Tag: Thanksgiving

Saints to honor Drew Brees at halftime of Thanksgiving game vs. Bills

Saints to feature Drew Brees at halftime of Thanksgiving game vs. Bills

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This is really cool: the New Orleans Saints announced that they will be featuring legendary quarterback Drew Brees during halftime of their Thanksgiving matchup with the Buffalo Bills, which will cap the NFL’s three-game holiday slate on Nov. 25. Brees will also be broadcasting the game for NBC alongside Mike Tirico.

It’s the first time Brees has returned to the Caesars Superdome since he announced his retirement from pro football earlier this year. Since then he’s gone on to offer color commentary with Tirico for weekly Notre Dame game broadcasts on NBC while joining the network’s studio for its Sunday “Football Night in America” pregame show.

And it should be a proper send-off for Brees in front of a welcoming home crowd, which is something he never got to experience in his final season with the Saints. Superdome attendance was greatly limited last year due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, so this is an opportunity for the Saints to really close a chapter in the team’s history by honoring No. 9 after his unprecedented 15-year run in black and gold, which brought New Orleans its first Super Bowl victory.

Fans in attendance will receiver a commemorative “Thank You Drew” rally towel, and all are encouraged to submit a 30-second clip of thank you messages and tributes at this link.

“My family and I are forever grateful for all the incredible moments we shared together with the city of New Orleans and Who Dat Nation,” Brees said in a statement released from the team. “What an incredible moment it will be, back in the Dome with the greatest fans in the world.”

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Notre Dame releases nonconference schedule for 2021-22 season

Who will the Irish play before ACC action begins?

It always is exciting whenever a nonconference schedule is announced. You know who you’re going to play leading up to your usual opponents. Some hail from conferences you only hear about during March Madness, and others are prominent or talented programs that you really can use as a measuring stick for the type of team you have. In short, nonconference play can say a lot about your program.

Notre Dame released its nonconference schedule Thursday. We’ll know more about their ACC schedule over the next couple of weeks, and the tournament the Irish will be playing around Thanksgiving could feature more games than what currently is listed. We also don’t know how many games at all could be affected by COVID-19 as we all know that the situation remains very fluid. Until then, here are the teams the Irish will face after home exhibitions against Nazareth on Oct. 29 and St. Norbert on Nov. 5:

Saints 2021 schedule previews: Buffalo Bills

The Josh Allen-led Buffalo Bills are coming to take on the New Orleans Saints on in what could be an electric Thanksgiving showdown:

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After a short hiatus, Saints Wire is back to it with your seasonal opponent matchups! Next on the docket: the Buffalo Bills. The Bills have one thing on their mind this season and it’s Super Bowl or bust. With talent like quarterback Josh Allen, wide receiver Stefon Diggs, and a stout defense, Buffalo has just as good a shot as any in making it to the big dance.

But first, they will have to travel to New Orleans to take on the Saints on Thanksgiving Day. It is a matchup that fans of both teams should relish as it will be against two teams gearing up for a playoff run in primetime on Thanksgiving.

Here is what to expect out of the Bills:

In-state rivals agree to play on Thanksgiving night

With the Thanksgiving night slot open, another intrastate rivalry has taken precedent. MSU and Ole Miss have agreed to play on Turkey Day.

Outside of turkey, football is the best thing about Thanksgiving. You show up at a relative’s house and make small talk before focusing on the NFL’s three matchups of the day. The Cowboys lose in hideous fashion… it’s a great holiday.

In the state of Texas, a bitter in-state rivalry that split households into two corners once dominated Thanksgiving night before — and after — the NFL added a prime-time game in 2006. Texas and Texas A&M finished their regular seasons with the most anticipated game of the year.

When Texas A&M left for the SEC after the 2011 season (thank you Justin Tucker), Thanksgiving night became boring. Texas has begun to play random opponents on the Friday after, while the Aggies try to force a hatred between them and LSU.

Since then, both schools have struggled on Thanksgiving weekend. Texas has a 3-6 record against various opponents, while Texas A&M is 2-7 vs LSU.

