This Thanksgiving, NFL fans will once again have the opportunity to enjoy three games spread across the afternoon and evening.
The Detroit Lions will open the day with their traditional early afternoon matchup, hosting the Chicago Bears. The Cowboys will follow with their long-running home game in the late-afternoon window on Fox.
The third game will be played at the new Highmark Stadium, where the Buffalo Bills will host the Kansas City Chiefs. Quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen have produced several classics in recent matchups, and this year’s meeting will feature a special halftime performance.
On Friday, the Bills announced the Goo Goo Dolls will perform during halftime of their Thanksgiving night game on Nov. 26. The rock band was originally formed in Buffalo.
"The Goo Goo Dolls halftime performance will take place on the Bills Legends Deck, creating a unique concert experience that can be seen throughout the stadium," the Bills said in a statement. "Fans will also receive PixMob light-up bracelets at their seats, transforming the crowd into an interactive part of the show with synchronized lighting effects throughout Highmark Stadium."
While there has been debate over whether recent halftime performances have crossed into the political realm, fans probably should not expect the Goo Goo Dolls' Thanksgiving night show to go there.
During a September interview on "Everything Music" with producer Rick Beato, Goo Goo Dolls frontman John Rzeznik said he refuses to lecture concertgoers about politics. He noted that fans from across the ideological spectrum come together for the same reason: to enjoy the show.
Rzeznik said live music remains important during politically divided times because political and religious differences take a back seat when he performs.
"I got people, fans, friends from every walk of life, every political stripe, everything," he said. "And I always stress, we got one thing in common because we're living in weird times. We got one thing in common, and that's we're all here to see a show, and I'm not going to lecture people about anything."
The Goo Goo Dolls will not be the only musical act hitting the stage on Thanksgiving. Rapper Skilla Baby will perform at halftime of the Lions-Vikings game, while country artist Miranda Lambert is scheduled to put on a show at the Cowboys-Eagles matchup later that afternoon.
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It is almost certainly over for Troy Aikman and Joe Buck as ESPN’s lead NFL broadcast team.
Reports that the ongoing drama is part of a leverage strategy now appear increasingly implausible. No one with knowledge of the situation expects Aikman to remain with ESPN beyond the end of this season.
In fact, there is more industry discussion about whether Aikman and Buck can work together through ESPN’s Super Bowl broadcast in February than about whether Aikman will re-sign with the network.
According to sources in and around ESPN, the prevailing expectation is that Aikman will leave, and the network will sign Greg Olsen to replace him in March.
Several outlets have reported on a confrontation between Buck and Aikman earlier this month before a Monday Night Football match up. Buck reportedly confronted Aikman for ignoring him, while Aikman accused Buck of sabotaging his contract negotiations by signing his own deal first.
Although the confrontation generated attention, it did not drive ESPN’s decision. The network decided this summer to move on from Aikman after re-signing Buck to a six-year, $108 million extension without offering Aikman a new contract.
It remains somewhat unclear why ESPN chose not to negotiate with Aikman, beyond his growing tensions with Buck in recent years. The best explanation is that ESPN viewed their relationship as irreparable and Buck as the more valuable asset.
If forced to choose, ESPN’s preference for Buck over Aikman is understandable.
For one, Buck and ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro share an interest in ESPN potentially acquiring the World Series after the 2029 season. If ESPN secures the event, sources say Pitaro wants Buck to call it, as he did for years at Fox.
ESPN also has more options to replace Aikman than it would have to replace Buck. The pool of potential replacements for the color analyst role extends beyond Olsen. In theory, Drew Brees, Jason Kelce, Eli Manning, Peyton Manning, Kurt Warner and Dan Orlovsky are also suitable options.
Further, Hall of Fame players and coaches retire every year, and many show interest in broadcasting. Several networks have already expressed interest in Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford if they eventually move into television.
No such farm system exists for elite play-by-play announcers. On paper, the gap between Buck and the rest of the field remains significant. Granted, Dave Pasch, who calls college football and NBA games, has impressed on ESPN’s NFL International broadcasts this season.
So, we understand why ESPN would choose Buck over Aikman. The point of contention is that the network could mend the fences and retain them both.
Even 25 years later, Buck and Aikman are still often recognized as the best duo in sports broadcasting. Whether Buck and Olsen, assuming Olsen is the replacement, can develop comparable chemistry is a question mark.
