NFL – THANKSGIVING 2018 GAMEDAY PREVIEW
Another Thanksgiving means more turkey, more family, more bloat and thankfully, more football.
Below I preview the three NFL games on the slate for Thursday. It’s not the most competitive lineup I’ve ever seen. But, it’ll be a good distraction from the family – err, I mean, the bloat…
Happy Turkey Day!
12:30PM ET – BEARS AT LIONS (CBS)
Bears (7-3); 1st– NFC North (-3.5 favorites)
Lions (4-6); 4th– NFC North
Over/Under: 44
Both teams are coming off short weeks, having just played very competitive games Sunday. The players will definitely be tired. Plus, Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky is nursing a shoulder injury he sustained on a late hit at the end of the fourth quarter during Sunday night’s game. He’s listed as “questionable”, but head coach Matt Nagy seems to favor 32-year old veteran backup Chase Daniel to be on the field for the first time in four years in the name of cautiousness. The good news is that Daniel has worked with Nagy while with KC, so the two know each other very well. But, even with Daniel in for Trubisky, I still like the Bears to beat the Lions. During Week 10’s November 11th matchup between these teams, Chicago sacked Matt Stafford six times, forced him to throw two interceptions and held him to 274 yards. (Can we say Khalil Mack & Akiem Hicks?) Detroit will also be without wide receiver Golden Tate via the recent trade to the Eagles and will be missing running back Kerryon Johnson to a knee injury. Yes, I realize Detroit has covered four of its past five Thanksgiving Day games, but the Bears are the real deal.
4:30PM ET – REDSKINS AT COWBOYS (FOX)
Redskins (6-4); 1st– NFC East
Cowboys (5-5); 2nd– NFC East (-7 favorites)
Over/Under: 40.5
Circumstances would be much different for this game if Redskins quarterback Alex Smith did not break his leg in last week’s matchup with the Texans. But, I have a hunch the Cowboys would be favored anyway after Dallas won its last two games and seem to be destined to take over the NFC East division. What’s been a reversal of fortunes for America’s Team since the beginning of a slow season has been an uptick in play on both sides of the ball. Namely, rookie linebacker Leighton Vander Esch has given the defense some life. And, on the offensive side of the football, running back Ezekiel Elliott has performed lights out while new acquisition Amari Cooper seems to have breathed new life into the wide receiving corps. For Washington, it’ll be up to Adrian Peterson to take the lead of this offense and run the football non-stop. Of course, Elliott needs to be stopped, if he can be. Ramifications of this game are huge for both teams. Should be a fun one, at least early.
8:20PM ET – FALCONS AT SAINTS (NBC)
Falcons (4-6); 3rd– NFC South
Saints (9-1); 1st – NFC South (-13 favorites)
Over/Under: 60
I’m in awe of what Drew Brees and his Saints have done this year. At the outset of the season, I had thought they would be a Super Bowl contender, but they may be even better than I originally thought. Brees is having an MVP caliber season with a 77% completion rate, 25 TDs and 1 interception with 2,964 passing yards. Aside from winning nine straight games, New Orleans has also scored 45+ points in their last three and they just blew out last year’s Super Bowl champion (Eagles) by a wide margin. No way are they losing at home against an inferior opponent, even if the Falcons have something to prove. It’s going to be a slug-fest with Matt Ryan versus Brees, as the Saints have the second-best rushing defense in the league. I’m going to watch this one purely because I think history has a good chance of being made. Is it possible New Orleans scores 45+ again tomorrow?
Source : NFL STATS
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