With the time slot open, another heated in-state rivalry has taken center stage.

Mississippi State and Ole Miss compete for the Golden Egg Trophy every season. Outside of the Iron Bowl, the Egg Bowl is the most heated rivalry within the SEC.

On Thursday, the conference announced the annual matchup will once again take place on Thanksgiving night. Mississippi State will host the game this season, while Oxford will get its opportunity in 2021.

The Egg Bowl has taken place on Thanksgiving night 23 times in its history, most recently in 2019. Entertaining would be one way to describe the rivalry, both on and off the field.

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The offseason is fully upon us with spring ball over. Of course, discussion of the Texas vs Texas A&M rivalry is going to come up. Recruiting is where the two schools battle these days, but a return to the football field is needed.

Steve Sarkisian was asked about the Aggies during his introductory press conference back in January.

Chris Del Conte and Ross Bjork: Please cancel your FCS (A&M) and Group of Five matchups. We want our Thanksgiving nights back.

Saints to host Buffalo Bills for Thanksgiving, per report

Bleacher Report’s Master Tesfatsion reports that the New Orleans Saints will host the Buffalo Bills for a big game on Thanksgiving Day.

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The Saints will play at least one game in prime time in 2021, and on one of the biggest stages in sports. Bleacher Report’s Master Tesfatsion reports that New Orleans will host the rowdy Buffalo Bills on Thanksgiving Day, completing the NFL’s three-game series for the national holiday.

Tesfatsion previously reported that the Detroit Lions will face the Chicago Bears while the Dallas Cowboys are playing the Las Vegas Raiders on Thanksgiving. Detroit and Dallas traditionally slot in for the early and late afternoon time slots, so it’s a reasonable guess to expect the Saints and Bills to play that evening.

This would be the fourth game the Saints play on Thanksgiving in franchise history, and their third Thanksgiving kickoff in the last four years — they’ve beaten the Atlanta Falcons twice, back to back in 2018 and 2019, before receiving a Christmas Day feature against the Minnesota Vikings in 2020 (which they also won). The Saints are undefeated on Thanksgiving going into 2021.

But the Bills are a heck of a matchup. They’ve surrounded fiery young quarterback Josh Allen with weapons that would envy any team around the league, including former Saints slot receiver Emmanuel Sanders — who joins an infamous Saints-killer in Stefon Diggs for Buffalo. The Bills made it all the way to last year’s AFC Championship Game and are hoping to compete for a Super Bowl. If they’re going to go the distance, they’ll have a big hurdle in New Orleans to overcome first.

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WATCH: The NFL coddled the Ravens and Cowboys’ Jerry Jones was complicit

The Dallas Cowboys have a bunch of time on their hands following a whirlwind week. K.D. and Patrik return to the airwaves to discuss the NFL’s babying of the Ravens and giving all other teams the shaft, and how it impacts the Cowboys. Jerry? Why is …

The Dallas Cowboys have a bunch of time on their hands following a whirlwind week. K.D. and Patrik return to the airwaves to discuss the NFL’s babying of the Ravens and giving all other teams the shaft, and how it impacts the Cowboys. Jerry? Why is he throwing his guys under the bus to save Goodell?

As for the Thanksgiving Day game, CBS Sports’ Patrik Walker zooms in on a favorite target while Cowboys Wire Managing Editor K.D. stomps over familiar territory too. It’s the pod you’ve been waiting for, pull up a chair so you aren’t the one that has to Catch This Fade!

Enjoy this Free Preview from the first half of our early-week show. Subscribe for full episodes twice a week!

Intro/Outro Music: Crank Lucas
Post-Production: William “SkyWalker” Steele

For the low price of a cup of coffee per month, you get to stream full audio from your preferred podcatcher every Tuesday and Friday morning as myself and co-host Patrik Walker (CBS Sports) give the lowdown on the ins and outs of the Cowboys in the most entertaining fashion you’ll find on a Cowboys podcast. Williams Steele of The Late Night Hype puts the post-production touches on our audio, video and commercials.

