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Thanksgiving NFL Picks | This special day schedule has featured the Detroit Lions since Franklin D. Roosevelt (the guy on the dime) was President of the United States.

That’s right – the tradition predates television. Back in 1934, team owner George A. Richards, well known for his marketing skills, decided to play on a Thursday to bring in more fans.

The Lions weren’t drawing in many fans in those days – it might be hard to believe, but MLB’s Detroit Tigers were the big sports scene in the Motor City.

Richards owned a radio station that was part of the NBC Blue Network, and the Lions’ game was broadcast on 94 stations across the United States that day.

Annual tradition of Lions on TV during Thanksgiving sparks curiosity among those familiar with team’s perpetual struggles, before Dan Campbell’s era, during holiday meal preparations.

In 1978, the Dallas Cowboys joined the day as general manager Tex Schramm, himself a marketing guru, quickly volunteered when the NFL was looking for a second volunteer to host a game. At the time, the Cowboys were regular contenders in the NFL.

In 2006, the NFL added a third prime-time showdown that would rotate among the teams. This year, Detroit plays Chicago in the early time slot.

The Cowboys play the Giants in the afternoon, followed by Miami playing Green Bay in prime time. If the first game disappoints, there will be a good night game to make up for it.

Thanksgiving NFL Picks, Week 13 lines | NFL 2024/25 Season

Read on to get our sports betting picks for each of these three matchups.

Thanksgiving NFL Picks Chicago Bears (+10.5) at Detroit Lions

When: Thursday, November 28, 12:30 pm ET, CBS
Thanksgiving NFL Pick: Lions to win and cover

Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery scored three combined rushing touchdowns in the win over Indianapolis on Sunday. That made them the first tailback duo in league history with at least 10 rushing touchdowns apiece in consecutive campaigns. That’s also the 11th time both of them have scored in the same contest, including the postseason, which sets a record for any tailback pair in league history.

Tim Patrick

They’re clearly the top tandem in the NFL right now – so how far can they take the Lions? Wide receiver Tim Patrick emerged against the Colts with four catches for 55 yards, including a 27-yard reception to close the first quarter. Having another option in the offense makes Jared Goff’s life even easier. The only problem for Detroit came on pass defense. Cornerback Terrion Arnold (groin) stayed in Detroit, and the Lions missed him. Anthony Richardson found Michael Pittman Jr for a 30-yard completion and Alec Pierce for a 39-yarder. The Bears can be dangerous in the passing game as well.

Chicago scored 11 points in the last 22 seconds of regulation to send their game with Minnesota to overtime. Part of this was the fault of the Minnesota defense, which inexplicably let Bears quarterback Caleb Williams spend the fourth quarter running wild. Part of it was the fault of tight end Johnny Mundt, who let the onside kick clank off his foot, so the Bears could jump on it well before it had traveled ten yards. The switch to Thomas Brown as OC seems to have helped Williams as well – particularly against the blitz.

Against Minnesota, Williams was 9 of 12 for 128 yards and two scores against the blitz. Keenan Allen had a season-best nine receptions for 86 yards and a score, getting a team-best 15 targets. Special teams are an area of concern for the Bears (even after they recovered their onside kick) as Cairos Santos has had three field goal attempts blocked, the most in the NFL and the most for any Bears team since 2012.

Thanksgiving NFL Picks N.Y. Giants (+4) at Dallas Cowboys

When: Thursday, November 28, 4:30 pm ET, FOX
Thanksgiving NFL Pick: Cowboys to win and cover

Should the Giants have benched and then waived quarterback Daniel Jones? Team captain Dexter Lawrence, and other players, said they thought Jones was still the top option at quarterback. Tommy DeVito had the unenviable assignment of starting – and he didn’t bring much energy as the Giants trailed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 23-0, at halftime of an eventual 30-7 loss. The fact that Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield had all kinds of frustration to work out after a four-game losing streak (leading to a lot of trash-talking on Sunday) didn’t help, but DeVito was just 3 of 5 for 31 yards in the first half, taking three sacks.

Jermaine Eluemunor

Things got better as he ended up 21 of 31 for 189 yards, but the Buccaneers’ pass rush energy waned once the game got out of hand. Left tackle Jermaine Eluemunor went down on the opening drive, leaving third-stringer Chris Hubbard tasked with stopping Evan Neal. Expect the Cowboys’ Micah Parsons to line up across from him a lot on Thursday if Eluemunor isn’t back. Perhaps the biggest surprise was the lack of energy from the New York defense coming out of a bye week. They allowed more than 400 yards of offense and didn’t sack Baker Mayfield once.

