Also in this week’s NFL primer: Shedeur Sanders and Myles Garrett make the Browns compelling, J.J. McCarthy continues to disappoint, and the Brandon Aiyuk situation gets weird in San Francisco.
A loaded plate
This week’s compelling NFL holiday slate includes four games with playoff implications, six of eight teams with winning records, a viewership blockbuster in Texas, the first-place Chicago Bears and star quarterback Joe Burrow’s expected return to the Cincinnati Bengals’ lineup.
The traditional Thanksgiving games have the Detroit Lions hosting the Green Bay Packers in a clash of NFC North contenders followed by the Dallas Cowboys hosting the Kansas City Chiefs in a late-afternoon matchup of two of the league’s top draws. The NFL’s regular season record of an average of 42.1 million viewers, set when the Cowboys hosted the New York Giants on Thanksgiving in 2022, seems within reach. The Chiefs and Cowboys are coming off stirring comeback victories Sunday, and both teams desperately need this game to bolster their postseason chances.
Thursday’s night game has the Baltimore Ravens, on a five-game winning streak following a 1-5 start and fresh off moving into the AFC North lead, hosting the Bengals.
“It’s pretty special,” Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith said following Sunday’s triumph over the New York Jets at M&T Bank Stadium. “And honestly, shoot, I’ve been watching football on Thanksgiving since I was a kid, like, growing up and always watching. … Truth be told, I don’t think I’ve had a Thanksgiving with family since, like, 17 years old. So when you think about it like that, that’s all I really know, football on Thanksgiving. So it’ll be pretty sweet.”
Burrow is expected to play Thursday for the Bengals, about two months after he underwent surgery for severe turf toe, Coach Zac Taylor said.
Burrow clearly has been pushing to play. He practiced during the previous two weeks and was a full participant in the Bengals’ practices last Wednesday and Thursday. But the team declined to activate him from the injured reserve list to play in last Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots.
Joe Burrow has announced his return
Burrow is anticipated to play his first game back on Thanksgiving vs. Ravens since Week 2. (via joeyb_9/IG) pic.twitter.com/LM7qQUphtC
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 24, 2025
The Bengals lost, 26-20, without Burrow and wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, who was serving a one-game suspension.
They have lost four straight and eight of nine to drop to 3-8. They’re three games out of first place in the AFC North. They’re four games out of the final wild-card playoff spot in the AFC. They’re last in the NFL in total defense and have allowed at least 26 points in 10 straight games. It’s debatable whether there’s a season left for Burrow to try to save. Even so, the Bengals seem willing to allow him to take the field in the same stadium in which he suffered a season-ending wrist injury in 2023.
The NFL’s now-annual game on the Friday after Thanksgiving will have the Bears — narrowly ahead of the Packers and Lions atop the NFC North — visiting the Philadelphia Eagles, who allowed 24 straight points to squander a 21-0 lead against the Cowboys on Sunday and now trail the Los Angeles Rams by a game for the NFC’s top seed.
It was last Thanksgiving, remember, that a clock-management blunder by the Bears at the end of their loss in Detroit led them to fire coach Matt Eberflus the following day. They have made tremendous progress since. The Bears hired Ben Johnson in the offseason, and he quickly has aided the development of second-year quarterback Caleb Williams while transforming the team into a winner.
Five games to watch this weekend
All times are Eastern.
49ers at Browns, 1 p.m. Sunday: Brock Purdy is coming off his first-half interception-fest Monday night against the Panthers.
Texans at Colts, 1 p.m. Sunday: The rugged Houston defense presents a major test for the Daniel Jones-led Indianapolis offense.
Rams at Panthers, 1 p.m. Sunday: No one in the league is playing better than the Rams right now.
Cardinals at Buccaneers, 1 p.m. Sunday: Baker Mayfield could play despite a sprained AC joint in his left, nonthrowing shoulder.
Bills at Steelers, 4:25 p.m. Sunday: Aaron Rodgers could return after missing one game because of his fractured left wrist.
Sanders’s next start, Garrett’s sack record
Rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders wasn’t overwhelmingly great in his first NFL start Sunday at Las Vegas. But he was good enough to help the Cleveland Browns to a victory. And that led Coach Kevin Stefanski to say Monday that Sanders will start Sunday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers in Cleveland, even with fellow rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel now cleared under the NFL concussion protocol.
Sanders had a touchdown pass and an interception as part of an 11-for-20, 209-yard performance in the 24-10 triumph over the Raiders. With his father and former coach, Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, on hand at Allegiant Stadium, Sanders became the first Browns quarterback since Eric Zeier in 1995 to win his first NFL start, ending an 0-17 run. The level of competition increases against the 49ers.
The Browns suddenly are captivating to watch. Star pass rusher Myles Garrett had three sacks against the Raiders and is up to 18 on the season. He’s only 4.5 sacks from the single-season NFL record held by Michael Strahan and T.J. Watt. Garrett is almost unquestionably the league’s most dominant player.
