Ah it's that most magical day of the calendar, 9 HOURS OF FOOTBALL STRAIGHT AFTER WORK! It's almost like it's the WORLD CUP! all over again. So grab a turkey sandwich and some beers and get right stuck into it.

5.30pm, Sky Sports.
CHICAGO BEARS (5-6) @ DETROIT LIONS (7-4)

STARTER: Remember last year when the Packers had to field Matt Flynn and Detroit ended up going for 561 YARDS and finally won a thanksgiving day game for the first time in years? Well we all had a good laugh, but it's hard to say if they'll repeat that, with their current annual capitulation under way. They SHOULD comfortably beat a middling-to-average Chicago at side, but one can never put it past the Lions to find a way to fuck it up somehow. Having lost two on the trot (admittedly to strong Arizona and New England showings) Detroit will be keen to stop the rot and eat turkey all over again. Chicago aren't quite out of contention yet so still have something to play for, but they pretty much can't drop any more games if they want to be playing past December and this will largely depend on which Chicago shows up, given Cutler, Forte and Marshall are just as likely to throw total heat as they are serving up a turkey. I'm hungry. (DET by 4-5)

9.30pm, Sky Sports
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (8-3) @ DALLAS COWBOYS (8-3)

MAIN: Now this should be a total corker. These two have thrown up some pretty amazing moments and games in the past, but rarely have they mattered as much as this in recent years. Pretty simple stuff, whoever wins will be making a strong case for NFC East supremacy and with it, quite likely, the title and play-offs. Expect a total blow out because neither have particularly strong D's, although it must be said Dallas's D showed up big in the latter stages of the Giants match on Sunday. Both teams have explosive offensive options including MVP candidate DeMarco Murray, but there's still a niggling feeling of when is Tony Romo going to mess this up? Usually that happens in December, so that will be the real test, even if the Cowboys win tonight they could still find themselves behind Philly is they revert to old habits. So far however, despite a couple wobbles, they have been very impressive this year and if everyone can stay fit could be their strongest shout at superbowl contention since, what, the 90s? That will be tough though against an Eagles squad who can match them in pretty much every way, so expect a close one. (PHI by 3)

1.30am, Sky Sports
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (7-4) @ SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (7-4)

DESERT: And if all that wasn't enough, we get one of the best rivalries in recent years as our pumpkin pie. Admittedly, neither team have looked their best this year so although this may not quite have the overall quality of recent years (I'm still having dreams about how good that NFC Championship game was last season) but given that they're still heated rivals and are both vying for playoff contention, this should still be pretty tough. As usual we can expect a lot of running and even more defence in the big ground and pound rivalry Baltimore and Pittsburgh used to occupy. Quite difficult to predict this, but it's quite usual for both these teams knocking one back and forth, so going to go for San Francisco in a tight one (by 3)

Any special plans for the big day? Proper thread for Sunday to follow.