After years of disappointing rotations, ESPN finally established a top-level booth in Buck and Aikman. Breaking them up feels like an unnecessary risk.
We understand that relationships are difficult, especially work relationships that span more than two decades. But at $18 million to $20 million per year each, ESPN should have been able to make the partnership work if it believed they were still the best duo for the position.
Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs said that his touchdown celebration was not intended to make light of his offseason arrest but was instead inspired by a gospel song.
After scoring his first touchdown of the game in the team's 27-19 win over the Carolina Panthers on Thursday night, Jacobs put his hands behind his back in celebration. Thursday's game was Jacobs' second since coming off the commissioner's exempt list, which he had been on since August following a May altercation with his then-girlfriend, who said he threw her to the ground.
Jacobs pleaded no contest last month to misdemeanor charges of battery and criminal damage to property. He insisted the celebration had nothing to do with his arrest as speculation spread on social media that the gesture referenced his off-field issues.
"They didn't even get the whole celebration. Um, s---, it was f------ one second that (the broadcast) just showed me," Jacobs told reporters after the game.
"But anyways, me and (wide receiver Savion Williams) came up with a celebration. They would have seen the whole celebration. Basically, last week we said the first celebration when I scored, I was going to thank God. That's what I did last week. The second was going to be break every chain. It's a gospel song. That was going to be the next celebration. It's just a correlation, but like I said, the media going to run with it. They going to make it that it wouldn't. But it is what it is."
After Jacobs scored his first touchdown last weekend in the team's loss to the Detroit Lions, he dropped to his knees and raised his arms. "Break Every Chain" is a gospel song written by Will Reagan in 2009 and popularized by a live recording by Tasha Cobbs Leonard in 2013.
Jacobs had not been allowed to play or practice while on the commissioner’s exempt list. He was removed from the list last week, allowing him to play again even though the NFL's investigation into his conduct remains ongoing.
In his two games since returning to the 5-3 Packers, Jacobs has rushed 32 times for 75 yards and a touchdown, averaging just 2.3 yards per carry. The three-time Pro Bowler has been more productive as a receiver, catching 11 passes for 68 yards and two touchdowns.
'Nightcaps' is a daily column that catches you up on the biggest sports, news and culture stories you may have missed while pretending to do work at your desk. It runs Monday-Friday on OutKick.com.
Happy Halloween Eve to all who celebrate! Big day. Big Friday. Big weekend in front of us.
Like I said earlier this week ... this is our last big push until the holiday season suffocates us starting Sunday morning. Everything will flip in the blink of an eye.
You'll go to bed with the Halloween theme song in your heads, and wake up to jingle bells. Whether you like it or not, it's coming. There is no stopping it.
I can already see Mariah Carey's stupid "All I Want for Christmas" social media post now. It's coming. There's nothing we can do about it. We're cornered.
That's a Sunday problem, though. For now, we respect the fall. We respect Halloween.
Let's roll.
Welcome to a Friday Nightcaps — the one where poor Billy Napier joined Mike Norvell in making some embarrassing history last night at James Madison.
What else? I've got Maggie Sajak looking like a million bucks for Halloween, Angel Reese giving us one more highlight reel before this WNBA season mercifully ends, and can we quit complaining about "injury protection" in sports gambling?
I'm admittedly at fault, too, but enough is enough already. You know what? Society went DECADES gambling on sports with no such thing as "injury protection," and it worked pretty well. And now every sports book is supposed to issue refunds if a player gets hurt?
Why?
Grab you your favorite Michael Myers mask (I'm partial to Rob Zombie's "Halloween" mask), and settle in for a Friday 'Cap!
Billy Napier's JMU tenure is going well!
I don't know how many "Halloween"buffs we have in class today, but those of you who have been around here long enough know it's my favorite movie franchise of all time.
I did the Mount Rushmore of Halloween movies a few weeks ago, so I won't rehash that today. BUT, I did find out this morning while doing the award-winning OutKick newsletter that the original "Halloween" mask from 1978 was ... a Captain Kirk mask?
Seriously:
The more you know ...
Anyway, I will be watching the original "Halloween" (1978) tomorrow night, as per usual. I save that one for Halloween night, like any sane person would do.
It's the only way to close out October. Sad. Winter is coming.
OK, let's get class started by checking in on someone who is very much looking forward to flipping the calendar ...