10 SACKS FOR BROWNS TODAY. 3 FOR MYLES TODAY. 18 FOR MYLES ON THE SEASON. CLEvsLV on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/hzwSJXLfny
— NFL (@NFL) November 24, 2025
“Sack record, it’s been nice owning you,” Strahan said Sunday during the Fox postgame studio show.
McCarthy’s struggles
Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy is in the NFL’s concussion protocol, Coach Kevin O’Connell said during a news conference Monday. Undrafted rookie Max Brosmer could start Sunday at Seattle if McCarthy is unable to play.
Little has gone as McCarthy and the Vikings had hoped in his first season as the starter after missing his entire rookie campaign because of a knee injury. McCarthy previously missed five games because of an ankle injury. And when he has played, he has played poorly. He threw two interceptions and had just 87 yards on 12-for-19 passing in Sunday’s 23-6 loss at Green Bay.
For the season, he has six touchdown passes, 10 interceptions and an unsightly passer rating of 57.9. He would be the NFL’s lowest-rated passer by a wide margin if he had enough passing attempts to qualify. That inglorious distinction currently belongs to Tennessee Titans rookie Cam Ward (75.7).
It’s too soon for the Vikings to give up on McCarthy. But it’s fair to wonder whether they will regret their decisions to take him 10th in last year’s draft and then commit to him as their starter during an offseason in which they lost Sam Darnold and Jones to free agency and declined to pursue Rodgers.
Aiyuk and the 49ers
Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk and the 49ers probably will part ways after the season. Aiyuk told the NFL Players Association that he did not want the union to file a grievance on his behalf to contest the 49ers voiding future guarantees in his contract, a person familiar with the situation confirmed late last week.
Coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed to reporters Saturday that the team had voided the 2026 guarantees in Aiyuk’s contact, as first reported Friday by the Athletic. Shanahan declined to specify why. But the 49ers necessarily must have contended that Aiyuk violated the terms of his contract.
Aiyuk has not played this year as he works his way back from the knee injury that cut short his 2024 season. Shanahan said he has not ruled out the possibility of Aiyuk playing for the 49ers during the rest of this season.
Beyond this season, teams will have plenty to weigh when they decide whether to pursue Aiyuk. At 27, he’s still fairly young. He has been productive: He had 75 catches for 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns in the 2023 season. He also had a 1,000-yard receiving season in 2022.
But he never has been a first-team all-pro or even a Pro Bowl selection. He will be returning from a major injury. And he regularly has been at odds with the 49ers. He clashed with the team and reportedly requested a trade before staying put by signing a four-year, $120 million contract extension last year. Now the 49ers, in this dispute, have voided guarantees in that deal that included a $24.9 million option bonus in 2026.
Belichick’s woes
It probably would be unwise to rule out the possibility of Bill Belichick coaching in the NFL again, given his six Super Bowl victories with the Patriots. But it does seem ever more far-fetched, given his lack of success in his first college season at North Carolina.
The Tar Heels allowed a big play on a fake field goal and lost to Duke on Saturday to fall to 4-7. That ensured Belichick’s third straight losing season, counting his final two seasons in New England.
DUKE PULLS OFF THE FAKE FIELD GOAL
@DukeFOOTBALL pic.twitter.com/syr9FoOdue
— ACC Network (@accnetwork) November 22, 2025
NFL teams passed over Belichick during the hiring cycle following his parting with the Patriots after the 2023 season. The Atlanta Falcons interviewed him twice but didn’t hire him, and the Washington Commanders spoke with him but didn’t pursue him. Belichick took the North Carolina job in December before the onset of another NFL hiring cycle. He announced recently that he would not pursue coaching jobs with the Giants or any other NFL teams in the upcoming cycle.
That’s perhaps a preemptive declaration of a lack of interest in the NFL before the NFL could collectively demonstrate again that it is not interested in him.
A statement from Bill Belichick, who definitely posted this himself on Instagram, saying “I have not and will not pursue any NFL head coaching vacancies.” pic.twitter.com/YMgxgkldAk
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) November 15, 2025
Etc.
» Former Ravens kicker Justin Tucker had a workout Tuesday with the New Orleans Saints, his first known tryout for any team since he served his 10-week suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy. But the Saints added Cade York to their practice squad while releasing their kicker, Blake Grupe.
» The NFL suspended Carolina Panthers safety Tre’von Moehrig for one game without pay Tuesday for unsportsmanlike conduct during Monday night’s game against the 49ers. Moehrig hit 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings in the groin following a play. That led to Jennings striking Moehrig in the face mask and shoving him on the field following the game. Barring a successful appeal, Moehrig would miss the Panthers’ game Sunday against the Rams in Charlotte.
» It has been a rough week for coordinators. Coach Pete Carroll fired Chip Kelly as the Raiders’ offensive coordinator Sunday night. The move came with the Raiders ranked 30th in the NFL in total offense and tied for last in scoring offense. The Raiders had fired special teams coordinator Tom McMahon earlier this month. Mike Kafka, the Giants’ interim coach, fired Shane Bowen as the team’s defensive coordinator Monday. The Giants are 30th in the league in total defense and let yet another significant lead slip away in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s overtime loss at Detroit.
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