49ers, Cowboys and Packers roll on Thanksgiving. Plus, 'The Game' leads college football's Rivalry Week

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🦃 Good morning to everyone but especially ...

THE SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS, DALLAS COWBOYS AND GREEN BAY PACKERS

Forget the midseason swoon: The 49ers are absolutely back, and they look terrifying. San Francisco battered Seattle into submission in a 31-13 win, the Niners' third straight.

Christian McCaffrey led the way with 139 yards from scrimmage and a pair of rushing touchdowns. He's up to 11 on the season, a franchise record ... with six more games to play.
Deebo Samuel added 94 yards from scrimmage and a score on the ground, and Brandon Aiyuk hauled in a touchdown from Brock Purdy.
The defense wreaked havoc with six sacks and an interception of Geno Smith. The Seahawks did not have an offensive touchdown for the second time this season.

I really like this 49ers team. It's balanced, star-laden and dominant. This was its seventh double-digit win this year, tied for most in the NFL with ...

... the Cowboys, who cooked the Commanders' defense and ate up their offense. And then they ate for real. Dak Prescott threw for four touchdowns -- the last of which he celebrated by literally eating a turkey wing -- as Dallas rolled Washington, 45-10.

If Prescott's feast wasn't enough, DaRon Bland put the icing on the ~~cake~~ pie with his fifth -- yes, fifth -- pick six of the year, setting an NFL record.

The 45 points were the Cowboys' third-most on Thanksgiving. Prescott's 10th career game with four touchdowns passing tied Tony Romo, who was on the call for CBS, for the franchise record.
Over his past five games, Prescott is averaging over 320 yards passing and has thrown 17 touchdowns and just two interceptions.
The Cowboys earned an "A" in our weekly grades, and John Breech says they're "looking more and more like a legit Super Bowl contender every week."
Oh yeah, Dolly Parton rocked the halftime show.

In the early game, Jordan Love posted a second consecutive turnover-free performance for the first time since Weeks 1 and 2 and tied a career-best with three touchdowns in a 29-22 win over the Lions. Love was one of Turkey Day's biggest winners, writes Cody Benjamin. It's the first time the Packers have won consecutive games this year. At 5-6, Green Bay is still hanging around in the NFC playoff picture.

Love set the tone for the day on the first play -- a 53-yard completion to Christian Watson -- and never slowed down. He threw touchdowns to Watson, Jayden Reed and Tucker Kraft. The running game was also strong, and the defense impressed. As for the Lions ... we'll get to that.

👍 Honorable mentions

Aaron Rodgers reportedly plans to return this season no matter the Jets' record.
Mike Vrabel's job is reportedly safe.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba had a ridiculous one-handed catch, the biggest highlight for Seattle.

😕 And not such a good morning for ...

THE DETROIT LIONS

It was all bad in Detroit: The offense. The defense. The decision making. The halftime show. All. Really. Bad.

One of the league's boldest and most creative teams produced a stinker.

The Lions went 1 of 5 on fourth down, including a failed fake punt on their own 23-yard line that led to Green Bay's final touchdown.
Goff was sacked three times and lost three fumbles, bringing his turnover total to six over the past two games. He had just five turnovers through the first nine games of season.
The defense is regressing at an alarming rate. After allowing 100+ yards rushing once over its first nine games, it has allowed 184 and 109 in its last two games, respectively. The Packers' 7 yards per play was the second-highest the Lions have allowed this season.

The Lions have now lost seven straight Thanksgiving games. This latest iteration brings real questions. Every quarterback goes through rough patches, but Goff's is particularly concerning because he doesn't make it up with any sort of playmaking out of the pocket. That gets exposed when the offensive line struggles, and struggle it did: The Lions allowed pressure on 54% of Goff's dropbacks, their worst rate since 2007. Add in a leaky secondary and risks that don't pay off, and you get another sad Thanksgiving in Detroit.

👎 Not so honorable mentions

Justin Jefferson is unlikely to play on Monday night.
Trae Young is scoring at will. So are his opponents.

🏈 Michigan-Ohio State headlines college football Rivalry Week

Michigan. Ohio State. A College Football Playoff berth (likely) on the line. It truly doesn't get any better than this. The No. 2 Buckeyes visit the Jim Harbaugh-less No. 3 Wolverines Saturday in one of the biggest versions of "The Game" yet. Harbaugh, who will get a win (or loss) added to his record, and Ryan Day come into full focus, writes Dennis Dodd.

