The NFL season has reached Thanksgiving and there is a lot to be thankful for if you're a football fan. The playoff picture is still in tremendous flux with six weeks to go, with Week 12's results offering a few signs of clarity and more questions to answer.
Which teams are in a good position to make postseason noise and which still have some work to do? Let's reset the playoff picture with a new NFL stock watch, seeing what factors, teams and players are trending in the right and wrong directions entering the first holiday weekend of the season.
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The Thanksgiving schedule
After years of seemingly neglecting the Thanksgiving schedule, the NFL has stacked the slate with four compelling games. Turkey Day kicks off with a huge Packers-Lions tilt that can offer the winner an inside shot to be the top challenger for the NFC North. The day continues with a massive Cowboys-Chiefs matchup at 4:30 that could set a viewership record for the most-watched regular season game in league history.
The night cap on Thanksgiving sees the now AFC-North leading Ravens welcome Joe Burrow back to the action against the Bengals, who are in desperation mode and need to run the table to have a shot at the postseason. Don't sleep on Black Friday, either, as the Eagles and Bears square off in Philadelphia in a matchup of two division leaders.
The AFC South
After years of being regarded as the weakest division in football, the AFC South has three legitimate postseason contenders. The Indianapolis Colts lead the way at 8-3 and even though they lost at Kansas City on Sunday their performance showed they aren't a paper tiger and belong within the ranks of the elite.
Jacksonville holds a wild card spot at 7-4 while Houston is back above .500 at 6-5, fresh off a huge Thursday night win over Buffalo. The Colts play each of these teams twice in the final six weeks of the season, setting the stage for a potentially chaotic finish in the division.
NFC West
While Arizona is out of the postseason hunt, the NFC West's other three teams are well-positioned to make the postseason. The Rams' throttling of Tampa Bay on Sunday night, combined with Philadelphia's loss in Dallas, gave Los Angeles the inside track on the top overall seed in the NFC playoffs.
Seattle is closely following at 8-3, earning a win in Tennessee to maintain the conference's top wild card spot. San Francisco is also 8-4 following Monday night's win over Carolina, giving them a tiebreaker edge over the Panthers and buying more time for some of their recently returned injured players to round into playing form.
The Dallas Cowboys
A loss to the Eagles on Sunday would have all but ended Dallas' postseason hopes, but pulling off the largest comeback during a regular season game in franchise history could prove to be a turning point for America's Team. The much-maligned defense stiffened in the second half against Philadelphia, keeping Jalen Hurts and company off the scoreboard to buy time for the George Pickens experience to spark a rally.
The next two games for the Cowboys are huge as they host the Chiefs on Thanksgiving before going to Detroit a week later on a Thursday night. Splitting those two games offers a manageable path to the end of the season for Dallas, who could be right in the hunt for a wild card spot by going 5-1 to finish the year 10-6-1.
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The NFC South
Fewer teams were bigger losers in Week 12 than Tampa Bay, which got demolished by the Los Angeles Rams and saw Baker Mayfield leave the game with a shoulder injury. While reports on Mayfield's status are encouraging, the Bucs may simply be too injured to make any serious noise in January.
Week 12 was also a huge missed opportunity for the Panthers, who could have climbed into first place with a win but were outclassed in a loss to the 49ers and welcome the Rams to Charlotte on Sunday. Anyone dreaming of a Falcons' comeback story also has to remember they are 0-3 against the two teams above them, meaning they'd need to essentially run the table and get help to reach January for the first time since 2017.
Lamar Jackson
Things are getting worrisome for Lamar Jackson, who has won all three games since he returned from injury but is lacking explosiveness. A string of leg and foot injuries are clearly hampering Jackson, who looks hesitant to scramble and has seen Baltimore fight tooth and nail to get past the Cleveland Browns and New York Jets the past two weeks.
With a huge AFC North stretch coming up, featuring both Bengals games and the first Steelers matchup, Jackson needs to find a way to channel more of his MVP self to sustain the Ravens' surge. With five losses already, the Ravens can't afford to take on much more water, so Jackson needs to step up his game to ensure Baltimore completes a once-improbable comeback.
New England Patriots' injuries
Mike Vrabel is sure to be the frontrunner for Coach of the Year with New England already at 10 wins, but their bigger concern is how healthy the group will be in January. Injuries have decimated the trenches for the Patriots, who lost Milton Williams for the season and have seen two offensive linemen go down lately, including star left tackle Will Campbell's MCL sprain in Week 12.
Juggling the offensive line is not an ideal situation for New England, which is fortunate it has a bye next week to give some of their injured linemen time to heal. The Patriots need to figure out a solution for their sudden line issues if they hope to avoid a one-and-done trip through the postseason.
The Eagles offense
This trend has gone season-long for the Eagles, who just can't get out of their own way offensively. Saquon Barkley delivered another inconsistent effort against Dallas on Sunday that included a key second-half fumble, while A.J. Brown remains unhappy with his role despite catching a touchdown in the first half on Sunday.
Head coach Nick Sirianni has stood by offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, insisting that he isn't considering taking over play calling at this juncture. The NFC is loaded with quality offenses and the Eagles need to figure out a way to get more out of their highly paid stars if they want to avoid an early exit in the postseason.