Happy Thanksgiving! Good food on the table, good football on TV, and no Zach Wilson this weekend
Happy Thanksgiving #HappyThanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I hope you’re getting some wonderful time with family and friends and taking in everything the holiday has to offer: turkey trots (I’m not ashamed to admit I’m doing one), parades, good food and, oh yeah, a delectable sports schedule that includes NFL, the World Cup, college football and college basketball.
I won’t take up too much of your time, so we have a special, shortened holiday edition of the newsletter today, but I promise it’s a good one.
Let’s get right to it.
Good morning to everyone but especially to…
NFL FANS
Ah, Thanksgiving football. There’s nothing like it. We play turkey bowls in the morning and plan our Thanksgiving dinner around it in the evening (I highly suggest in between the early game and the afternoon game). And there’s good reason: There are three intriguing games, each with playoff implications.
Here’s all of the terrific content our NFL team has cooked up:
Honorable mentions And not such a good morning for…
ZACH WILSON AND THE NEW YORK JETS
For the first time in over a decade, the Jets are in the playoff race at the end of November. And for what seems like the millionth time in franchise history, the Jets have major quarterback issues.
On Wednesday, head coach Robert Saleh announced thatMike Whitewill start this weekend against theBears, and Zach Wilson will be inactive. The decision comes after the Jets lost to the Patriots, 10-3, after which Saleh described his team’s offense as “dog s–t”. He’s not wrong. The Jets gained two yards in the entire second half.
Wilson’s had an up-and-down start to his career, but this is a definite down. Still, Saleh called the decision a “reset” for the young quarterback, and our NFL guru Garrett Podell believes Wilson can get back on the right track.
Should the Jets feel the need to go quarterback hunting this offseason, Jordan has options for them to explore in 2023.
Not so honorable mentions World Cup recap: Japan shocks Germany, Spain scores a touchdown ⚽
Another day at the World Cup, another stunner: After dominating for 75 minutes, Germany fell to Japan, 2-1, with Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano nabbing late goals. While the players produced the result, Japan’s coach, Hajime Moriyasu, deserves plenty of praise, writes our soccer reporter James Benge.
In other Wednesday action…
Early this morning, Switzerland topped Cameroon 1-0 thanks to an historic goal by Breel Embolo. Meanwhile, with Argentina and Germany both going down, Roger Gonzalez has the next teams that should be on upset alert.
What we’re watching Thursday 📺
⚽ We’re watching the World Cup. Here’s the schedule.
🏈 We’re also watching all three NFL games. Here’s the schedule.
🏀 No. 8 Duke vs. Oregon State, 3 p.m. on ESPN
🏈 Mississippi State at No. 20 Ole Miss, 7 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 No. 18 Alabama vs. No. 12 Michigan State, 10:30 p.m. on ESPN