DETROIT — In many ways, the Thanksgiving games mark the beginning of the NFL’s stretch drive.
For the Detroit Lions, this may be the final chance to stay in the race for a division title.
The Lions host the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday in a game that should drastically alter the NFC North race.
If Minnesota wins, the Vikings would have a three-game lead atop the division, but if Detroit prevails, the Lions would be within one game and would have a head-to-head tiebreaker over Minnesota. Plus, Detroit has a favorable schedule after this week.
“November football and December football — everything turns up a notch. And right around Thanksgiving, it really turns up,” Detroit receiver Golden Tate said. “It’s no secret that the Vikings are playing tremendous football right now. They’re making it happen.”
Minnesota (8-2) has won six games in a row since a 14-7 loss to Detroit on Oct. 1. The Vikings enter a stretch of three straight road games against Detroit, Atlanta and Carolina, so there’s some pressure on Minnesota to open up a comfortable division lead and earn some margin for error.
“For me, teams are judged after you finish the season,” Vikings cornerback Terence Newman said. “A lot of guys want to talk about how we have strung a couple wins together. We got eight. For me, I have been doing this way too long. I know things can go south just as quick as they can go the other way.”
Last season, Minnesota started 5-0 before plummeting to an 8-8 finish.
Detroit (6-4) is coming off victories over Chicagoand Cleveland that were underwhelming at times, while the Vikings handled the NFC West-leading Rams 24-7 last weekend .
“They do everything well,” Lions coach Jim Caldwell said. “They’re moving the ball up and down the field. They’re making big plays. They’ve always played great defense, and their special teams are very good.”
CHARGERS (4-6) AT COWBOYS (5-5)
ARLINGTON, Texas — Philip Rivers looks forward to his Thanksgiving debut in his 14th season.
The six-time Pro Bowl quarterback is also pretty fired up about how important Thursday’s visit to the Dallas Cowboys is for his Los Angeles Chargers.
“Outside of playoff games, I don’t know that there’s any bigger stage and game than Thanksgiving,” Rivers said . “It’s certainly a big-time game, more so because of what’s riding on it for our team. Throw in the fact that it’s Thanksgiving, even better.”
Los Angeles (4-6) started 0-4 while AFC West rival Kansas City won its first five. Now the Chargers are within two games of the division-leading Chiefs after scoring their most points since 1981 in a 54-24 win over Buffalo.
The Cowboys (5-5) have lost both games without suspended star running back Ezekiel Elliott, with still four games remaining on the six-game ban over alleged domestic violence. The defending NFC East champs are already all but eliminated in the division race, facing a tough road to a wild-card spot.
“It’s going to show the character of our team,” said quarterback Dak Prescott, who has struggled without the backfield mate from their remarkable rookie season.
“We’ve got the choice to go 11-5 right now or 5-11 or anything in between. It’s about us coming in and coming to work every day to show the character and fight we have to be 11-5.”
Tyron Smith appears set to return for Dallas after the four-time Pro Bowl left tackle missed two games with back and groin issues. Prescott was sacked a career-high eight times in the first loss, 27-7 to Atlanta, and lost a fumble in both games.
But the Cowboys still have to figure out how to stop the run without 2016 All-Pro linebacker Sean Lee, who will miss his second straight game and fourth overall with a hamstring injury. Dallas is allowing 181 yards rushing per game without Lee.
GIANTS (2-8) AT REDSKINS (4-6)
LANDOVER, Md. — With their losing records and their shaky defenses and their injury-depleted rosters, the Washington Redskins and New York Giants are not exactly ready for prime time, let alone for a national audience tuning in on Thanksgiving night.
The teams are a combined 6-14, including 0-5 in the NFC East. Dynamic players such as New York wideout Odell Beckham Jr. and Washington running back Chris Thompson are done for the season.
Not only did Washington fall apart last weekend, letting a 15-point lead disappear in the final three minutes of what became an overtime loss, but its list of players on injured reserve has risen to 15.
Asked how that affects his ability to game plan, Redskins coach Jay Gruden joked Wednesday: “Well, does it look like I’ve slept a lot?”
The Redskins (4-6), hosting a Thanksgiving Day game for the first time, are technically still able to make the playoffs — they are, after all, entering the easy-as-can-be portion of their schedule after playing division leaders a half-dozen times — but they also have lost four of their past five games.
“Got to win. Got to get a ‘W.’ We’re on the ropes right now. Really are. Been hit. Backs against it. We’ve just got to come out and start swinging and getting back into the center of the ring,” Redskins cornerback Josh Norman said. “If we can get this one, hey, a domino effect? Who knows?”
The main question facing the Giants (2-8) at this point, meanwhile, is whether there is any way coach Ben McAdoo can hold onto his job.
A year after getting to the postseason, Eli Manning and New York have been among the league’s dregs, even losing to the otherwise-winless San Francisco 49ers.
Somehow, though, the Giants pulled off a surprise last weekend, defeating AFC West leader Kansas City, so maybe they won’t just be easy pickings on Turkey Day.
“It’s the same approach we’ve had all year: We go into these games expecting to win,” defensive lineman Damon Harrison said. “That doesn’t change anything, whether the playoff hunt is over or whether we’re still in it or not.”
