National Post (National Edition)
Lions try to leg out key victory over Vikes
Turkey Day’s triple feast not too appealing
The tripleheader on Thanksgiving isn’t all that tasty, except for the traditional opener at Detroit.
The NFC North leader from Minnesota visits Ford Field this year, and carries a two-game edge over the Lions. So this is a particularly huge game for the hosts.
“They’re all big,” coach Jim Caldwell says. “Every single one of them’s a factor in the grand scheme of things. The most important one is the next one. Someone else might have a different philosophy. I don’t believe in functioning that way. My experience has been it can work against you more than it works for you when you start looking at the grand scheme of things.
‘You can’t act as if one game is going to make a complete difference in the season, because you don’t know what’s going to happen the rest of the season. You have no idea.”
Minnesota is a two-point favourite over Detroit. Vikings, 23-20 Jacksonville (minus 4) at Arizona The Jaguars favoured on the road? You bet. And ... Best Bet: Jaguars, 20-10
Los Angeles Chargers (plus 3 .5) at Dallas, Thursday
The Cowboys are rattled, on and off the field. Chargers are dangerous. Upset Special: Chargers, 23-20
New York Giants (plus 7) at Washington, Thursday night
Washington is ravaged by injuries, yet still should win a close one. Washington, 21-17 Houston (plus 7) at Baltimore, Monday night
A lot of points for the Ravens to give. Of course, they might get another shutout. Ravens, 13-10 Chicago (plus 12.5) at Philadelphia
Not much “Roar, Bears, Roar” these days. Try “Fly, Eagles, Fly.” Eagles, 27-10 Miami (plus 16) at New England Patriots coasting toward AFC’s top seed? Patriots, 30-13 Green Bay (plus 13.5) at Pittsburgh Steelers tend to lollygag through these games. Steelers, 24-13
Buffalo (plus 9) at Kansas City
Jim Kelly at QB next? Doug Flutie? Nope, it’s back to Tyrod Taylor ... for now. Regardless, the Chiefs need rebound game. Chiefs, 19-12
New Orleans (plus 2.5) at Los Angeles Rams
Huge game in NFC seedings race between surprise division leaders. Rams, 24-23
Tampa Bay (plus 8.5) at Atlanta
The Bucs struggle on the road, though the Falcons are not that comfy in the new digs. Falcons, 26-16
Carolina (minus 4.5) at New York Jets
The Panthers need to be careful here with the Saints, the Vikings are on their schedule next. Could be a trap game. Panthers, 26-20 Tennessee (minus 4) at Indianapolis Look for bounce back from Marcus Mariota. Titans, 20-13
Seattle (minus 7) at San Francisco
Like Washington, the Seahawks are very banged-up, but good enough to survive this week. Seahawks, 24-14 Denver (plus 5) at Oakland
This looked like a blockbuster when schedule came out. No more. Raiders, 23-13 Cleveland (plus 8) at Cincinnati
The Bengals are thinking wild card. The Browns are thinking “when does this end?” Bengals, 20-13
Last week: Against spread (6-8). Straight up (86) Season Totals: Against spread (73-77-3). Straight up: (96-63) Best Bet: 7-4 against spread, 9-2 straight up. Upset special: 7-4 against spread, 7-4 straight up