NFL Preview: Patriots Take On Lions In Detroit

New England Patriots (8-2) at Detroit Lions (2-8)

Patriots Notes:

— This will be one of the NFL’s annual Thanksgiving Day games, a rare spot for the Patriots. The Pats have played just three times on Thanksgiving and are 1-2 overall, with losses coming to the Cowboys and Lions. New England’s lone win on Turkey Day? Against Detroit, in 2002.

— The ground game could get some help this week in the form of veteran RB Fred Taylor. Despite being inactive on Sunday against Indianapolis, Taylor has had limited participation in practice over the last two weeks and his toe injury has shown signs of progress. Taylor hasn’t played since a Week 3 win over Buffalo, but was a pretty solid option for the Pats prior to getting hurt. In the season opener versus Cincy, he carried 14 times for 71 yards.

Lions Notes:

— Rookie DT Ndamukong Suh continues to play outstanding football for Detroit. On Sunday in Dallas, Suh led the Lions with eight tackles and shared a sack with DE Lawrence Jackson. Suh also played a key role in a safety when he was held in the end zone by Cowboys LT Leonard Davis.

— Some troubling injury news brewing for the Lions: TE Tony Scheffler hurt his ribs near the end of the Dallas game and did not return. DE Cliff Avril missed his second straight game with a quad injury and given the short week to prepare for New England, his participation on Thursday seems doubtful.

Philadelphia Eagles (7-2) at Chicago Bears (7-3)

Eagles Notes:

— Really nice breakout game by RB LeSean McCoy against the Giants on Sunday night. McCoy notched just his second 100-yard rushing performance of the year and found the end zone for just the second time in the last eight games. If the Eagles are going to win games into December and be a viable playoff contender, they’re going to need to be able to run the ball in all kinds of situations — not just the ones where Vick scrambles out of the pocket or McCoy fools the opposition on a draw play.

— Some defensive injuries for the Eagles: CB Ellis Hobbs injured his neck on a kickoff return against New York and didn’t return to the game. He’ll have an MRI this week but participation vs. Chicago seems doubtful. Meanwhile, DE Juqua Parker was knocked out of the Giants game (hip flexor) and will be mostly held out of practice this week in an effort to get him fit for Sunday.

Bears Notes:

— No team has been more dominant on stopping third downs lately than Chicago. The Bears have been in the top five in preventing third-down conversions over the last seven weeks. Of note, opponents have converted just two of the last 20 third-down plays against the Bears.

— The DE combo of Julius Peppers and Israel Idonije has been a collective nightmare for opponents this year. The paisrhas combined for 11 sacks and continues to harass QBs each and every week.