Detroit Lions

Full Slate Of #ProHogs For Thanksgiving Week

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Some things are certain when it comes to the Thanksgiving holiday. Large spreads of food, family gatherings, and, of course, football.

Every year since 1920 an NFL game has been played on Thanksgiving Day. This year’s slate of games features two classic matchups, as well as a third game that will cap the holiday. Among the featured teams, four former Razorbacks will be in action to kick off Week 12 of the NFL season.

Jarius Wright, Travis Swanson, Martrell Spaight and Cobi Hamilton will all be in action today for their respective teams. Wright and the Minnesota Vikings (6-4) will travel to Detroit to take on Swanson and the Lions (6-4) as they have the early game at 11:30 a.m. CT on CBS.

Spaight, who is coming off a strong Week 11, and the Washington Redskins (6-3-1) play against one of their biggest rivals in the Dallas Cowboys (9-1) in the Lone Star State. Kickoff is slated for 3:30 p.m. on FOX.

Finally, as the nightcap, Hamilton and the Pittsburgh Steelers (5-5) travel to Indianapolis to take on the Colts (5-5) at Lucas Oil Stadium with kickoff at 7:30 p.m. on NBC.

Spaight Looks For Back-To-Back Strong Weeks
After tallying his first career interception last week against the Green Bay Packers, linebacker Martrell Spaight will hope to carry that momentum through the short week against the Cowboys on Thursday. Spaight has battled through injuries since being drafted in 2015, but should be back to full health as the season hits the home stretch.

Spaight has seen the field in eight games this year, primarily on special teams, and has five tackles, two solo stops, one interception and one pass breakup. If he can bring down another interception against the Cowboys, he’ll be the first Redskins player with an interception in back-to-back games since 2012.

McFadden Returns To Practice For Cowboys
It was just a walk-through, but a positive step forward for running back Darren McFadden: the veteran running back was back on the practice field Monday with his Cowboys teammates for the first time since undergoing elbow surgery in mid-June.

McFadden’s return to practice starts a three-week window for the Cowboys to decide whether to activate him from the Non-Football Injury list to the 53-man roster or place him on Reserve/Injured.

Last year in McFadden’s first year with the Cowboys, the former Razorback great totaled 1,089 yards on the ground with three touchdowns over 16 games. It was his second 1,000+ yard season in his career, his last coming in 2011 with the Oakland Raiders.

#ProHogs to Watch In Week 12

Trey Flowers – DE New England Patriots
Defensive end Trey Flowers and the Patriots don’t play their Week 12 game until Sunday afternoon against the New York Jets, but Flowers will hope to continue his strong play as of late as he has started the last two games on the defensive line.

Flowers surge goes back to Week 8 when he totaled 2.0 sacks against the Buffalo Bills as part of a five-tackle game. Over the last three games, including that Week 8 performance, Flowers has 12 tackles, five for a loss, and still leads the team in sacks.

For the season, Flowers has 24 tackles and his sack total is still top 20 in the AFC and ninth among defensive linemen.

Hunter Henry – TE San Diego Chargers
Coming off the bye week, tight end Hunter Henry and the San Diego Chargers (4-6) will play in Houston against the Texans (6-4) on Sunday. Henry was hampered with minor injuries a few weeks ago and sat out during Week 9 to nurse a sore knee, but came back strong in Week 10 against Miami.

Making his eighth start of the year, Henry only totaled two catches for 11 yards, but hauled in his fourth touchdown grab of the season, which is fifth best among all tight ends.

Now with 24 receptions on the year, Henry still ranks in the top ten among rookies in receptions and yards. His 20 catches for a first down is still top three among NFL rookies and his 83.3 percent of catches for a first down is second among all players with 20 or more catches.

#ProHogs Week 12 Schedule

DateTime (CT)/TV NetworkMatchup
Thurs., Nov. 2411:30 a.m./CBSMinnesota (Jarius Wright) at Detroit (Travis Swanson)
Thurs., Nov. 243:30 p.m./FOXWashington (Martrell Spaight) at Dallas
Thurs., Nov. 247:30 p.m./NBCPittsburgh (Cobi Hamilton) at Indianapolis
Sun., Nov. 27Noon/CBSTennessee (Sebastian Tretola) at Chicago
Sun., Nov. 27Noon/CBSJacksonville (Brandon Allen, Chris Smith) at Buffalo (Jonathan Williams)
Sun., Nov. 27Noon/CBSCincinnati at Baltimore (Ryan Mallett)
Sun., Nov. 27Noon/FOXNew York Giants (Robert Thomas) at Cleveland (Alvin Bailey)
Sun., Nov. 27Noon/CBSSan Diego (Hunter Henry, Darius Philon) at Houston
Sun., Nov. 273:05 p.m./FOXSeattle (Alex Collins) at Tampa Bay
Sun., Nov. 273:25 p.m./CBSNew England (Trey Flowers) at New York Jets
Sun., Nov. 273:25 p.m./CBSCarolina at Oakland (Denver Kirkland)
Sun., Nov. 277:30 p.m./NBCKansas City (Knile Davis) at Denver (AJ Derby)
Mon., Nov. 287:30 p.m./ESPNGreen Bay (Brett Goode) at Philadelphia (Jason Peters)

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