Holiday Cheat Sheet: 4 Ways to Look Smart About Football on Thanksgiving

As you gather around the television for food and football on Thanksgiving, why not wow the family with your NFL knowledge? Sure beats bickering. Here are four conversation points that will make you top turkey:

1. “Hey, Uncle Phil, Detroit Is Trying to Party Like It’s 1962.” The Green Bay Packers, defending Super Bowl champs, are a perfect 10-0 entering their Thanksgiving tilt against the Detroit Lions. Back in ’62, the Packers were also 10-0 on Thanksgiving — and the defending NFL champs — when they faced Detroit in Tiger Stadium. Detroit dominated that game, ruining Green Bay’s bid for a perfect season with a 26-14 victory and nearly a dozen sacks of Packers quarterback Bart Starr. Detroit, which enters the year’s game with a resurgent 7-3 record, finished the ’62 season 11-3. But Green Bay more than survived its Thanksgiving Day takedown: the Packers finished 13-1 and beat the New York Giants in the NFL championship game to clinch a second straight title.   More Read