SideLion Report » Thanksgiving Day

Fake NFL Schedule Got One Detroit Lions Game Exactly Right

Zac Snyder — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 10:00:21 +0000

The Lions and Texans last met on Oct 19, 2007. It's likely the next time will be Thanksgiving Day 2012. Photo Credit: Brett Davis-US PRESSWIRE

The NFL schedule that was posted on an obscure blogspot site as a leak turned out to be fake but it turns out that one of the games on the Lions version is exactly correct. Here’s the quote from Tom Lewand as posted on DetroitLions.com:

One of my contacts at the league office said exactly one of the games, even though they don’t have the schedule complete, is accurate. I’ll leave it to you guys to speculate.

This quote is sure to get a lot of Lions fans excited because the fake schedule featured prime time games against the Packers and Seahawks for two of the first three games of the season. However, it’s very likely that the one game the fake schedulemaker got right is the Thanksgiving matchup with the Houston Texans.

Wow, you say, he got one right! What are the odds? Well, if it is indeed the Thanksgiving game then the odds were 50-50. It is the Lions turn to host an AFC opponent (the Cowboys will host an NFC opponent) and the Texans and Colts are the only two AFC that will visit Ford Field in 2012. Even still, the Texans have been to be the favorite to make the trip to Detroit for turkey day since January.

The Lions are still expected to be featured in prime time a couple times next season. It just won’t be exactly as laid out in the fake schedule. We should know exact details in the next couple weeks when the NFL releases the official schedule.

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Houston Texans the Favorites to Play in Detroit on Thanksgiving?

Zac Snyder — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:42:28 +0000

With the Detroit Lions’ Thanksgiving Day game set to air on CBS in 2012, we already know that an AFC opponent will be spending their holiday in Detroit. The potential pool of opponents is limited to the Colts and Texans since they are the only two AFC opponents coming to Detroit next season.

If a report out of Houston is correct, the Texans are likely to fill that slot:

A source in Detroit tells CultureMap that the Texans are “the clear favorite” to be the AFC opponent in the Detroit Lions’ annual Thanksgiving Day game in Motown.

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The Detroit Lions’ Year in Review: November 2011

Zac Snyder — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:16 +0000

NFL players spend their bye week a number of different ways. Ndamukong Suh took some of his time off to go visit NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to discuss the way he had been officiated in an attempt to combat public sentiment that he is a dirty player. Back at the office, the Lions were busy working out a number of players without NFL jobs. Leonard Davis was signed to bolster depth along the offensive line and running back Kevin Smith rejoined the team after failing to land another gig following last season.

The second half of the season kicked off in Chicago against the Bears but the result was completely different than the first time the two teams met. Matthew Stafford wore a glove on his hand to help grip the ball with a broken finger and had his worst game of the season. Instead of putting some distance between themselves and the Bears, the Lions let the Bears back in the Wild Card discussion. It set up the first must-win of the season the following week against the Panthers. Stafford bounced back to have a huge day and the newly-signed Kevin Smith brought some life to the Lions running game in helping the Lions to a 49-35 victory over Carolina.

Our turkey-filled guts took a double punch with the Thanksgiving Day loss to the Green Bay Packers and the ejection of Ndamukong Suh for stomping Evan Dietrich-Smith that ultimately cost him his next two games. Additionally, the Lions placed Jahvid Best on season ending IR due to the effects of a concussion. November may not have ended on the best of notes for the Lions, but there was no doubt that they’d enter December as legitimate playoff contenders.

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