Thanksgiving and the Dallas Cowboys.
Sorry if this traditional combination spoils your appetite. But with the mix also including the New York Giants, a team flailing even more precipitously than the Cowboys, the prime holiday slot is poised to serve up quite the dud this time around.
How’s this for a quarterback showdown: Cooper Rush vs. Tommy DeVito (or Drew Lock, if DeVito’s forearm injury keeps him out of the game).
Sure, there’s always the possibility that the matchup on Fox (4:30 p.m. ET) will spring some surprises. After all, the Cowboys (4-7) just engaged in one of the NFL’s most entertaining endings of the season on Sunday in upsetting Washington.
So, please, pass the KaVontae Turpin spin moves.
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Yet for all that’s gone down in recent weeks for the NFC East rivals – the Cowboys lost Dak Prescott to a season-ending hamstring injury, the Giants (2-9) benched and subsequently released their quarterback, Daniel Jones, because of ineffectiveness and the threat of losing millions of dollars tied to his contractual injury guarantees – the recipe for good football comes up woefully short.
The Cowboys will bring the franchise’s worst running game since the pre-Emmitt Smith era that began in 1990, ranked next-to-last in the NFL. Maybe there’s hope they can get a yard or two in a pinch, facing a 30th-ranked New York run defense that is one slot higher than Dallas’ unit in that category.
The Giants, meanwhile, will bring one of the NFL’s top rookie receivers to the equation. Yet Malik Nabers made headlines after the 30-7 shellacking from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday as he pointed out, “It ain’t the quarterback. Same outcome when we had D.J. at quarterback.”
Looking to see touchdowns? Don’t bank on it. The Giants and Cowboys have the worst two offenses in the NFL for touchdown rates after reaching the red zone, at 38.7% and 42.9%, respectively.
On paper, that’s bad. On hi-def TV, even tougher.
Maybe this is the year that the Detroit Lions (10-1), a favorite to reach Super Bowl 59, will draw a larger audience in their traditional early-afternoon Thanksgiving slot (12:30 p.m. ET, CBS) while facing the Chicago Bears. The Thanksgiving nightcap has a much better matchup, too, with the surging Miami Dolphins visiting the playoff-contending Green Bay Packers (8:20 p.m., NBC).
The Cowboys’ slot, though, has always been perfect for drawing huge numbers as it falls late in the afternoon for much of the nation, a follow-up to the turkey and stuffing.
We’ll see if that is still the case.
Two years ago, the Cowboys and Giants met in the exact same window on Turkey Day and the Fox broadcast averaged 42.1 million viewers – most ever for a regular-season game in NFL history. It was clearly an attractive matchup as both teams entered with 7-3 records en route to finishing their campaigns in the NFC divisional playoffs.
Last Thanksgiving, the Cowboys and undermatched Commanders peaked at 44.3 million viewers and averaged 41.4 million. Despite a lopsided matchup – Dallas was 7-3, headed to a 12-5 playoff berth; Washington was 3-7, on the way to closing the season with an eight-game losing streak – the CBS broadcast was still the third-most watched NFL regular-season game in history.
But who will want to watch the Cowboys (and Giants) this time?
Well, it might have an appeal similar to an accident scene. I think of the times I’ve been in highway traffic that slows to a crawl as motorists peer at wreckage that was cleared to the shoulder. Hopefully, of course, no one was hurt in the crash. But so often people are prone to want a peek at the damage.
Yes, the Cowboys have had a lot of wreckage this season. Even though the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs have become “America’s Team” when it comes to being a TV draw – the Chiefs have drawn the three biggest TV audiences this season, including the 31.2 million average for the Week 11 showdown against the Buffalo Bills on CBS – the Cowboys have still pulled in some impressive numbers.
In Week 3, a Cowboys matchup against the Baltimore Ravens averaged 27.3 million on Fox. And a Sunday night tilt at the San Francisco 49ers on NBC had an average of 23.9 million that was highest ever for a Week 8 game.
Never mind the hot seat that Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy has occupied all season while operating on the final year of his contract. Forget the injuries that on top of Prescott included All-Pro linebacker Micah Parsons for several weeks and defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence. And it doesn’t seem to matter that the Cowboys have been so routinely embarrassed in dropping all five home games this season – AT&T Stadium isn’t as much “JerryWorld” as it is “Blowout City.”
People still watch. Something has to give on Thursday. The Giants have lost six straight games. The Cowboys have dropped six consecutive home games dating to the debacle against the Green Bay Packers in the NFC divisional playoff in January. The mostly lopsided scores during Dallas’ streak of home setbacks: 48-32. 44-19. 28-25. 47-9. 34-6. 34-10.
For all of the woes, the Cowboys are still relevant as some sort of TV draw – even if they’ve become irrelevant as a playoff factor. Maybe it’s the constant drama. Or perhaps there’s a significant draw for viewers who can’t stand the Cowboys and their obnoxious fan base, loving the sight of a despised team when it is down.
In any event, the Thanksgiving stage beckons. As usual, the Cowboys will kick off their support of the Salvation Army’s holiday drive, complete with the huge red kettles in the end zone. The halftime break will feature a mini concert. This time, a year after Dolly Parton sang while wearing a Cowboys Cheerleaders uniform, country music star Lainey Wilson will command the spotlight. Let the traditions roll on.
Just don’t expect classic football.
This story has been updated with new information.
