Thanksgiving predictions against the spread are as popular as my mom’s cranberry mold in Ohio, and sometimes even more tasty. And now I’m hungry. Hungry for some wins. Here’s who I’m thinking will bring home the turkey on Thanksgiving day. Join a sports betting league at Wannamakeabet.com to play along this weekend. Get 50,000 units and bet on all the games. It’s free!
Chicago -3 O/U 44 at Detroit
Weird that this is the second time in 11 days that these two teams have met. And the way I see it, the game may repeat itself. In round one, the Bears jumped out to a 26-0 lead and eventually won 34-22 in a game where they sacked Matt Stafford six times. I hope Khalil Mack doesn’t eat before the game.
The one advantage the Lions will have in this game is that the Bears will be playing on essentially no rest. Not only did they have to play Sunday night against the Vikings, but now, they have to turn around and play the early game on Thanksgiving. We’re hoping that since the Bears are so much better than the Lions this year that it simply won’t matter. Maybe instead of sacking Stafford six times, they’ll only sack him five. Trubisky was a little banged up after the Vikings game with a bruised shoulder so watch his status. But I like the Bears win and cover if he starts the game.
Washington +7 at Dallas
This NFC East showdown has a lost a little bit of its luster now that Alex Smith is out for the season. But perhaps one man does not a team make. This could perhaps be setting up what I like to call the “Backup QB Jinx”. This is a theory that bettors far and wide pile know quite well. We all pile on a team because an essential starting QB is out of the game. The backup then comes in and screws everyone. Wins and covers the game. Wrecks all the teasers. And bettors rip up their tickets.
And now, the man of the hour that the Redskins will be putting into that role is none other than former Cleveland Browns starter Colt McCoy. This gives me some pause, as it’s a significant drop off from Smith. But he’s the backup nevertheless has taken many snaps in the NFL over his career. That said, he hasn’t taken a snap since 2014. So this is not like Tannehill getting hurt and having Brock Osweiler come in. So I’m abandoning the theory and taking the Cowboys to win and cover in front of their home crowd on Thanksgiving.
Atlanta + 13 at New Orleans
The crowd will be wild for this one. Drunk. Stuffed. And loud. The Saints lead the NFL with 37.8 points per game and that number doesn’t appear to be going down anytime soon. In fact, on Thanksgiving this year it’s likely to go up based on recent trends and their opponent. The Saints have been especially impressive over the past three weeks, averaging 48 points per game. A big part of that is because of Drew Brees has thrown 11 touchdown passes and zero interceptions over that span.
Brees might throw 11 touchdown passes on Thursday alone, and that’s because he gets to go up against an Atlanta defense that’s the fourth-worst in the NFL against the pass. You know what, Falcons fans? You might want to grab a drink too, because it appears like it’s going to be a very long night.
Happy Thanksgiving! Be Safe. And good luck with your selections.
Jack Kincaid is a senior wannamakeabet.com NFL analyst.