Packers turn away Dolphins for first Lambeau Field win on Thanksgiving
The Packers won for the 2nd consecutive year on Thanksgiving, only this time the game was in Lambeau Field, where they defeated the Miami Dolphins 30-17 and improved to 9-3 on the season.
The Packers got the ball back and had to punt, but immediately got it back after Miami muffed it and Green Bay recovered. Jordan Love found Jayden Reed for a touchdown, the first of 2 touchdown connections for the duo. Josh Jacobs found the endzone in the 1st half as well. Brandon McManus kicked a 46-yard field goal as the half expired, giving the Packers a 24-3 halftime lead. Miami would score a couple of touchdowns in the 2nd half, but it was too little too late as the Packers held on for the Thanksgiving night victory after a road win vs the Detroit Lions last year on the holiday.
Thoughts about this win:
It’s always special playing on Thanksgiving and even more special having the game at Lambeau Field. This is the 2nd game overall played in Lambeau Field on Thanksgiving, the other game happening in 2015. In that game, the Packers retired Brett Favre’s #4. The game itself didn’t go so well. We’ll leave it at that. The only other home game on Thanksgiving happened back in 1923 at Bellevue Park vs the Hammond Pros. The Packers won that game 19-0. They have also won 5 of their last 7 Thanksgiving games.
The Packers were efficient at running the ball, despite Miami’s attempt at taking away that part of the game. In fact, the longest run by Green Bay was by Jayden Reed for 23 yards. They did a great job mixing up the run and pass in the 1st half and were good enough to run the clock down in the 2nd half.
Jordan Love finally gets his turkey leg. There was controversy last year when the game was on FOX as to why they didn’t have a turducken for the winning team. Fortunately, LeRoy Butler helped out this year in making it and served it to the winning Packers. It’s always a pleasure to see him back at Lambeau Field.
The last two matchups between these teams happened on major holidays. In 2022, the Packers won 26-20 at Miami on Christmas Day. In that game, Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle both had over 100 yards receiving, but the Packers won thanks in part because they intercepted Tua Tagovailoa each time on Miami’s last 3 possessions of the game.
The Packers clinched a winning record with this win and they matched last season’s regular season victory total with 5 games left to play. For the 2nd straight game, the Packers played turnover-free football. I like that stat. This is the first of 4 prime time games in a row for the team, and they really have a chance to make some noise and move up in the seedings.
The next game will be a challenge as they play at Detroit next Thursday night. The Lions had their hands full with the Bears as they dominated the first half of their game in yardage and first downs but had only 16 points to show for it. They led 23-20 when the Bears had a major brain lock after Caleb Williams got sacked with 36 seconds left and wasted 30 seconds, even though they had a timeout left. When they finally snapped the ball, all they could do was heave it near the goal line where it fell incomplete, ending the game. Leave it up to the Bears to end the Lions’ misery on Thanksgiving, 7 straight losses coming into the game.
The Lions are dealing with their own injury issues, especially on defense. The Packers may be catching them at the right time. It will be a bloodbath for sure. Players will be biting kneecaps. Until then, let’s enjoy this Thanksgiving Day victory! Have a great weekend Packer fans!
Go Pack Go!
@DieHardPackersFan #DHPF #HappyThanksgiving #GregGoshaw @gg901
