NFL: Best Bets for Thanksgiving Day
The Thanksgiving Day menu includes three NFL games for our viewing and handicapping pleasure. The main event takes place in the middle of the day, but there's appeal and intrigue to be found in the other two matchups as well. Let's take a look at all three games and a best bet for each. All odds are current as of this writing and courtesy of PointsBet.
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Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions, 12:30 PM, FOX
The first game of the day is a meeting of NFC North rivals who aren't having the seasons they envisioned. The Bears had designs on returning to the postseason, but that's a long-shot now that the team stands at 5-6 in the loaded NFC.
The Lions showed some life earlier this season by opening up at 2-0-1, but the air has completely come out of the balloon. The team is riding a four-game losing streak and brings a 3-7-1 record to the table Thursday.
Chicago continues to struggle on offense, but the team has started to get it together with wins in two of the last three. Matthew Stafford is still out for Detroit, and Jeff Driskel is banged up. That leaves Detroit with undrafted free agent David Blough potentially holding the keys to the offense.
If there's a game this season in which the Bears’ defense should demonstrate the ferocity it showed a season ago, this is it. Chicago gets the road win and cover.
The Pick: Chicago Bears -3.5 (+100)
Buffalo Bills at Dallas Cowboys, 4:30 PM, CBS
Two playoff contenders square off at AT&T Stadium in the marquee game of the day. The Bills are 8-3 and currently occupy the top Wild Card spot in the AFC. The Cowboys are 6-5 and in first place in the NFC East, but the vibe around the team is anything but positive.
The club dropped a road game to the Patriots on Sunday. While there's no shame in that, it was a mistake-filled performance that could have swung differently. That hasn't escaped the attention of owner Jerry Jones, who was quite vocal with his frustrations afterward.
Despite the impressive record, Buffalo still isn't being taken seriously in many circles. There's a combination of reasons for that, ranging from the team's strength of schedule to its lack of flashiness. Regardless, the approach is working and they have a winning percentage of .727.
We should expect an inspired performance from the Cowboys in light of the drama that emerged after last week's loss, but the Bills aren't going to roll over. They'll keep it closer than expected, and an outright win wouldn't be earth-shattering. It would be quite an interesting Black Friday in Big D if that comes to pass.
The Pick: Buffalo Bills +6.5 (+100)
New Orleans at Atlanta Falcons, 8:20 PM, NBC
There's a chance of a fireworks show for the final game of the day. The Saints hit the road to take on their NFC South rival Falcons. While the records suggest a mismatch on paper, Atlanta went to New Orleans and stunned the Saints a few weeks ago.
That was just the second loss of the season for the Saints, but they have bounced back with consecutive wins to run their record to 9-2. The Falcons came out of the bye week strong with back-to-back wins, but they fell last week and check in at 3-8.
The race for the top seed in the NFC Playoffs shapes up to be super-competitive, so you can bet the Saints continue to rue their loss to the Falcons in the first meeting. Meanwhile, Atlanta would love nothing more than to turn the trick again and play spoiler.
It's tough to see a Falcons team in the midst of a trying campaign making that happen again. New Orleans is a complete squad that could make some noise in the postseason. They make a statement in Atlanta with a big win and cover.
The Pick: New Orleans Saints -7 (+105)
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Christopher Feery is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Christopher, check out his archive and follow him @cmfeery.