We’ve got a Thanksgiving feast of football coming your way in the NFL this week.
It all gets underway with a Friday morning triple header including the traditional Detroit and Dallas home games followed by the Bills taking on the Saints.
Then it will be well worth setting the alarms for Monday morning when several playoff contenders face off.
It’s a busy weekend so in the interests of brevity, let’s get right into the tips.
This is not worth getting up for, it’s not worth watching.
Rumours are Matt Nagy will be fired regardless of the result and the Lions are a bad team.
Spare yourself the pain.
We should be in for plenty of points as two very strong offences face off.
Dallas might be missing their top two receivers but they have a pair of excellent running backs to lean on… assuming Mike McCarthy remembers he has Elliot and Pollard at his disposal.
Vegas has a pretty talented back of their own so expect plenty of running plays as well as plenty of points as both teams march up and down the field.
Buffalo suddenly finds itself in a battle for the AFC East so they have to find a way to bounce back in this one.
New Orleans is the perfect rebound team as their lineup has been decimated by injuries.
I’m taking a Bills response as Josh Allen takes over the game and carries them to victory.
Philadelphia has finally discovered it’s identity and it’s what we all expected them to be, a ground and pound team.
It is very concerning that the Giants were unable to fire a shot in Tampa on Monday Night Football however they should have a bit more luck.
I like the Eagles to run their way to a comfortable win.
Perhaps you might feel good about taking the Jaguars in an upset but I really don’t like either team here.
Let’s play it safe and call it a stay away.
Depending on the results on Thanksgiving, Tampa could be three games clear at the top of the NFC South while Indianapolis has to keep winning to keep up with a crowded AFC playoff picture.
Not to mention the home crowd will be desperate to renew their hostility Tom Brady after two decades of battling with him in New England.
Add in an effective ball control based offence with Jonathan Taylor coming off a career day and the recipe for success is there.
Take the desperate Colts to pull off an upset.
The Bengals and Steelers will renew their rivalry in a huge game for both sides.
Sitting one loss behind Baltimore on top of the AFC North, neither team can afford to give up a game.
I’m expecting the Steelers to rally after their dramatic loss but with the likely return of a handful of defensive reinforcements including TJ Watt, I like the value on the underdog.
It’s strange to say that you are not at all confident in Miami given they have won three straight games but it was not exactly a murderer’s row they had to go through.
Carolina looks re-energised with the return of Cam Newton and he can give them a much needed spark.
I’ll take the Panthers to end Miami’s streak.
Back the Texans at your own risk but the Jets are as much of a dumpster fire as anyone in the NFL right now.
Zac Wilson will be back from his injury, almost by force as every other quarterback has been ruled out due to Covid procedures.
That will be music to the ears of a Texans defence that just forced 5 turnovers in Tennessee and with Tyrod Taylor back to steady the ship on offence, take Houston to make a few less mistakes.
It might be time to admit it, New England is good again.
Maybe not a Super Bowl contender just yet but a good team nonetheless.
If New England wins and covers this one, that will be the time to back them to win the Super Bowl because the price will just keep dropping.
Their defence has been lights out in the last five weeks but could be in for a real test against a Titans offence that will be motivated to improve on an atrocious effort last week.
Plus there is one intangible that has to be taken into account: The Vrabel Factor.
The former Patriots linebacker always brings something special when taking on his former team, including a memorable playoff win in January 2020 to end the Tom Brady era in New England.
This should be a very even, back and forth game and I can’t pass up Tennessee as such heavy underdogs.
It seems a bit strange that only one game separates these two AFC West rivals considering how different the public perception of them is.
Los Angeles is the high flying offence that is coming off a 41 point game while Denver has been labouring after a 3-0 start.
This line seems too low towards the Chargers so take them to come away with a very important road win.
In terms of the NFC’s number one seed, this is last chance saloon for the Rams having dropped their last two games.
I’m going down with the ship and counting on Sean McVay to sort out the many issues they were having during their Week 11 bye.
Should their offence be able to get going, it’s tough to see Green Bay keeping pace.
Looking at the form lines between these teams, it’s tough to make a case for the 49ers to be favoured.
They have one of the worst home field records in the NFL since moving to Levi’s Stadium and road teams have enjoyed a successful run of results over the last month.
Add in Minnesota coming off its biggest win of the season and Kirk Cousins looking like the quarterback that the Vikings were hoping they signs and the upset could be on.
Cleveland has surely reached breaking point.
There are only so many injuries they can overcome and with the locker room dissent slowly leaking out to the public, they may be ready to pack it in.
Baltimore has a habit of making games tougher than they need to be so it might not be the massive blowout it probably should, but a 3.5 point line seems like a number they should still be able to cover.
Another team that you can cross off for 2021 is Seattle.
Perhaps they held on to the Russell Wilson/Pete Carroll combination for a year too long but they are just not that good this year.
Washington’s defence took a hit with Chase Young tearing his ACL but they should still be able to handle Seattle’s very limited offence.