6 ways to convince your family to watch football all day on Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! It’s time to stuff your face with turkey, mashed potatoes, and stuffing while watching football all day long.

In case you’re struggling to decide whether you should keep the TV off this year and just argue with your family about politics (good luck with that!) we have you covered with reasons you can use to convince your Thanksgiving dinner-mates to turn on the TV and watch some football.

The action kicks off with an NFC North battle between the first-place Bears and fourth-place Lions. The Bears have been establishing their dominance in the division and though they lost to the Packers in Week 1 by one, they’ve won their two division matchups since. The Bears haven’t swept the Lions since 2012 but they have the potential to do that this year and spoil Thanksgiving for fans in Detroit.

While Week 11 in the NFL ended with an amazing offensive showing in the Rams’ 54-51 win over the Chiefs, Week 12 should kick off with some impressive defensive play. The Bears’ defense is led by Khalil Mack who has played a large role in Chicago leading the NFL with 27 takeaways, a +13 turnover margin, and 18 interceptions. Mack has one of those interceptions, which he returned for a touchdown, as well as 8.0 sacks and five forced fumbles. Can a defensive player win his team a game in 2018? Mack will try to step up even further as Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky is doubtful to play with a shoulder injury. Taking his place will be Chase Daniel who has started two games in his 10-year career, the most recent of which was in 2014 with the Chiefs.

If you didn’t like the Chiefs-Rams game due to a lack of defense, this game should be more to your liking. The Bears allow the third-least yards and fourth-least points per game.

Washington lost starting quarterback Alex Smith to a devastating injury last Sunday and just four days later, Colt McCoy will step in to lead the NFC East’s first place team. Like Daniel, McCoy last started a game in 2014 and coincidentally that game was against the same team he’ll face today, the Cowboys. Originally a third-round pick by the Browns in 2010, McCoy has started 25 games with 21 of those being for Cleveland from 2010-2011. He sports a 60.2 completion percentage and has thrown 27 touchdowns to 23 interceptions. After Smith went down on Sunday against the Texans, McCoy completed six of 12 passes for 54 yards and a touchdown. Washington is relying on McCoy — who Jay Gruden says the team is paying “pretty good to be our backup for a reason” — to maintain first place in the division.

The Cowboys enter Sunday on a two-game winning streak and with the potential to steal away the NFC East lead. A win would improve Dallas’ 2018 record to 6-6 (the same as Washington’s would be) and 3-1 in the NFC East, while Washington would fall to 2-1. This is another game featuring one of the league’s top defenses. Dallas’ defense allows the third-least points per game and eighth-least yards per game. They’re also the only defense in the league to not allow a quick strike scoring drive of four-or-fewer plays and have held opponents to a touchdown percentage of just 18.1 percent, tied for second-best in the NFL. Good luck, McCoy!

This will be the 100th all-time meeting between the Falcons and Saints with the Falcons leading the series 52-47. Atlanta is looking to snap its two-game losing streak and tie the season series against New Orleans. But that will be no easy task in the Big Easy as Brees has been playing some of the best football of his 13-year career. His 76.9 completion percentage is a career best and NFL best this season and he’s thrown 25 touchdowns to just one interception this season while leading the Saints to a 9-1 record.

The Saints have scored have scored 40 (!) or more points in six games this season and three of their last four, while the Falcons rank 29th in both yards and points allowed per game. So if you liked what you saw on Monday, you’re going to want to tune in tonight!

The Falcons had seven players record a reception against the Cowboys on Sunday, marking the ninth consecutive game with at least six different receivers catching a pass from Matt Ryan. The Falcons’ offense also has the second-best conversion rate on third down (51.1-percent). It is currently the highest third-down percentage in franchise history and in addition to Julio Jones — who already has 1,158 yards this season — Calvin Ridley has been proving worthy of the Falcons’ first-round draft pick this year. He has 53 catches for 532 yards and a team-leading seven touchdowns. Look for him to make a big impact tonight.