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With Thanksgiving in the rearview mirror, we’re essentially heading into the last full month of the NFL’s regular season. In a few short weeks, we’ll know which teams will head to the playoffs and which will pack for early vacations. But before getting ahead of ourselves, let’s take a look at some of the highlights from week 12 of the NFL, otherwise known as Thanksgiving Weekend.

Chase Daniel Leads the Bears to Victory

With starting quarterback Mitchell Trubisky sidelined due to a shoulder injury, it was backup Chase Daniel starting on Thanksgiving against the Detroit Lions. While some thought that the Lions would feast on Turkey Day, due to Chicago being forced to rely on a QB who hadn’t started a game in four years, this wasn’t the case.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ia27K28Dejs
Daniel performed admirably in his spot start, completing 27-of-37 passes for 230 yards, two TDs, and no interceptions. He also threw a beautiful pass to Tarik Cohen for the go-ahead score in the fourth quarter, leading Chicago to a 23-17 win.

Remember Amari Cooper?

During the late afternoon game on Thanksgiving, it was the Dallas Cowboys coming alive offensively that stood out. Specifically, recently traded wide receiver Amari Cooper showed just how much he can open things up for an offense that has struggled to put points on the board consistently.

Cooper was brilliant, catching eight balls for 180 yards (setting a Dallas Thanksgiving record) and two TDs, including a phenomenal 90-yard score. Oakland had down such a poor job all year of generating offense, especially when it came to getting Amari Cooper the ball, so it was easy to forget just how much talented the receiver is. We won’t forget anytime soon after his brilliant evening against the Redskins.

Josh Allen Gets the Last Laugh

Remember during the preseason when GQ magazine released a profile of Jacksonville cornerback Jalen Ramsey? You probably do, because it included a list of what he thought about a bunch of NFL quarterbacks, including Buffalo’s Josh Allen, who Ramsey called “trash.”

Once that came out, people immediately marked their mental calendars for the week 12 matchup between Allen and Ramsey. It was everything we could have hoped for. After the broadcast captured Ramsey yelling “you’re trash” to the entire Bills sideline, things got increasingly heated on the field. In the third quarter, a brawl broke out and led to Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette and Bills defensive end Shaq Lawson exchanging punches before being ejected.

When the dust cleared and the game resumed, Josh Allen ran for a 14-yard TD to put Buffalo in the lead, one that was never relinquished. The Bills won 24-21 and Allen got the last laugh in the “trash” bowl. His stat line wasn’t pretty–8-for-19 for 160 yards–but his lone TD pass, a 75-yarder to Robert Foster came courtesy of poor coverage from the Jalen Ramsey-led secondary. The rookie QB will definitely remember that one.

Vikings Put the Packers Playoff Hopes to Rest

A fun holiday weekend of football culminated in a classic NFC North rivalry game between the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers. After the first meeting between these two teams (a game that ended in a disappointing tie) it was time for them to meet in primetime.

Both teams desperately needed a win to keep playoff hopes alive, but only one team played like it knew that. The Vikings offense looked like a well-oiled machine and quarterback Kirk Cousins showed that he can, in fact, play under the bright lights of Sunday Night Football. Cousins led Minnesota to a 24-17 win with 342 yards and three TDs on 29-of-38 passes.

Vikings fans are always happy after beating the Packers, but they’re likely even happier knowing that their team all but knocked its NFC North rivals out of the playoff race.

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