The Detroit Lions will be looking to get back in the win column in Week 12 in their matchup against the New York Giants. Responding to a tough loss against the Philadelphia Eagles will be important, but considering how the Lions have a short week on their schedule, thanks to a Thanksgiving Day clash with the Green Bay Packers, it makes winning their next game even more important.
While Detroit still has to get through New York, one of the team’s rookies, Tate Ratledge, has been forced to look ahead to Thanksgiving sooner than expected. That’s because a satirical article about him from The Onion recently went viral, causing him to shoot down an absurd claim that fans somehow believed was real.
Tate Ratledge Confirms He’s Playing for Lions on Thanksgiving
One of the great traditions in the NFL involves the Lions and Dallas Cowboys always playing on Thanksgiving Day. With Detroit recently turning itself into a top Super Bowl contender, there’s been more excitement to watch the team play on the popular holiday, and a tough matchup against Green Bay this year should draw quite a few viewers.
Ratledge will get to enjoy being part of the tradition in the first year of his career. After getting selected in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft, Ratledge has come in and immediately earned the starting right guard job on the Lions’ offensive line, and he’s generally done a solid job of protecting Jared Goff under center, while also opening running lanes for Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery.
Earlier this week, a satirical article was published about Ratledge claiming that he asked head coach Dan Campbell for Thanksgiving Day off. Of course, this is not true, but a large contingent of fans caught wind of the article and immediately went after Ratledge. The former Georgia Bulldogs star obviously said the piece was fake, while also revealing it had been all he had heard about ahead of the Lions’ upcoming matchup.
“Tate Ratledge said he got sent The Onion article about him by ‘so many people,’” Justin Rogers of Detroit Football Network shared in a post on X. “Said he heard from a team employee that someone called into a local radio b****ing about it as if it were real. Good to know if 2025 people still don’t understand satire.”
Lions Aiming to Return to the Win Column in Week 12
GettyHead coach Dan Campbell of the Detroit Lions.
Chances are Ratledge wasn’t expecting to find himself in this sort of situation. Thanksgiving is a great holiday, and while Ratledge very well may enjoy it, playing football for the Lions is going to be his job next Thursday. As a result, Ratledge and the rest of his teammates are going to have to find a different way to celebrate the holiday.
First, Detroit has to focus on getting past a scrappy New York team in Week 12. Yes, the Giants are a complete mess once again, but we have seen time and again this season that there’s no such thing as a guaranteed win in the NFL. Kickoff for this important game is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET on Sunday afternoon.
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