NFL Week 12: Thanksgiving Day Staff Picks
Find out what bets we’re targeting for the Turkey Day slate
Dan Karpuc - Nov 24, 2021, 2:21pm ESTNick Ashooh: Lions +3 vs. Bears
The Bears are a mess, and apparently no one wants to play for Matt Nagy anymore. Chicago’s lost five straight games, and yes the Lions haven’t won any games yet, but this has the feel of some Thanksgiving magic. This is the Lions’ domain…or den…whatever. It’s Thanksgiving, where they’ve won 37 times in their history (and lost 42, but who cares). Call it a gut feeling, but I like the Lions to cover here.
Brad Pinkerton: Bears-Lions Under 41.5
With Andy Dalton under center for Chicago and either Tim Boyle or Jared Goff (oblique) at less than 100 percent starting for Detroit, this game is going to be more disgusting than that can-shaped cranberry sauce your mom insists on serving every Thanksgiving. The Lions and Bears are a combined 6-14 O/U this season, so the best way to play this game is to take the under, then schedule your Thanksgiving meal around kickoff and ignore it all together.
Dan Karpuc: Cowboys -7.5 vs. Raiders
The Cowboys are 7-1 ATS on turf fields this season and they’ll be eager to make a statement against the free-falling Raiders at home in front of a national audience. Three of their four home wins have come by 20, 24 and 40 points and Las Vegas has lost (and failed to cover) in three consecutive games coming into this matchup.
Lucy Burdge: Saints +4.5 vs. Bills
The Saints are 3-0 in Thanksgiving games and I think they’ll make that 4-0 against the Bills. New Orleans is also 5-4 ATS, so they’ve shown they can cover a spread. As the underdog, the Saints have covered spreads smaller than this one this season and I would be very thankful if they do just that in this one.
