Thanksgiving in America means turkey and NFL - Paul Higham has his best bets from a tasty looking triple-header of action.
Recommended bet
1pt Bears (-3) Cowboys (-6.5) & Saints (-10.5) all to win at 11/2
For details of advised bookmakers and each-way terms, visit our transparent tipping record
Chicago Bears (7-3) @ Detroit Lions (4-6) (1730 GMT)
It’s a quick rematch in Detroit as these two NFC North rivals met just ten days ago in Chicago when the Bears were comfortable 34-22 winners.
The Bears are three-point favourites but that’d be much higher but for the throwing shoulder injury to quarterback Mitchell Trubiskey which looks like keeping him out of the first Thanksgiving Day contest.
Replacement Chase Daniel is a 32-year-old career back-up who’s thrown just one touchdown in the NFL so having him line up under centre will give Detroit a huge boost of upsetting the odds.
It’s hard to prepare for this short week but Daniel at least has in-depth knowledge of the system coach Matt Nagy employs – but make no mistake we’ll see a big dose of running back Jordan Howard as the Bears will try and run over the Lions and keep Daniel’s involvement to a minimum.
Detroit are 4-1 in their last five Thanksgiving outings and arrested a three-game skid on Sunday with a one-point win over Carolina, but they benefited from a missed extra point, field goal and two-point conversion to get over the line.
The Lions are without star rusher Kerryon Johnson and receiver Marvin Jones and that offence has to deal with the one-man wrecking crew of Khalil Mack who’s been causing havoc since joining the Bears.
It’s a tough start in the Lions’ den for Daniel but with Mack and that Chicago defence behind him he’s got everything at his disposal to grind out a win, but it looks like it will be a grind.
Verdict: Bears (-3) at 10/11
Touchdowns: Jordan Howard to score a brace at 5/1
RequestABet: Bears win, under 47.5 pts, J Howard over 59.5 yards & a TD at 13/2.
Washington Redskins (6-4) @ Dallas Cowboys (5-5) (21:30 GMT)
There’s another back-up in action in Dallas as former Texas Longhorn Colt McCoy starts at quarterback for struggling Washington after Alex Smith suffered that nasty injury on Sunday – and it’s a huge game he’ll be walking into.
The Cowboys have turned their season around and can suddenly draw level with the redskins at the top of the NFC East if they beat their rivals for the eighth time in nine Thanksgiving clashes.
McCoy has won before at AT&T Stadium when he led the redskins to a surprise victory on Monday Night Football in 2014, so he has prime time experience at this venue and will be desperate to match is best career win, back in his home state.
It’s a tough ask against the resurgent Cowboys, who have been riding star running back Ezekiel Elliott when winning in Philadelphia and Atlanta, and stopping him is priority number one for the visitors.
Stopping a guy who’s tallied 388 total yards and three touchdowns in his last two games will take some doing, but the Skins did limit him to just 42 total yards in the first game – which they won courtesy of Brett Maher’s late kick hitting the post.
Verdict: Cowboys (-6.5) at 5/6
Touchdowns: Ezekiel Elliott & Adrian Peterson to score at 2/1
RAB: Cowboys win, under 44pts, Ezekiel Elliott to score, A Peterson over 65.5 rushing yards at 4/1
Atlanta Falcons (4-6) @ New Orleans Saints (9-1) (0120 GMT)
The Saints are the hottest team in the league, are playing the best all-round football in the league, and now have a home game against the floundering Falcons to get stuck in to in what should be a feats for their high-flying offence.
After handing out the biggest beating ever to a Super Bowl champion on Sunday, what chance to do Atlanta have of upsetting the odds? Slim to none is the depressing answer for Falcons fans.
Anything can happen on a short week, but with New Orleans playing both games at home, enjoying a stroll against Philly, and playing at an insane level offensively, the omens aren’t great for an Atlanta team who seemingly find ways to lose whenever they can.
The Falcons took the Saints to overtime in week three when their respective seasons could have gone either way – they’ve raced off in opposite directions and while Atlanta’s improbable play-off hopes hang by a thread, the Saints are in pole position for top seed in the NFC.
New Orleans have no time to ease off either, as they have three straight road games after this and face the Panthers twice so are still not assured of a divisional title, while Atlanta will be a desperate team with seemingly nothing to lose.
That makes them dangerous, but no team is looking more dangerous, on both sides of the ball, than the Saints right now and this is a great game for Drew Brees to cement his MVP credentials and keep their roll going.
Verdict: Saints (-10.5) to win at 10/11
Touchdowns: Kamara & Ingram both to score at 11/8
