Ravens, Steelers may give Browns fans indigestion on Thanksgiving

Washington vs Dallas the warmup for Baltimore vs. Pittsburgh

Later in the day, in the second game look for the Dallas cheerleaders to put on a great show, and try to ignore the football game going on in the background. Dallas is a -3 point home favorite, meaning that they are equally inept compared to the nameless team from Washington, who will attempt to distract us from the cheerleaders. It won’t work.

You’ve seen the Red Rifle, Andy Dalton play for the Cincinnati Bengals for years. He could have been a Super Bowl-winning quarterback had he played for the New England Patriots, but since he played for the Bengals he did not get very close. Moving to the Cowboys was not a promotion. His teammates are overpaid, undermotivated, and underperforming.

The Washington team, for its part, is equally chaotic. The best part of their team is the comeback of Alex Smith, who has miles and miles of heart to come back from a severely broken leg. Determination and grit like that is rare, even in the NFL. That man can have a job as a coach on any team when he retires, for sure. Still, this game will be tough to watch, unless you are still a member of the Cameron Erving fan club.

Erving was a first-round draft pick who wanted to play all five offensive line positions, so the Browns kept moving him among all five positions and he never learned to play one position well.  Finally, they gave up on him, only to find that he continued to improve and did a good job as a guard in Kansas City, and now is doing reasonably well at tackle in Dallas.

It would be more interesting if former Browns quarterback Garrett Gilbert were quarterbacking the Cowpokes, but that’s not the case at this point. Gilbert had a good game against Pittsburgh but didn’t come away with the win. The Browns could sign him as a free agent this spring and re-install him as the third-string quarterback. It would be difficult for the Cowboys to find salary cap room to compete against Cleveland.

There’s a bit of an Ohio connection for those fans who also are Ohio State fans. Former OSU  defensive end Chase Young plays for Washington, along with wide receiver Terry McLaurin and backup quarterback Dwayne Haskins. Zeke Elliott and backup wide receiver Noah Brown play for Dallas.

If you are going to watch only one game, this game will probably not be as significant or exciting as the nightcap for Cleveland fans. Hence 4:30 is a good time to schedule the holiday dinner because you won’t miss football of any consequence to the Browns. Or, if your family munches turkey while watching evening football (known as multitasking Thanksgiving), the 430-time slot might be a good one to write holiday cards or buy your spouse a holiday present, or catch up on some repairs around the house.

Or, Washington versus Dallas is still NFL football played at (sort of) the highest level by athletes that want to win because, believe it or not, they are fighting for a playoff spot. So, if you are a true aficionado and have amazing endurance, you might watch two or even three games.

But by all means, be ready for the night game between Baltimore and Pittsburgh, because that promises to be a doozy.