NFL Sunday Night Football takes place tonight with a massive game between the New England Patriots and the Denver Broncos. The Patriots will be attempting to continue their undefeated run this season, but they come up against a strong Broncos team, which will have tens of thousands cheering them on at Sports Authority Field in Denver, Colorado. The game has a scheduled start time of 8.30 p.m. ET and can be watched on TV on the NBC network or online through live stream via the link below.
One major disappointment for fans is that Peyton Manning's injured foot means that we won't get to watch a Tom Brady vs Peyton Manning super match up in today's game. Instead it will be Brady vs Brock Osweiler as the Broncos look to inflict a first defeat of the season on the Patriots.
Manning is confirmed out for the next two games with a partially torn plantar fascia in his left foot. The injury has been a major reason for the star quarterback's poor form this season, and though he has tried to get on with it despite his injury, it was clear to everyone that has watched Manning over the past decade that there was something wrong.
Manning has suffered an amazing 17 interceptions this season, and there has been talk about the quarterback's time for retirement nearing as he approaches his 40th birthday. However, despite the criticism, he has still helped the Broncos to an 8-2 record, and puts them three games ahead at the top of the AFC West.
The Broncos' extremely strong defense has been credited as one of the main reasons for their excellent record this season, and it will be interesting to see how they cope with Tom Brady and the Patriots firing at them today.
Meanwhile, Osweiler put on a strong showing in his first career start in Manning's absence last week, throwing two touchdowns, and gave their offense their first turnover free performance of the season as they defeated the Chicago Bears 17-15.
Broncos coach Gary Kubiak said about Osweiler's performance: "He did a really good job. We didn't protect him very good in the first half, had to take his lumps in a couple situations but kept his composure (and) would come back to make the next play. He did a heck of a job."
Earlier this week, Thanksgiving Day saw three big games take place on Thursday. The first game was between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Detroit Lions, although in essence only one of the teams seemed to turn up as the Lions routed the Eagles 45-14.
Michael Stafford managed to claim a career high five touchdown passes, with three of them going to Calvin Johnson, as the Lions claimed their third straight win.
Oppositely, the Eagles fell to a third straight loss, and the result left both teams on 4-7 and with little chance of either making the postseason.
In the second of three games to take place on Thursday, the Carolina Panthers continued to make their case that they could potentially end the regular season with a perfect record, with a 33-14 win over the Dallas Cowboys.
Apart from the result, the big news from Arlington, Texas on Thursday was that Tony Romo is now likely out for the rest of the season with the same injury that had kept him out for seven straight games this season.
Romo has tried his best to make an impact, insisting on coming back earlier than some may have advised, however, on Thursday he gave up three interceptions with two of them being returned for touchdowns.
Later, the Cowboys' star quarterback injured the same left collarbone that had kept him out for seven games, and the latest loss leaves the Cowboys on 3-8 and all but out of the reckoning for the Playoff spots.
Meanwhile, the Panthers became just the 16th NFL team ever to start the season 11-0 on their Thanksgiving debut.
The final game of the day say the Chicago Bears pull off a stunning upset to defeat the Green Bay Packers 17-13. Jay Cutler threw for 200 yards and a touchdown to help his team over the line.
The game went right down to the wire with the Packers on fourth and goal from the eight yard line with just 22 seconds to go. However, they were unable to convert and that left the Bears celebrating a memorable victory.
The result means the Bears have won three of their last four games to move them to 5-6, and if they can continue this good run of form they may still be able to sneak a Playoff spot. Meanwhile, the Packers fall to 7-4 with their second straight loss at Lambeau, and their downturn in form will continue to worry those in Green Bay.
Today's big game between the New England Patriots and the Denver Broncos has a scheduled start time of 8.30 p.m. ET and can be watched on TV on the NBC network or online through live stream by clicking here.
