The Lions look to feast on the undefeated Packers today in Detroit (Photo: SFGate.com)

Thanksgiving annually means 3 things: 1) awkward family gatherings 2) overeating/drinking and 3) football. Guess what we’ll be doing today?

We’ve got three games on tap for the holiday ahead – and 2 of them are actually exciting!! The surprise Lions will be looking to take down their rival Packers, who have been perfect so far, as the early highlight (even though Nickelback will still be playing at halftime), followed by Dallas-Miami coming just in time for your post-meal nap, and the 49ers-Ravens capping things off in a nighttime showdown of Harbaugh brothers.

All of us here at ReadAndReact are extremely grateful for all of our readers, and hope you have a happy and healthy Thanksgiving with friends and loved ones … enjoy the games!

Chris Henry has touched even more lives since his passing (Image via NY Daily News)

This really is the perfect piece for Thanksgiving. On CBS Sports’ pre-game coverage this morning, they told the story of four people whose lives were saved when Chris Henry’s mother made the decision to donate her son’s organs following the car accident that took the troubled Bengals WR’s life in December of 2009. It really puts things into perspective, and helps us all realize how much we have to be thankful for on this day.

Here is the full video. If you don’t at least get goosebumps or tear up a little after watching this (like NFL Today‘s James Brown did on live TV), you should probably get yourself checked out to make sure you still have a pulse.

If you’re so moved, and want to learn more about becoming an organ donor, check out www.donatelife.net.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

THREE GAMES ON TAP TODAY: New England at Detroit – 12:30 p.m.; New Orleans at Dallas – 4:15 p.m.; Cincinnati at New York Jets – 8:20 p.m. (all times EST).

News and notes:

¶ New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, listed as questionable for Thursday’s early Thanksgiving game against the Detroit Lions with a foot injury, will start, according to Ian R. Rapoport of the Boston Herald.

¶ The Herald reports that running back Fred Taylor will also play for the Patriots.

PATS-LIONS:

¶ Lions 7, Pats 3: Detroit down inside the Pats’ 1-yard line. Shaun Hill sneaks for the first down — first and goal. As the Jets’ Damien Woody tweets, “NE is seeing what we saw in Detroit 3 weeks ago….not the same ‘ol Lions!”

¶ Next play: Maurice Morris rolls in for the touchdown.

¶ Brady pacing the sideline.

¶ Thanks to Rhino’s Sports Pub for reminding us about one the greatest Thanksgiving Day games of all time: the Miami Dolphins versus the Dallas Cowboys in a blizzard, circa 1993. The Cowboys went on to win the Super Bowl, but this was one of their most bizarre moments of the season — and a play Leon Lett will never forget. VIDEO ABOVE.

Game coverage and commentary continues in the comments section…

It's that time of year: Turducken time. (Source: AP)

¶ Jason Reid of The Washington Post reports that Redskins running back Clinton Portis has been placed on season-ending injured reserve by the team. Portis has been nagged by a groin injury for weeks, and the team has, in general, been nagged by Portis’ inability to stay healthy. I think we’re seeing his final days in D.C.

¶ Mlive.com is reporting that Detroit Lions running back Jahvid Best, battling a toe injury for most of the season, practiced Tuesday and is expected to be ready to go for Thursday’s game against the New England Patriots. Defensive end Cliff Avril, on the mend from a hip injury, practiced and also should play. Not sure it’s enough to topple Brady and the Pats, but the Lions have seen improvements in their passing game, and New England’s defense has issues. I think this game might be closer than some think.

¶ The Tennessee Titans have not barred quarterback Vince Young from the team’s facility following Sunday’s mindmelt, but was asked to leave a team meeting Monday, according to The Tennessean, citing sources familiar with the situation.  The newspaper states that Young was “visibly upset,” but left without issue.

Fisher and Young had it out Sunday following the team’s overtime loss to the Titans. As Young walked away, he told Fisher, “I’m not running out on my teammates, I’m running out on you.”

This seals Randy Moss as the NFL’s good-luck charm of the year.

¶ Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal reports that Eric Mangini told reporters during his Wednesday press conference that rookie quarterback Colt McCoy has a high-ankle sprain. Mangini said it’s different in scope than the sprains suffered by Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace, and that McCoy is determined to get back as quickly as he can.

