NFL Thanksgiving grades for Week 13: Cowboys ace test with stunning win over Chiefs, Packers earn 'A-'
Here are the grades for every team that played on Thanksgiving
By
John Breech
•
5 min read
Welcome to the Thanksgiving edition of the Week 13 grades!
The Green Bay Packers might want to ask the NFL if they can start playing on Thanksgiving every year, because it definitely seems to be Jordan Love's favorite holiday. The Packers quarterback threw for 234 yards and four touchdowns to lead his team to a 31-24 win over the Detroit Lions. Love is now 3-0 on Thanksgiving and in those three games, he's thrown nine touchdowns and zero interceptions.
The win gives the Packers a season sweep over the Lions and puts them in a spot where they could be on top of the division by the end of the weekend. If the Bears lose to the Eagles on Black Friday, the Packers will take over sole possession of first place.
The win by Green Bay was the first game in a Thanksgiving tripleheader. In the second game, the underdog Cowboys pulled off a huge upset with a 31-28 win over the Kansas City Chiefs. With the loss, the Chiefs are now 5-6 on the season, which puts them in serious danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since Patrick Mahomes became their starting QB in 2018.
The Thanksgiving nightcap will feature the return of Joe Burrow with the Cincinnati Bengals heading to Baltimore to face the Ravens in an AFC North showdown. The Bengals dealt with some Thanksgiving travel delays and didn't get into Baltimore until after midnight.
With that in mind, let's get to our Thanksgiving grades.
Green Bay 31-24 over Detroit
| A- |  |
| Packers coach Matt LaFleur showed off a new aggressive side and it paid off with a huge win. The Packers coach channeled his inner Dan Campbell with three fourth down attempts in this game and Green Bay converted them all. That was mostly thanks to Jordan Love, who came up absolutely clutch by going 3 of 3 for 40 yards and two touchdowns on the fourth down plays. The Packers offense had struggled over the past couple of weeks, but Love looked sharp and it's possible the offense has finally gotten over the hump of losing Tucker Kraft. Defensively, Micah Parsons took over in the fourth quarter with two big sacks. The Packers defense been playing well enough to win the division all year, and now, the offense might have finally caught up. With a national audience watching, the Packers (8-3-1) made a Thanksgiving statement in this game and that statement is that they might be the best team in the NFC North. | |
| B |  |
| The Lions played well enough to win, but they lost this game because they fell apart on fourth down on both sides of the ball. Offensively, they went 0-for-2 on fourth down and the most painful miss was a fourth-and-3 drop by Jameson Williams that came at Green Bay's 21-yard line in the fourth quarter. Defensively, they let the Packers convert all three of their fourth down attempts, including a fourth-and-3 conversion with under two minutes to play that allowed Green Bay to ice the game. Basically, the Lions needed to make some clutch plays and they couldn't get it done on either side of the ball, which has been the story of their season. After finishing 15-2 last season, this year's version of the Lions (7-5) is now in serious danger of missing the playoffs. | |
Dallas 31-28 over Kansas City
| B |  |
| After seven straight years of reaching at least the AFC title game with Patrick Mahomes, this might have been the dagger that finally ends Kansas City's playoff streak. This loss epitomized the Chiefs' entire season: The team that always finds a way to win close games lost another close game. After going 12-0 in one-score games last year, the Chiefs are 1-6 this year. The defense couldn't get a single stop in the fourth quarter and they failed to stop the Cowboys' on almost every key third down that came up. On the offensive side of the ball, Patrick Mahomes was impressive, but the offense also disappeared at times. The unit punted on four straight possessions during a span that ran from the second quarter to the third quarter. There were also some ugly drops and two questionable punts in the second half that came on fourth-and-5 or shorter in Cowboys territory. It's been a nightmare season for the Chiefs (6-6), and at this point, they only shot they're going to have of making the playoffs is if they win out, and even then, it won't be guaranteed. | |
| A- |  |
| Since coming out of their Week 10 bye, the Cowboys have looked like one of the best teams in the NFL and they showed America just how good they are right now. Dak Prescott, who's quietly having one of the best seasons of his career, out-dueled Patrick Mahomes in a shootout win. Prescott threw an interception with his second pass of the game, but after that, he torched the Chiefs defense for 320 yards and two touchdowns. The Cowboys decision to trade for George Pickens during the offseason continues to look like a brilliant one. The Chiefs have no idea how to stop the 1-2 punch of Pickens and CeeDee Lamb, who combined for 200 receiving yards. The main reason the Cowboys have been better over the past few weeks is because their biggest weakness (the defense) is no longer a big weakness. The unit kept Mahomes flustered with constant pressure that ended with three sacks. At this point, the Cowboys (6-5-1) are a long shot for the playoffs, but after beating both teams from last year's Super Bowl in a span of five days, there's no reason this team can't run the table and make the postseason. | |
Cincinnati (3-8) at Baltimore (6-5), 8:20 p.m. ET (NBC)
| TBA |  |
| After missing nine games due to injury, Joe Burrow will be making his triumphant return in this game. The Bengals are hoping that Burrow can save their season. Although their playoff hopes are on life support, the Bengals could certainly make things interesting if they win out and if anyone can pull that off, it's Burrow. The Bengals QB hasn't lost a regular season start since Week 13 of the 2024 season. Since then, he's gone 7-0. This will mark just the second time the Bengals have played on Thanksgiving with their first appearance coming back in a 2010 loss to the Jets. | |
| TBA |  |
| The Bengals are getting Joe Burrow back, but that probably won't worry Lamar Jackson very much. The Ravens QB has dominated the Bengals in his career, going 10-1, which is the fourth-best winning percentage by a QB against a divisional opponent since 2000. This will mark the third time that the Ravens have played on Thanksgiving and so far, things have gone well for them: Baltimore has a 2-0 record with wins in 2011 and 2013. | |
