Upon release of the 2012 regular-season schedule, the first thing I checked was the lineup for the Thanksgiving tripleheader, which concludes with a first-ever NBC nightcap.
And it’ll be a great one.
After the Texans visit the Lions and the Redskins travel to Dallas, the Patriots visit the Jets in New York.
The Lions’ options were limited to Indianapolis and Houston, given that the Lions’ Thanksgiving game in 2012 will be televised by CBS. The Cowboys had five alternative opponents to the Redskins, who will be bringing Robert Griffin III back to Texas.
The NBC game will feature one of the most bitter rivalries in the NFL, along with the Tebow factor. Regardless of the quality of the game itself (and no matter how many of the viewers have slipped into Tryptophan-induced comas), the ratings will be through the roof.