Thoughts on Thanksgiving Games

Some quick observations from the Thanksgiving games:

*The Green Bay Packers have a chance to win next Thursday in Dallas.

The Cowboys have been widely proclaimed the best team in the NFC. But, in truth, there's little difference between them and the Packers at this point. Green Bay probably has the better defense. Brett Favre is playing as well as any quarterback this side of Tom Brady, including Tony Romo. The Packers don't have a single receiver as good as Terrell Owens, but Favre's pass-catchers are plenty dangerous. The Packers' flaw for much of the season has been their lack of a running game. But they've reached the point at which they can run the ball just well enough to give Favre a fair opportunity to win games with his passing. The Cowboys will be the favorite Thursday, and justifiably so because they'll be at home. But don't be shocked if the Packers prevail in the intriguing matchup of 10-1 teams vying for home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.

*The Indianapolis Colts aren't themselves, and this version of them won't challenge the New England Patriots in the postseason.

For weeks, the Colts have been saying that wideout Marvin Harrison is healthy enough to play if this was the playoffs. Meanwhile, he remains on the shelf with an ailing knee. The offensive line is a mess at the moment, and the defense is minus end Dwight Freeney. These Colts are struggling to beat teams like the lowly Atlanta Falcons on Thursday. The assumption has been that the Colts would get healthy at some point and again resemble the club that led the Patriots by 10 points in the fourth quarter before succumbing late. But that can no longer be assumed. It's possible, yes. But it can't be taken as a given any more.

By Mark Maske |  November 23, 2007; 8:23 AM ET  | Category:  Colts , Cowboys , Packers
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