Billy Napier!
Angel Reese wasn't her best last night
Amazing stat.
James Madison joined Florida State last night as teams to lose back-to-back games as double-digit favorites. Incredible.
Do we have any Dukes fans in class today? I'd imagine so. I come from a James Madison family. My grandma went there way back when it was simply called "Madison." My dad went there. I toured the campus as a high school senior and loved it.
That town deserves way better than Billy Napier, and I'm speaking now as a Florida fan. I'm so sorry, JMU fans. We've been there before. I promise. We spent the last four years feeling exactly how you've felt the last two weeks.
What kind of play call was that on fourth down in overtime? Just awful. But, that's Billy Ball for you.
Embarrassing.
Speaking of ... let's check in with Angel Reese after yesterday's big Game 6 win!
Maggie, sports betting & election szn is almost over!
Lordy.
Look, it was a tough game for Angel Reese. No sugarcoating it. No hiding it. Just to show you how truly bad everyone else was, Reese somehow finished with a +/- of +10, which is stunning given she turned the ball over six times and made just 27% of her shots.
Feels like that shouldn't equate to positive play on the court, but what do I know?
Anyway, this will be my final non-Sophie Cunningham WNBA story for seven months. The season, mercifully, ends tomorrow night. It feels like it's dragged on FOREVER. It just won't end!
But at 8 p.m. tomorrow night — a COLLEGE FOOTBALL SATURDAY — we'll get a Game 7. Who's watching?!
Show of hands ...
Anyone?
Bueller?
Okeedokee! Moving on ...
Let's rapid-fire this Friday class into a big Halloween weekend, and start it off by celebrating the end of something else: Election season.
Four more days, folks. We're almost there.
That's one of the funnier pictures I've seen in a long time. Just amazing stuff. Well done to whoever took it.
Are you guys getting inundated with calls and texts right now? Lord knows I am. Hand to God, I got a text last night from James Talarico asking for money.
James Talarico! I live in Florida. These people are NUTS. They're just unrelenting. Freaking Byron Donalds texts me 14 times a day making sure I'm gonna vote.
Byron, you got my vote, pal. I promise. You're good. I'd prefer we just stick with DeSantis, but I realize that's not possible, so you're next in line.
For the love of God, please leave me alone. I'm begging you.
Next? Let's quickly check in with Christian Watson after last night's game in which he left in an ambulance, and then returned like nothing happened:
So, there's a big debate over on Elon's app right now about injury protection, which is a fairly new thing sports books have come up with over the past few years. Basically, they'll void straight bets and parlay lines if the player you bet on gets hurt and doesn't return to the game.
It sounds great on paper, right? Again, it's bailed me out a few times.
But now everyone is in an UPROAR because Watson looked to be voided last night, only for him to miraculously return to the game.
I think it's hogwash. About a month ago, I was complaining to my dad about a player getting injured and tanking one of my bets, and I mentioned injury protection.
"Huh?" he responded. "Why would the books refund you? You lost. Tough nuts."
He was right. The bellyaching over injury protection is insane to me. Frankly, I don't think any book should do it. I'm glad they do, but it seems like a lose-lose for them, no?
While the NFL Draft isn't until next April, that never stops general managers, scouts and even fans from opining on what their teams will do in the spring.
It's the main reason why mock drafts exist and are created nearly a year in advance, because everyone is dying to know who their favorite team is going to select with their first round pick.
Of course, because it's the most important position on the field, the quarterback draws the most amount of eyes when it comes to the first round of the draft, and the 2027 edition is no exception.
There are several draft-eligible signal callers who are generating plenty of buzz, but one expert thinks this might be the year to skip out on the position altogether if a team holds a top pick.
Brooks Austin has made a living studying college football film, so much so that he's earned the moniker "The Film Guy."
His YouTube channel, "The Film Guy Network," has over 135,000 subscribers, and he's recently parlayed that into a partnership with the college football media giant On3.
Suffice to say, Austin knows ball, so when I sat down with him to talk about the college game, and more specifically, the quarterback class for the 2027 NFL Draft, he gave a surprising assessment.
"Can I punt on the entire class," he asked, half jokingly.
As Austin points out, there are some solid quarterbacks in this class, but none are the "can't miss" prospects that would necessitate a top-five pick like in years past.
Most experts figured Oregon's Dante Moore would be the first QB off the board in '27, given he was already projected to go high last year before deciding to return to Eugene.