Mangini said “we’ll see” if McCoy can return this week.

Delhomme will get the majority of reps in Wednesday’s practice, a strong indicator he’ll get the nod against his former team, the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. Mangini said he likes Jake’s familiarity with the Panthers in this spot.

Sidenote: What about their familiarity with Jake?

MORE SOON

I immediately put out feelers for game tickets, and invited my parents to spend Thanksgiving at my new home in Colorado.  It seemed like a perfect holiday plan.  And up until Thursday night at about 6:20pm MT, it was.  It was at that point that my beloved Giants decided to crap all over our Thanksgiving celebration, by not even showing up for the game and putting on one of the more miserable displays I’ve ever had the misfortune of seeing in person. If you watched the game, you already know, and I’m not going to get into a breakdown of what went wrong (hint: everything. lowlights here).  For me, it was just brutal, while for the Broncos fans in the house, it was a full-on party.

But the holiday wasn’t a total loss, and I still have much to be thankful for. We were blessed with box seats and pre-game field passes by the Denver Post – clearly a signal of our growing influence in the sports blogosphere.  Or maybe my girlfriend got them for us.  Whatever.  In addition to free food and booze throughout the game, we were able to snap some decent photos from field level during warm-ups. Here are the best of those shots, with some commentary as to what you’re seeing. I hope you enjoy it more than I enjoyed the game.

All photos by ArtieFufkin.

Pre-game field passes = extra special surprise. Much thanks to the Denver Post team for taking such good care of us!

Aaron Ross fielding punts. Moments after this pic was taken, an errant punt bounced out of bounds and into my hands. As I handed it back to Aaron, I looked him square in the eye and said "Go get 'em Aaron!" He said nothing ... there was a general sense of lethargy from the Giants the entire night

Plenty of Giants fans in attendance for this game ... a short time later, they would all be miserable

And the Broncos take the field ... for warm-ups

CONTINUE AFTER THE JUMP FOR MORE PHOTOS FROM THE BRONCOS/GIANTS

The Broncos front 7 gets ready ... you could sense an intensity from this bunch even before the game.

This defense would have their way with the Giants O-line all night

The Giants were apparently talking about pie recipes pre-game

The Broncos DBs - including newest addition Ty Law - warmed up right in front of us

Champ Bailey getting ready to shut down Eli Manning and the Giants offense

Brian Dawkins seems to be reborn in Denver. I still hate him, though

Mixing it up in DB tackling drills

Undeniably, one of the best in the game

Miles Bronco (and mini-Bronco) take on a Steve Smith fan

Brandon Marshall talks smack for the cameras. His one-handed grab later in the game was simply incredible.

Kyle Orton to Eddie Royal

Orton to Brandon Stokley. These two hooked up for a TD later in the game.

Stokley & Royal prepare to run free in the Giants secondary

The Broncos run a few plays to get loose

... and it's game time!

From here, things start to get fuzzy ... must have been all the tryptophan

I'm pretty sure this one fell incomplete (side note: that IN-COM-PLETE chant they do at Mile High is probably the worst in sports. Just sayin')

mmmmm .... Turducken. (Photo: Jeff Kowalsky/Getty Images)

Thanksgiving annually means 3 things: 1) awkward family gatherings 2) overeating/drinking and 3) football. Guess what we’ll be doing today?

As has become tradition, the Cowboys and Lions will be hosting turkey day games … off against the Packers and Raiders respectively (hint: neither of these games will be interesting to watch).  But John Madden is no longer a part of the festivities, and in looking at the banner pic above, we can’t help but miss the ol’ son of a gun around this time of year.

This year we also get an extra night game courtesy of the NFL Network, and I – ArtieFufkin – will be attending the Giants/Broncos game this evening in Denver, and will try to report back with images and tales of whimsy from the game.

In the mean time, here is Adam Sandler’s classic “Thanksgiving Song” to get you in the holiday spirit. All of us here at ReadAndReact hope your Thanksgiving is filled with joy and cheer!

And if you can sneak away from the family for a moment, feel free to post your gameday thoughts and follow today’s NFL action in the comments section.