NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal Thanksgiving + Black Friday Recap: Upsets Transform The 2025 Season
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Nov 29, 2025 Ollie Connelly, a renowned football writer and podcaster known for his insightful analytical breakdowns, joins Gregg Rosenthal to dissect the Thanksgiving and Black Friday games. They explore the Bears' stunning upset over the Eagles, highlighting Chicago's powerful rushing attack and creative playcalling. The duo also examines Jordan Love's impressive performance in the Packers' win against the Lions, along with the surprising Cowboys victory against the Chiefs. They wrap up with Joe Burrow's triumphant return in the Bengals' upset over the Ravens.
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Bears' Ground Game Rewrites Perceptions
- The Bears' Thanksgiving win reshaped how their season is viewed, showing a team built for physical dominance rather than flash.
- Their run-heavy scheme and time-of-possession control exposed fatigue and schematic flaws in the Eagles defense.
Play-Calling Complexity Creates Mismatches
- The Bears used massive run volume and creative play-calling from Ben Johnson to force favorable defensive alignments.
- That complexity and misdirection made tight end duties unusually demanding and created consistent advantages.
Tush Push Counter Changed The Game
- The Bears' turnover on a failed tush push swung the game's momentum and demonstrated a new defensive counter.
- Dennis Allen's 'spear' attack on the tush push removed the push element and produced a critical fumble.