An injury might have derailed that for Moore, but as Austin points out, the injured Duck wasn't without some limitations of his own even before exiting for the season.
"Dante Moore is a really good football player," he explains. "But (he) gets stuck on reads and makes his mind up pre-snap, and that scares me. He's also a little up and down, like from a fundamental standpoint, from a mechanics standpoint, he just kinda gets away with a lot of it in college football."
Moore wasn't the only one giving Austin some pause.
Ole Miss's Trinidad Chambliss, one of the preseason Heisman favorites, has had a fine season statistically, but his build makes Austin nervous about him at the next level.
"I love him, but there are some physical questions about that one as well, like, is he gonna work at his stature when we get to the league?"
Other quarterbacks like Texas' Arch Manning and LSU's Sam Leavitt get mentioned as well, with Austin stating question marks about their decision making and turnover problems.
The prospect who Austin believes should go number one overall shouldn't come as a shock to anyone who watches football on Saturday.
"If I had the number one overall pick, I'd draft Jeremiah Smith," Austin admits. "And then next year I try to find a quarterback."
Austin explains that Smith, the Ohio State wide receiver, is a "guarantee" and one of the only truly generational prospects we've seen in the game since Andrew Luck in 2012.
"I would draft Smith, and I'd be like, 'I've got the best prospect and most known prospect that's come out of college football... since maybe like Andrew Luck,'" Austin claims. "I would just draft him if I was bad enough to be the number one overall pick."
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The Carolina Panthers have made the first coordinator firing of the NFL season.
After the team's 27-19 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night at Lambeau Field, the Panthers announced Friday that they had fired defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero and defensive passing game coordinator Jonathan Cooley. The loss was the Panthers' second straight and dropped them to 3-4.
The Panthers named defensive line coach Todd Wash their interim defensive coordinator and play-caller.
Evero, 45, had been head coach Dave Canales' defensive coordinator since 2024. In his first season, the Panthers' defense allowed 31.4 points per game, which was last in the NFL, but the unit improved in 2025. Last season, the defense allowed 23 points per game, which ranked 16th in the NFL.
However, the unit has regressed this season, as its points allowed have climbed to 27.6 per game, which ranks 27th in the NFL. Unfortunately for Evero, his unit has been decimated by injuries.
The Panthers have played the last few games without starting cornerbacks Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson. Backup cornerback Akayleb Evans joined them on injured reserve earlier this week. In addition, linebackers Nic Scourton (ACL) and Thomas Incoom (calf injury) and defensive tackle Cam Jackson (shoulder injury) are also on IR.
Despite being 3-4, the Panthers are still atop the lowly NFC South, and Canales is hoping Wash can spark the defense as they seek their second straight division title.
Wash joined Carolina’s staff in 2023 and has 31 years of coaching experience, including 20 in the NFL. He spent five seasons serving as the defensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars had the second-ranked defense in the league in 2017 under Wash and advanced to the AFC Championship game.
Una notte da cinema. Difficile chiamarla altrimenti. Nell’ottava giornata (nottata per noi europei) di NFL, i Green Bay Packers hanno vinto 27-19 contro i Carolina Panthers, con una giocata decisiva di Christian Watson che è entrato in campo direttamente… dall’ospedale. Il giocatore dei Packers, infatti, aveva subito un bruttoinfortunio che lo aveva costretto non solo al cambio, ma addirittura agli accertamentisanitari in una struttura ospedaliera.
“Stavo sputando sangue“, ha riferito Watson, che infatti è stato sottoposto a esami più approfonditi. Tuttavia, la TAC ha evidenziato “solo” una costola rotta, senza nessuna emorragia interna. Da qui la decisione del ragazzo di tornare al Lambeau Field – in visibilio alla vista dell’incredibile rientro del loro giocatore – per concludere la partita: la presa decisiva per chiudere il match, proprio come nella migliore delle storie hollywoodiane, sarà proprio sua.
Il giovane a fine partita ha attribuito il merito del suo gesto al supporto dei tifosi: “È stato surreale tornare in campo e sentire i tifosi che mi sostenevano in quel modo”, ha detto Watson. “È sempre difficile quando devi uscire dal campo, pensi di esserti infortunato o di avere qualche problema. Quindi, tornare qui e ricevere quel tipo di reazione dai tifosi è stato incredibile”. Ora però gli è stato consigliato almeno un po’ di riposo.
