Thanksgiving Day Games
Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions, 12:30 p.m., Fox
Line: Bears -3.5 | Total: 41.5
Football can wait. The Bears (3-7) and Lions (0-9-1) are bad, and the game is important only for draft positioning and as a backdrop for putting the final touches on the Thanksgiving meal before guests arrive. Chicago’s rookie quarterback Justin Fields injured his knee last week, meaning the veteran Andy Dalton will start, and Detroit’s Jared Goff is uncertain, but looks likely to play with an oblique injury.
But they won’t be the deciding factors in this one. The Lions’ lone offensive threat is D’Andre Swift, who has rushed for over 100 yards in the last two games. Bears head coach Matt Nagy, the subject of firing rumors, may want to end his tenure by keeping Detroit winless. Pick: Bears -3.5
Las Vegas Raiders at Dallas Cowboys, 4:30 p.m., CBS
Line: Cowboys -7 | Total: 51
The Raiders (5-5), who began the season 3-0, have now lost five of their last seven games and are in jeopardy of missing the playoffs. In each defeat, the team failed to pass for over 300 yards. The Cowboys (7-3) are holistically better. Even if they play without Amari Cooper, who remains on the Covid-19 list, and CeeDee Lamb, who is in the concussion protocol, Dallas’s offense can exploit the Raiders’ defense, which has looked suspect in recent weeks. Pick: Cowboys -7
Buffalo Bills at New Orleans Saints, 8:20 p.m., NBC
Line: Bills -4 | Total: 46.5
The Saints (5-5) desperately need Alvin Kamara (knee) back to confidently start a playoff push. A win here improves their chances to 59 percent, a loss drops them to 35 percent, according to the Playoff Predictor. With his status in limbo for a third straight game, figure to bet the Bills (6-4) to cover on the road. Buffalo has lost to inferior opponents in two of the last three weeks, with quarterback Josh Allen taking four sacks against Jacksonville, and Indianapolis racking up 264 rushing yards against the Bills’ usually stout defense.
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