Deshaun Watson has second-greatest Thanksgiving QB performance vs. Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions have made a tradition of losing on Thanksgiving, with five wins on Turkey Day in their past 20 tries. And, of course, that tradition has included making opposing quarterbacks look like Pro Bowlers, with 12 of them posting single-game passer ratings of at least 100 over that span.
But in the Lions' 41-25 loss Thursday, Houston Texans QB Deshaun Watson took it to another level, completing 68% of his passes (17-for-25) for 318 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. That’s a 150.4 passer rating — the second-highest against the Lions on Thanksgiving since 1950.
[ Opinion: Today should be Stafford's final Thanksgiving start for Lions ]
He just fell short of the No. 1 mark, set by Tom Brady (with the Patriots) in 2010 with a “perfect” 158.3 rating.
Here are the top five Thanksgiving QB performances against the Lions:
[ The misery of watching Lions: America comes together, shares Thanksgiving tradition ]
5. Rich Gannon, 1996
Then with the Chiefs, Gannon had three incompletions (on 18 pass attempts) while passing for 120 yards and two touchdowns, for a 131.5 rating in Kansas City’s 28-24 victory. (And yes, he started; the Chiefs did a lot of rushing that day.)
4. Peyton Manning, 2004
The Colts' QB had more touchdowns — six! — than incompletions (five) while passing for 236 yards for a 141.4 rating in a 41-9 victory.
3. Tobin Rote, 1952
The future Lion — he was the winning QB for the Lions’ last NFL title, back in 1957 — lit it up as a Packer in Briggs Stadium. He completed five passes (in eight attempts), but three were for touchdowns. The Packers’ other QB, Babe Parilli went 9-for-21 for 158 yards and two interceptions, as the Lions won, 48-24.
2. Deshaun Watson, 2020
Watson had two prior games with a rating of 150 or better: Oct. 25, 2018, against the Dolphins (156) and Oct. 6, 2019, against the Falcons (158.3).
[ Grade the Lions' performance on Thanksgiving against Houston Texans ]
1. Tom Brady, 2010
The ex-Wolverine completed 77.8% of his passes (21-for-27) for 341 yards and four touchdowns, with no interceptions, as the Patriots rallied from a 17-10 deficit to win, 45-24. As the Freep’s Michael Rosenberg put it after the game: “Brady finished with a perfect quarterback rating to go along with his perfect wife, perfect career, perfect smile and, I presume, perfectly cooked turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes.”
Contact Ryan Ford at rford@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @theford.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions allow 2nd-best Thanksgiving QB performance in history
