Thanksgiving Trio
12:30 AM ET Game
Bears @ Lions
A rematch of last years thanksgiving match, the Lions & Bears rivalry takes on pt.2 this season with a result we have seen one too many times. A Bears victory! Yes, the Bears don’t look like a playoff team & if there is one team they can beat in the NFC North for the time being, it’s the Lions. Detroit simply has not found a way to win football games this season & the absence of starting QB, Matthew Stafford is not helping. Despite the Lions without their starting QB, wideouts, Marvin Jones Jr. & Kenny Golladay are on pace to be the 1st pair of teammates to both rank top 3 in rec TD since 2016 when their NFC North rivals (Packers) Jordy Nelson & Davante Adams did it. However, the Lions have still lost 4 straight. That 4 game skid began in a loss to the Raiders which happened to be Stafford’s last game before being sidelined due to a back injury.
UPDATE
Looks like the Lions will be without their 2nd-string QB, Jeff Driskel as well… Now it’s up to their 3rd-string QB, David Blough. Not the best matchup against a Bears defense that ranks top 10 in scoring defense, total defense, pass defense and rush defense this season. The only other team to rank in the top 10 of all defensive categories? The Patriots. Not the best for an offense that has scored fewer than 20 PTS in 2 of their last 3 games.
Score: 21-13, Bears Win.
4:30 PM ET Game
Bills @ Cowboys
(Ryan Michalesko / Staff Photographer)
Here’s a rundown of Thanksgiving in Dallas… It’s an annual thing. A tradition. It’s winning football! The football gods have given Jason Garrett & the Boys’ the perfect bounce back game. What better way to give thanks? Yeah sure, they are taking on an 8-3 Bill team & like I’ve been saying in every single Buffalo Bill game pick… they are the weakest 7+ win team in the league. I’m not going to discredit the Bills as they are off to their best start since 1996, however, I can’t help but notice the Bills struggle against teams .500 or higher. The Cowboys are just above .500 coming into this game & that’s the least concerning stat Bills fans should be worried about… Last week the Cowboys were stumped in a rainy trench war against the Patriots. A defensive battle that the Boys’ ultimately lost by a mere 4 points. Buffalo is not going to be the easiest of defenses as they are ranked behind only the Patriots & 49ers in PPG, allowing 15.7 PPG (fewest since 1999).
Amari Cooper Stats
Now for Bills fans to worry. The Cowboys have a high-powered offense that is avg. a league-high 433.4 YPG. On top of that expect Amari Cooper to bounce back BIG at home after being held to 0 catches last week in Foxborough. On top of the statistical breakdown pictured, Cooper is avg. 134.6 YPG at home compared to 35.5 YPG on the road. I expect Dallas to bounce back well at home in yet another low scoring affair.
Score: 23-17, Cowboys Win.
8:30 PM ET Game
Saints @ Falcons
Rematches are great. Revenge is better! The Saints & Falcons (likely) clash for the final time in the 2019 season & the Saints could not be happier. This game is 2 birds one stone. Rightfully get revenge by winning to split even with Atlanta & more importantly clinch the NFC South division for the third consecutive season. This would also mean that the Saints would book their ticket to the postseason by clinching the division. So what do the Saints have to do on Thanksgiving night to beat ATL? Be themselves.
This game is going to come down to consistency… something a lot of players on both teams are fond of. Here are your deciding factors for Thursday’s matchup:
Saints’ Michael Thomas has 100+ receiving yards in each of 4 games vs NFC South opponents this season.
Falcons’ Julio Jones has 0 receiving TD in 8 consecutive games (longest single-season streak of career).
Saints’ Alvin Kamara has 0 scrimmage TD in six straight games (longest streak of career).
Drew Brees leads the NFL with a 75.7 comp pct this season.
Lot’s a noticeable good/bad streaks that will indeed play a factor in this matchup. The two consistent stat lines that pop out is Drew Brees’ 75.7% CMP. rate & Michael Thomas’ 100+ receiving YDS in every game he has played against NFC South teams. Brees & Thomas have been nothing but each others security blankets this season. So what went wrong 3 weeks ago when the Saints lost 26-9 against the Falcons? We don’t know. Maybe it was something that went right for Atlanta. Regardless, something that we do know is the Saints responding with back to back divisional W’s over the past two weeks. With their last road loss coming back in week 2 this season, a win Thursday night will make it 3 straight divisional wins along with a third consecutive divisional title for NOLA!
Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images