In 2022, Cooper Rush went 4-1 as the starter in relief of Dak Prescott. He beat the Giants that year, completing 67.7% of his passes. He looked solid once again this past week up in Washington, completing 78.5% of his passes and had two touchdown passes in the second half. The Cowboys-Giants game in New York earlier this season saw the Giants driving down the field with a chance to tie in the late minutes, but that had a lot to do with defensive energy from the G-men. If the defense doesn’t have any more motivation this week, that will be a sign that Giants coach Brian Daboll has lost the room – and he may see his job evaporate with another rout. Both of these teams usually get up for their meetings, but a duel between Tommy DeVito and Cooper Rush should easily go Rush’s way.

Thanksgiving NFL Picks TNF Miami Dolphins (+3) at Green Bay Packers

When: Thursday, November 28, 8:00 pm ET, NBC
Thanksgiving NFL Pick: Packers to win and cover

Tua Tagovailoa

Here’s an interesting stat: Tagovailoa is 0-7 in games where the temperature is 40 degrees or below. That’s not surprising – the Dolphins tend to get shredded when they head north and play outdoors in the cold. Tagovailoa also threw three picks the last time he faced Green Bay. The Dolphins do have a stout run defense, but will it stay stout in the cold?

Or will Josh Jacobs run wild after the heated benches no longer keep the Dolphins warm past the fifth play of a Green Bay drive? Watch out for tight end Jonnu Smith, who has cold-weather cred from his time with New England. He has three scores in his last two games, and Green Bay allows the 13th most yards to tight ends with their passing defense.

Here are a few things to consider on the Green Bay side. Jacobs did run the ball 26 times for 103 yards and three scores against a surprisingly brittle San Francisco defense. However, he had to leave to get treatment for cramps. Romeo Doubs caught three balls for 54 yards but is now in the concussion protocol, which is extremely hard to clear in three days. Linebacker Edgerrin Cooper (hamstring) and cornerback Jaire Alexander (hamstring) are also likely to stay on the shelf.

Where the divisions stand after 12 weeks. pic.twitter.com/B14Yb5qxX0

— NFL (@NFL) November 26, 2024

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NFL Week 13 | One of the weirdest endings in recent NFL history took place between the Washington Commanders and the Dallas Cowboys.

The teams combined for an eye-popping 41 points in the fourth quarter – and the Cowboys returned not one, but two, kickoffs for touchdowns.

On one of those returns, KaVontae Turpin actually mishandled the kick and had to run back to the 1-yard line to pick it up, but then he weaved through the Commanders for a score. The second score came on a return of an onside kick.

The Cowboys missed two field goals, had a punt partially blocked, gave up an 86-yard catch-and-run to Terry McLaurin, and still won.

Why? Because of Cooper, Rush is a decent backup quarterback, completing 78.5% of his passes on the day, with two touchdown passes in the second half.

It also helped that Washington kicker Austin Seibert missed two extra points, including the one that would have sent the game to overtime, and that Washington coach Dan Quinn didn’t take advantage of a reeling Dallas defense and just win the game with a two-point conversion at the end.

Can anything this weird happens in Week 13? You know it can. We’ve got a lot of NFL sports betting content this week – including a focus on the Thanksgiving Day games.

Here we have your top picks focusing on Friday (yes, Friday NFL action) and the weekend.

NFL Week 13: Top Games with Odds & Expert Analysis

Las Vegas Raiders (+12.5) at Kansas City Chiefs

When: Friday, November 29, 3:00 pm ET, Prime Video
NFL totals Week 13: O/U 42.5
NFL Pick: Raiders to cover

Second Friday of 2024 sees NFL action. Feels like deja vu from six years ago when Jets were hopeful about Aaron Rodgers. Green Bay and Philadelphia kickoff in Brazil.

The NFL has introduced a Black Friday extravaganza due to the popularity of pro football every day. While some battle crowds in stores, others can enjoy college football games and an AFC West showdown.

We saw Gardner Minshew II go down with a broken collarbone in Week 12, which means that we won’t see Aidan O’Connell for the Raiders (remember, he broke his thumb), but we will see Desmond Ridder, who the Raiders snagged off the Cardinals’ practice squad.

