First Call: Skunk takes over fan section in Cleveland during Browns game; Thanksgiving NFL TV ratings are huge

Monday’s “First Call” has a story about the Browns that Steelers fans will enjoy. Thanksgiving Day NFL ratings were through the roof. We check in on Marc-Andre Fleury and Chase Claypool. Plus, we preview Pitt’s next basketball opponent.

Turkey Day TV TD

Thanksgiving Day football on national television was a big win for the NFL and its network partners.

Via the Hollywood Reporter, “Fox’s late afternoon NFL telecast of the Dallas Cowboys win over the New York Giants recorded 42 million viewers on the network and Fox Sports streaming platforms, making it the most watched regular season game on record (total-viewer figures date back to 1988). It surpasses a December 1990 matchup between the Giants and San Francisco 49ers that drew just under 41.5 million viewers.”

Granted, out-of-home viewing and streaming data haven’t been part of measurements until recent years, but the number is still impressive.

The early CBS game between the Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions did well, too. The Hollywood Reporter indicates that game averaged 31.63 million viewers, the highest total on record for the early Thanksgiving game.

In primetime, the Minnesota Vikings-New England Patriots battle brought in roughly 26 million viewers across all platforms, making it the second-biggest Thanksgiving primetime game ever.

Can’t you smell that smell?

The Browns didn’t stink Sunday. They beat Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers behind 116 yards rushing and an overtime touchdown from Nick Chubb.

But at least one section in First Energy Stadium may have been a little smelly because a skunk got loose in the stadium among the fans in section 140.

There appears to be a skunk on the loose in Cleveland

via @madisondkerley pic.twitter.com/cKT9nSQeLr

— NFL on CBS ???? (@NFLonCBS) November 27, 2022

The section was cleared of fans, but the skunk remained for the whole game. Cleveland.com chronicled its every movement.

The story of a skunk that helped the Browns to victory! pic.twitter.com/DcyuvmFnGf

— clevelanddotcom (@clevelanddotcom) November 27, 2022

Based on that video, the skunk covered even more ground than Chubb. Maybe the “Dawg Pound” will be replaced by the “Skunk Pen.”

Or is it a skunk “nest”?

Anyway, after the game, the skunk made its way onto the main concourse and eventually out of the stadium without injuring itself or spraying any Browns fans.

This is where Steelers fans are supposed to insert their own joke about how no one would be able to tell the difference anyway.

More Tim Benz:

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Chasing his moment

Former Steelers wide receiver Chase Claypool is still waiting to make a big impact on the Chicago Bears. Since the Steelers traded him there following Week 8, the Bears have lost every game. They are 3-9, including a 31-10 defeat in New York against the Jets Sunday.

Claypool has yet to have more than two catches in any game. But at least he did haul in a field-flipping play on Sunday. Late in the first quarter, Claypool caught a 31-yard pass from Trevor Siemian.

.@ChaseClaypool would not be denied

????: #CHIvsNYJ on FOX pic.twitter.com/Bc3y66BD2Y

— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) November 27, 2022

Claypool only had one more catch for 20 yards. But that 51-yard total was enough to lead the team on Sunday.

With the loss, as of now, the Steelers still are in a position to get the 33rd draft pick this spring. They obtained Chicago’s second-round selection in the trade. At 3-9, the Bears have the second-worst record in the NFL. There are only 31 first-round picks this year because the Dolphins had to forfeit a first-round pick due to a tampering violation.

Figuring out Fleury

Marc-Andre Fleury got a somewhat odd win for the Minnesota Wild Sunday. He allowed three goals on only 23 shots, but his team still beat the Arizona Coyotes 4-3.

Fleury has had an up-and-down November in Minnesota. The former Penguins goalie went 3-4 for the month. He lost two games when the Wild got shutout — once 4-0 at home against the Seattle Kraken (Nov. 3) and once 1-0 in Los Angeles (Nov. 8).

Fleury also won a 1-0 game in Seattle and lost a 2-1 contest in Nashville.

Then he dropped a 4-3 decision at home against former Penguins teammate Matt Murray and the Toronto Maple Leafs on Nov. 25.

Challenge accepted

The Pitt men’s basketball team plays its game against Northwestern in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge Monday at 9 p.m. The contest is at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill.

The Panthers are 4-3 to start the year. They’ve already played one Big Ten team, a 91-60 loss to the Michigan Wolverines on Nov. 16.

Northwestern is off to a good start. The Wildcats won their first five games, including a 75-63 victory at Georgetown on Nov. 15.

However, their most recent outing was a real dog. Chris Collins’ club dropped a 43-42 decision to 13th-ranked Auburn. That was in the Cancun Challenge. Auburn won, shooting just 26%. Northwestern shot only 25%. The Wildcats were 2 of 24 from three-point territory.

Guard Boo Buie is the team’s leading scorer at 13.3 points per game.

The Big Ten won the challenge 8-6 last year and hasn’t lost one since 2017. But the ACC still has a 12-8-3 series lead.