For those who are on the Friends of the Show tier, you get full video, including preroll where Pat and I are chopping it up, early access (Monday and Thursday evenings) and bonus content throughout the week, plus discounts on Catch This Fade! events.

It’s an entire movement and we appreciate you taking the ride with us.

Audio (Patron Tier) Video (Friend of the Show Tier)

Free Preview Audio

Here’s some of what is in the second half of the episode:

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Misery Loves Company: Cowboys-Washington NFL’s most-watched game

The Dallas Cowboys game against the Washington Football Team on Thanksgiving is the most watched game of the year.

This year’s version of the Dallas Cowboys has something in common with the many iterations that have come before: they are still America’s Team. Good, bad or ugly, it doesn’t matter because people still want to tune in to watch the Cowboys.

The annual Thanksgiving day game often brings in gigantic numbers, with the huddled masses surrounding a television in order to avoid spending time with their families. This year was no different, as last Thursday’s game against the Washington Football Team was the most watched of the NFL season to date.

Jerry Jones has become something of a carnival barker of late and his team, a kind of freakish side show that is somehow the dregs of a division barely worthy of its professional status. Dallas is truly worthy of the often used car crash analogy, people truly can’t look away.

The Cowboys always reigned supreme in terms of viewers during the regular season, but unfortunately for their fans that popularity hasn’t translated to playoff success. It’s hard to imagine the boost the NFL would get if the Jones family business ever got its act together to make a serious run.

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Washington’s Thanskgiving Day game vs. Cowboys was most-watched in NFL this season

Washington’s 41-16 stomping of the Dallas Cowboys was viewed by over 30 million people on Thanksgiving, the highest-rated game in the NFL this year.

For their first 10 games of the season, the Washington Football Team had an extremely hard time getting nearly anyone to tune into their games. This was not a surprise, with none of them coming on national television, and none of them acting as particularly interesting matchups between good teams. However, their Thanksgiving Day matchup against the Dallas Cowboys would act as their first chance to really perform on a big stage.

Well, it turns out that stage was incredibly big, and they sure didn’t disappoint.

The recent numbers have come in, and Washington’s game vs. the Cowboys was the highest-rated game in the NFL this season, with more than 30 million viewers tuning in.

Of course, that number likely has a lot more to do with the fact that it was Thanksgiving Day, rather than the fact that Washington was on, but we will still take what we can get. 30 million people tuned into watch Washington play the Cowboys, and the Burgundy and Gold absolutely thrashed Dallas, winning 41-16 in the end.

Next week, Washington will play against the Pittsburgh Steelers on national TV once again, with the game being moved to Monday evening. Is there a chance they can step up to the plate once again?

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Falcons RB Ito Smith on Week 12 performance: ‘I knew I had to capitalize’

Falcons running back Ito Smith rushed for 65 yards on 12 carries while backing up starter Brian Hill on Sunday.

Falcons running back Ito Smith rushed for 65 yards on 12 carries while backing up starter Brian Hill on Sunday. Smith, who also scored the only touchdown between the two ball carriers, talked to the media following Atlanta’s 43-6 win over the Las Vegas Raiders.

During the first portion of the press conference, Smith discussed his long road back and how he persevered through his injury and recovery in 2019. When asked if his performance proves he deserves more carries, Smith said he hoped so, but that it would remain up to his coaches.

“When somebody’s producing, they should get an opportunity. Hopefully I do, that’s up to the coaches. I’m going to keep doing my job and hopefully we keep winning.”

Smith was also asked if his lack of playing time was motivation for his performance in Week 12.

“Nobody wants to sit on the bench. When I knew I was up this week and getting my chance, I knew I had to capitalize.” 

He finished off the postgame press conference emphasizing the team’s next-man-up mentality that seems to be heavily enforced by Raheem Morris. Smith believes the team can carry over that confidence as the Falcons turn their attention to getting revenge against the Saints in Week 13.

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