Desmond Ridder

Ridder struggled on Sunday due to poor pass protection. The Chiefs face a tough pass rush and must not underestimate the Raiders. Surprisingly, the Chiefs are 0-4 against the spread this season when favored by more than a touchdown. The Panthers gave the Chiefs a run for their money in a close 30-27 loss. Despite this, the Chiefs have not shown much improvement since their loss to Buffalo and need to step up their game.

L.A. Chargers (-2) at Atlanta Falcons

When: Sunday, December 1, 1:00 pm ET, CBS
NFL totals Week 13: O/U 47.5
NFL Pick: Chargers to win and cover

Monday night brought us the definitely overhyped HarBowl as the Baltimore Ravens (coached by John Harbaugh) headed west to take on the L.A. Chargers (coached by Jim Harbaugh, who used improperly obtained video footage of opponent practices to pave his way to a national championship at Michigan and then sprinted to an NFL job to avoid what might have been a lengthy show-cause penalty for further NCAA employment). The first-half Chargers were drawing all sorts of hyperbolic praise from Cris Collinsworth, but then the Ravens, as they do, made some well-planned halftime adjustments. They even made those adjustments last through the fourth quarter, for once.

Justin Herbert

The Chargers face salary cap issues, leaving Justin Herbert with a limited wide receiver group. Despite his exceptional accuracy and underrated scrambling abilities, Herbert struggled in the second half with his receivers departing in the off-season. This led to missed connections and defensive penalties against the Ravens.

We saw too many of the first kind – and we also saw what was supposed to be one of Jim Harbaugh’s strengths (coaching a physical, gritty defense) get shredded by a suddenly attentive Baltimore offense. Now the Chargers head east to play the Falcons on a short week in the early time slot in the Eastern Time Zone. The Falcons are just 3-3 straight up at home, while the Chargers are already 2-0 straight up in Eastern Time Zone games, but those wins came over Cleveland and Carolina. Is this a great time for Kirk Cousins to stand tall and lead the Falcons to a key win? I’m not sure if I’m feeling that.

Pittsburgh Steelers (+2.5) at Cincinnati Bengals

When: Sunday, December, 1:00 pm ET, CBS
NFL totals Week 13: O/U 47
NFL Pick: Steelers to cover

Pittsburgh comes in with a little more rest after that weird loss in Cleveland last Thursday, which will apparently now be known as the “Snow Globe Game.” Pittsburgh wide receiver George Pickens went on a postgame rant, insisting that the team that just beat the Steelers was “not a good team” and blaming the outcome on the weather.

George Pickens played his college football in the South, but knowing that you’re going to play for an AFC North team means that, once the calendar turns to October, you have an extremely high likelihood of bad weather in all of your divisional games because all of your division rivals still understand that football is a game meant to be played outdoors.

Joe Burrow

Burrow has struggled historically against the Steelers. Yes, he has a 3-2 record, but he has thrown eight interceptions (along with 11 touchdown passes) in five career starts). The problem for Cincinnati is that their defense is mostly made of wet cardboard cutouts, making it easy for opponents to match the Bengals’ high-flying offense in points. Justin Fields was actually the more impressive quarterback for the Steelers in Cleveland, so it will be interesting to see how long Mike Tomlin remains the captive of the fact that Russell Wilson was on top of the depth chart when he got injured, and that this precedent must be respected. Either quarterback should be able to keep the Steelers up with Cincinnati, even though the Bengals do get to come out of the bye to welcome the Steel Curtain.

SNF San Francisco 49ers (+7) at Buffalo Bills

When: Sunday, December 1, 18:20 pm ET, NBC
NFL totals Week 13: O/U 45
NFL Pick: 49ers to cover

Brock Purdy is set to make a comeback for the 49ers, who are desperate for his help after a disastrous loss. The Bills, with a perfect home record, have thoroughly analyzed the 49ers’ recent game and Josh Allen has been impressive with 12 touchdown passes and a high passer rating. When Purdy has taken the field, the 49ers have only lost by more than a touchdown once this season.

The NFC West is extremely tight, making each week a possible make-or-break game. That’s a stressful way to live in the NFL, but it also produces urgency. Buffalo has a huge lead in the AFC East. Which team will stand up for the moment?

Is your team currently in the playoffs? 👀 @surface pic.twitter.com/amlLrItofB

— NFL (@NFL) November 26, 2024

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