As for the players, for the first time in a while, the Wolverines hold the hypothetical edge at quarterback. J.J. McCarthy holds the keys to Michigan's success, writes Shehan Jeyarajah.

Tom Fornelli, meanwhile, leads off The Six Pack with his best bet:

FornelIi: "I understand how incredible these defenses have been all year. I don't care. Both teams spend all season preparing for this game, bringing stuff out of the playbook they haven't used against anybody else. I watch nearly every game both these teams play every season, and every year I see them doing stuff in this game I haven't seen before. Now, the defenses are good enough that I don't expect the winner to crack 40 points, but I can see both teams getting to 30. Pick: Over 45.5 (-115)"

The winner of that one heads to the Big Ten Championship Game, but the scenarios are much more convoluted elsewhere. Will Backus breaks down every conference title game scenario as well as the extremely complicated Big 12 title game race.

With rivalries all over the country, we have previews everywhere, too:

Those top eight teams plus No. 9 Louisville still have legitimate College Football Playoff hopes. Unfortunately, only four can make it, and Dennis laid out potential paths there. Alabama could take us on a wild ride.

Dodd: "Beat Auburn and Georgia, and the Crimson Tide are likely in the playoff. Remember, no SEC champion has been left out since 2005. Alabama could conceivably be in competition for three spots with other 12-1 conference champions: Oregon, Texas and Louisville. If the decision comes down to Texas and Bama, the committee will have to weigh a regular-season head-to-head road win for the 'Horns against the Tide clearly improving throughout the season and taking down the top team in their rankings on the final day of the season in the SEC title game."

We also have Black Friday picks, value bets, best bets and SEC picks.

🏈 NFL Week 12 picks: Two star AFC South QBs face off

If I told you two years ago that the Jaguars and Texans would be battling for AFC South supremacy with legitimate playoff hopes, you probably wouldn't have believed me. But that's where we stand with Trevor Lawrence hosting C.J. Stroud for first place in the AFC South.

Breech: "Stroud is currently having one of the best rookie seasons by any player ever. Over the past three games alone, he's thrown for 1,162 yards, which is the most passing yards ever for a rookie in any three-game span in NFL history, and now, he gets to face a Jaguars defense that can't stop the pass. The pick: Texans 34-27 over Jaguars"

The co-headliner Sunday is Bills-Eagles, a battle between two teams with little margin for error. In Buffalo's case, it's a playoff position, and in Philadelphia's case, it's home-field advantage. Josh Allen vs. Jalen Hurts represents a battle of two of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the league.

Here are all of the picks:

Pete Prisco | John Breech | Jordan Dajani | Tyler Sullivan

Before we get there, though, there's a Black Friday NFL game for the first time. The Dolphins visit the Jets, and here's how it came to be.

📺 What we're watching this weekend

Friday

🏈 No. 20 Iowa at Nebraska, 12 p.m. on CBS, Paramount+
🏀 Celtics at Magic, 2:30 p.m. on NBA TV
🏈 Dolphins at Jets, 3 p.m. on Prime Video
🏈 No. 9 Missouri at Arkansas, 4 p.m. on CBS, Paramount+
🏀 Suns at Grizzlies, 5 p.m. on NBA TV
🏀 No. 13 Baylor vs. Florida, 5:30 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 No. 17 Alabama vs. Ohio State, 7 p.m. on CBS Sports Network
🏈 Texas Tech at No. 7 Texas, 7:30 p.m. on ABC
🏀 Heat at Knicks, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
🏈 No. 16 Oregon State at No. 6 Oregon, 8:30 p.m. on Fox
🏀 Spurs at Warriors, 10 p.m. on ESPN

Saturday

🏈 No. 2 Ohio State at No. 3 Michigan, Noon on Fox
🏈 No. 8 Alabama at Auburn, 3:30 p.m. on CBS, Paramount+
🏈 Washington State at No. 4 Washington, 4 p.m. on Fox
🏈 No. 5 Florida State at Florida, 7 p.m. on ESPN
🏈 No. 1 Georgia at Georgia Tech, 7:30 p.m. on ABC
🏀 Mavericks at Clippers, 10:30 p.m. on NBA TV

Sunday

🏈 Jaguars at Texans, 1 p.m. on CBS, Paramount+
🏈 Chiefs at Raiders, 4:25 p.m. on CBS, Paramount+
🏈 Bills at Eagles, 4:25 p.m. on CBS, Paramount+
🏈 Ravens at Chargers, 8:20 p.m. on NBC