All too often, individual regular season games are given way too much significance in our minds. It’s rare that a game in Week 12 is a “must-win”. It’s rare that a team with a one-game division lead could be considered at risk of their season falling apart with a loss in Week 12. It’s also rare that a single regular season game carries enough symbolic significance to alter the course of an entire franchise.
But I don’t think it’s hyperbolic to say those three things about this particular game in this particular season under these particular circumstances. Consider the scenario surrounding this week’s Thanksgiving Day tilt between Washington and Dallas.