As much fun as it is for us fans to watch football all day on Thanksgiving, it might seem like a drag for the players to have to spend the holiday working — especially the ones who have to play every year on the Thanksgiving.
Not so for Lions wide receiver Golden Tate.
“It’s a chance for me to have all my family come out, watch the ball game, go home, finish up cooking the Thanksgiving dinner, eating, spending more time with them and then watching more football. So for me I love it. I look forward to it every year,” Tate told PFT Live recently.
This year, Tate is set to play in his fourth Thanksgiving Day game. For the Detroit Lions, it’s their 78th time playing on the holiday — and the second year in a row they’ll host the Minnesota Vikings.
This time, the matchup is a little different. Both teams are riding winning streaks: three straight for the Lions, six in a row for the Vikings. In fact, Minnesota hasn’t lost since Week 4 ... against Detroit. Last year, although the NFC North lead was at stake, Minnesota limped into the matchup as losers of four of its last five.
Right now, the division is a two-team race between the Vikings and Lions, but at 8-2, Minnesota is sitting on a two-game lead. The 6-4 Lions are trying to keep pace and stay in the mix for the playoffs. So there’s plenty on the line in this one. It’s a chance for either the Vikings to strengthen their hold on the North, or for the Lions to make up some ground.
Here are six reasons you should tune in at 12:30 p.m. ET:
1. The Lions and Vikings are both talking playoffs
Minnesota, currently penciled in as the second seed in the NFC, is looking like a lock for the postseason. The Lions are on the outside looking in right now, but that could change with a win on Thursday.
The Vikings are coming off of a big win over the Rams in Week 11. But they know how dangerous it can be to hit a skid. This is a squad that started out 5-0 last year, only to win just three games for the rest of the season. They can’t afford to lose momentum with a loss to the Lions.
And the Lions need this win to stay in the hunt. The competition for wild card spots in the NFC is going to be tight. The Lions, Falcons, and Seahawks all have 6-4 records, and the Cowboys and Packers are lurking right behind them at 5-5. Detroit needs to gain some ground in a close race.
Head coach Jim Caldwell doesn’t want his Lions to approach it that way, though.
"You can't act as if one game is going to make a complete difference in the season, because you don't know what's going to happen the rest of the season. You have no idea,” Caldwell said, via the Associated Press.
But the reality is that this one is a big game.
2. The Lions’ Thanksgiving winning streak is on the line
In 2013, the Lions finally snapped a nine-game Thanksgiving Day losing streak, their longest ever on the holiday. Since then, they haven’t lost a Thanksgiving game. Not only that, they’ve more or less annihilated their opponents, outscoring them by a 135-54 margin. Here’s how each one went:
- Nov. 28, 2013 - Lions 40, Packers 10
- Nov. 27, 2014 - Lions 34, Bears 17
- Nov. 26, 2015 - Lions 45, Eagles 14
- Nov. 24, 2016 - Lions 16, Vikings 13
The one close game in the past four years is, of course, that last one against the Vikings. If the Lions come out on top again this year, they’ll be rocking a five-game winning streak on Thanksgiving, one shy of their longest streak ever, from 1950-55. It will also even their all-time Thanksgiving record, which currently sits at 37-38-2.
3. Adam Thielen is fun as hell to watch
Case Keenum has been a pleasant surprise in his first year in Minnesota. But perhaps the biggest reason for the offense’s success is wide receiver Adam Thielen.
Look at this breakaway speed.
He’s also reliable in tight coverage.
The Minnesota native signed with the Vikings after going undrafted in 2013 and broke out last season with 69 catches for 967 yards and five touchdowns.
He’s almost topped those stats this year — he’s currently at 62 catches for 916 yards — in just 10 games, thanks in part to two 150-plus yard games. You know who the only other Vikings receiver to put up 60 catches and 900 receiving yards in the first 10 games of a season? Some guy by the name of Randy Moss.
4. The Vikings have some of the best celebrations in the league
Almost every time the Vikings get into the end zone, they put on a show. Kindergarten favorite “duck, duck, goose” (HELL NO with that “duck, duck, gray duck” shiz) seemed impossible to top:
But then they did it a month later with another schoolyard game: leapfrog!
What’s next? Hopscotch? Heads Up, Seven Up? Red Rover?!? Whatever it is, we’re here for it.
5. Will the Lions finally include Graham Glasgow in a celebration?
The Lions have had some fun with their touchdown celebrations, too. We’ve seen everything from double dutch to curling to “The People’s Elbow” from this crew. But there’s one problem: They keep leaving tackle Graham Glasgow out of it.
It happened early in the season when Glasgow wanted to join in this ping pong celebration and didn’t get the chance.
We’re still waiting on Tate and the rest of Glasgow’s teammates to make good on their promise. There’s no better time than during the holidays.
6. Mike Zimmer cussin’
It doesn’t matter if Mike Zimmer’s Vikings are winning or losing. You can count on one thing: He’ll be cussin’ up a storm on the sideline.
It happened in Week 4 of the 2016 season in a game against the Giants. The Vikings won 24-10. It didn’t matter.
It wasn’t an isolated incident.
Just be prepared to tell Grandma to look away, because there’s sure to be some profanity coming out of Zimmer’s mouth on Thursday, no matter how the Vikings are playing.
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