach Matt Eberflus ultimately cost Chicago a loss as they attempted a late comeback against the Detroit Lions in the first Thanksgiving game of the day and fell 23-20 in the Motor City.

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

Three field goals from Jake Bates and a touchdown catch from Sam LaPorta made it look like Detroit would comfortably clinch its 10th straight win.

But to Chicago’s credit, the Bears fought back, with rookie quarterback Caleb Williams throwing three touchdown passes – two to Keenan Allen and one to DJ Moore – and cutting the lead to three when they took the ball out of their own possession Regained seven-yard field with 3:31 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Williams pushed the Bears into Lions territory for a field goal that would have sent the game into overtime, but the 2024 No. 1 overall pick was fouled on 20th-and-20 from the 35-yard line dismissed.

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 that fell incomplete to Rome Odunze, meaning the game was over and the Bears lost.

What was perplexing to many viewers and those watching the game at home was that Chicago still had a timeout that Eberflus could have used to stop the clock so his team could get back into field goal position and try was able to send the game into overtime.

After the game’s disastrous end, Eberflus said he “takes the blame” but defended his handling of the situation.

“Our hope was that we would restart the play after 18 seconds, throw it in the ball, get into field goal range and then call the timeout,” Eberflus told reporters, because it was third down before fourth down ( residue). “There it was and that was our decision-making process on it. Again, we were out of field goal range, so we had to get a few more yards in as close as we could, and then we wanted to call a timeout, and that’s why we called that last timeout.”

He added: “I like what we did there. Again, as soon as the time there is below 12 (seconds), call a timeout there, you have no other choice. … In my opinion we handled it correctly. I do believe that you restart the play, put the ball in play and then call a timeout. That’s why we held it and it didn’t work out the way we wanted.”

The manner in which the defeat came about would only add to the disappointment of Chicago fans as they lost their sixth straight game, adding another heartbreaking loss to the ever-growing list of such defeats this season.

The Lions improve to 11-1, the best start to a season in franchise history.

In the end, it was the Lions players who, as usual, celebrated roasted turkey on the postgame show. While many of the players were still playing, running back David Montgomery was eating a carrot and smiling sheepishly.

The Dallas Cowboys continued their improbable late-season playoff push by defeating their NFC East division rivals the New York Giants 27-20 in Game 2 of Thanksgiving.

The Cowboys’ win was their second in a row — and their first home win of the season — improving to 5-7.

Although they will be without starting quarterback Dak Prescott, who underwent season-ending surgery for 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 a question of ‘Why not us?'” Parsons told Fox Sports’ Erin Andrews after the win over the Giants. “Everyone counted us out and it was just like, ‘Enough is enough.’ We know what we have, we know what we can do here and I believe in every single one of these guys and I believe we can turn things around and make a breakthrough.”

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

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 had 112 yards and a score, becoming the first running back of his career with more than 100 yards and a touchdown since Week 10 of 2022.

Although the Giants scored the game’s first touchdown by rookie running back Tyrone Tracy Jr., a 23-yard DeMarvion overshown pick-six from Giants quarterback Drew Lock and two field goals from Brandon Aubrey led the way in the first half resulted in Dallas leading 13-10 at halftime.

But two touchdowns from Dallas in the third quarter gave the home team a commanding lead before ten points from the Giants in the fourth quarter made for a nervy end, but the Cowboys were able to hold on.

“Well, the way we are, I haven’t even had time to think beyond the quarter about how we can secure a win,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told reporters afterward. “This is the NFL. Any team can give you the loss. But bottom line, I’m happy to get this. Cincinnati is just around the corner. We will be better.

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

In the final game of Thanksgiving, one goal 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 added another score as Green Bay exploded on offense early. Brandon McManus also added three field goals.

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

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

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

“Well, there was a lot to like. We got a big lead but we would like to finish it and we kind of allowed them to get back into the game,” he said.

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