Disney has embraced TikTok's Live feature to do red-carpet interviews for premieres, featuring personalities like Carter Kench.
Julian Hamilton/Getty Images
Influencer marketers from Disney, the NFL, and more shared novel ways they're using platforms today.
They're embracing Substack for cultural cachet, Threads to experiment, and YouTube for entertainment.
Brands are also bringing creators in earlier, treating them more like creative partners.
Creators are jumping among an ever-wider mix of platforms and formats — and brands are scrambling to follow them.
We asked the most innovative marketers working with influencers which platforms and tactics have their attention right now — and why.
Marketers from Disney, e.l.f. Beauty, and others told us they're using platforms like TikTok to own the red carpet, Substack to align with tastemakers, and Threads to experiment.
"YouTube is a home for creators. TikTok is a great way to get discovery," said Ian Trombetta, the National Football League's senior vice president of global social, creator, and content marketing. "And then Instagram is another big one for us as it relates to discovery. Even platforms like X and Reddit have a really important role to play."
Beyond platforms, brands like Keurig Dr Pepper are also exploring ways to work directly with creators, involving them earlier in the campaign process.
"A major shift has been pivoting away from rented reach to true collaboration," said Samim Sadrzadeh, Disney's director of creator content and partnerships. "For a long time, the industry treated creators as ad placements. We think that significantly undersells the value they actually bring."
Substack, Threads, and more
YouTube and creators are taking over the living room, and marketers like e.l.f. Beauty and St. Jude's fundraising organization ALSAC are leaning in, not wanting to be left behind.
"We have a lot of plans around long-form content, and that's a great place to show up," said Patrick O'Keefe, e.l.f. Beauty's chief integrated marketing officer. "We've been on YouTube for years. We're now looking at it from the lens of entertainment."
Others, like Poppi and Rothy's, are embracing the newsletter platform Substack to partner with creators. For some creators, Substack has become a way for them to get more personal with their biggest fans. That helps Poppi plan collaborations, said Sophia Sesto, Poppi's vice president of culture.
Under creator marketer Kemma Kefalas, Yahoo has leaned into Threads to try out new things.
Yahoo
Yahoo has found value in Meta's Threads as a way to try out ideas in a lower-key environment before putting them out on bigger platforms, especially if it's jumping on a cultural moment and isn't sure how the effort will go over. When Taylor Swift released "Patient Zero," Yahoo riffed on it with a Thread that tied the "Os" in its name to the song.
"I think it's a little less precious over there, and it feels like a fun place to kind of gut check certain things, see how they'll perform," said Kemma Kefalas, Yahoo's senior director and head of Creative Lab. "It's just been a nice kind of litmus test for us."
Disney has especially found success with TikTok's Live feature, finding it a customizable way to build excitement for premieres. For "Zootopia 2," it had the viral squirrel character Nibs interview cast on the red carpet, while internet personality Carter Kench played host for the "Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special."
"Those moments work because we treated the platform as a canvas for a new kind of storytelling that connects directly to audiences in real time," Sadrzadeh said.
Brands are going direct
Platforms may always be a necessary part of doing business with creators. But going direct has become a bigger buzzword as many brands seek to bypass platforms entirely.
Keurig Dr Pepper, for one, wouldn't typically hire a creator through a platform's marketplace, said Lindsay Burstein, senior director of integrated social and communications, using TikTok as an example.
"We would hire the creator, have them post on TikTok. Then we have the ability to use that content and distribute it across multiple channels, but slice it up in different ways that make sense for that channel."
Influencers spent a long time trying to convince marketers to take them seriously. This year, marketers are expected to spend $44 billion with creators, more than tripling in five years, per the Interactive Advertising Bureau.
As brands increasingly treat creators as long-term partners, they're engaging with them earlier in the marketing process.
Yahoo's approach is to find creators who are entertaining and figure out how to insert itself into their work, rather than vice versa, as it did with TV persona Kyle Cooke to promote its new Yahoo Weather app.
"We're working with them for the entertainment that they bring to people, and we'll Yahooify it," Kefalas said. "Our briefs are often loose in those regards. We're not doing a lot of 'talk to camera, promote products' kind of thing. We've gotten a lot of positive feedback from creators that they've loved that opportunity to just do what they do best."
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