The 2018 NFL campaign ended just over a week ago, but the league is already nailing down some scheduling for the 2019 season.
According to John Ourand of Sports Business Daily, the NFL has already decided upon two Thanksgiving Day matchups, settling on the Chicago Bears against the Detroit Lions and the Miami Dolphins versus the Dallas Cowboys.
Of course, the Lions and Cowboys playing on Thanksgiving is nothing new, but the Dolphins-Cowboys battle is certainly random, given the fact that the two teams play in different conferences.
As for the Bears and Lions? It will just be a good old-fashioned NFC North slugfest in Detroit.
Chicago is coming off of a season in which it won 12 games behind a dominant defense and second-year quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. Some felt the Bears could make it all the way to the Super Bowl, but they suffered a crushing loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs when Cody Parkey's 43-yard field goal was blocked at the end of regulation, resulting in a 16-15 Eagles win.
Thanksgiving won't be the only spotlight for the Bears, either.
Ourand adds that the NFL is leaning toward Chicago hosting the Green Bay Packers for next season's kickoff game on Thursday, Sept. 5. This past season, the Bears clinched the NFC North division title by beating the Packers at Soldier Field in December.
The Cowboys won 10 games in 2018, rallying from a 3-5 start to win the NFC East division crown. They then defeated the Seattle Seahawks in the Wild Card Round before falling to the Los Angeles Rams in the Divisional Round the following week.
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