U.S. Thanksgiving tripleheader not that tasty
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.“
Judging by Pro Picks’ struggles last week against the spread, having no idea is a familiar concept. Minnesota, ranked fourth in the AP Pro32, is a two-point favourite over No. 12 Detroit. VIKINGS, 23-20
Knockout league tip
The Jaguars had an easy enough time with the Browns. Do we trust the Bengals to do the same? Why would we when we still have 9-1 Philadelphia available?
No. 8 Jacksonville (minus 4) at No. 23 Arizona — Jaguars favoured on road? You bet. And ... BEST BET: JAGUARS, 20-10
No. 16 Los Angeles Chargers (plus 3½) at No. 15 Dallas, Thursday — Cowboys are rattled, on and off field. Chargers are dangerous. UPSET SPECIAL: CHARGERS, 23-20
No. 30 New York Giants (plus 7) at No. 27 Washington, Thursday night — Redskins are ravaged by injuries, yet still should win close one. REDSKINS, 21-17
No. 20 Houston (plus 7) at No. 14 Baltimore, Monday night — A lot of points for Ravens to give. Of course, they might get another shutout. RAVENS, 13-10
No. 28 Chicago (plus 12½) at No. 1 Philadelphia — Not much “Roar, Bears, Roar” these days. Try “Fly, Eagles, Fly.” EAGLES, 27-10
No. 26 Miami (plus 16) at No. 2 New England — Patriots coasting toward AFC’s top seed? PATRIOTS, 30-13
No. 19 Green Bay (plus 13½) at No. 3 Pittsburgh — Steelers tend to lollygag through these games. STEELERS, 24-13
No. 18 Buffalo (plus 9) at No. 11 Kansas City — Jim Kelly at QB next? Doug Flutie? Chiefs need rebound game. CHIEFS, 19-12
No. 5 New Orleans (plus 2½) at No. 6 Los Angeles Rams — Huge game in NFC seedings race between surprise division leaders. RAMS, 24-23
No. 25 Tampa Bay (plus 8½) at No. 9 Atlanta — Bucs struggle on road, though Falcons not that comfy in new digs. FALCONS, 26-16
No. 7 Carolina (minus 4½) at No. 24 New York Jets — Panthers need to be careful here with Saints, Vikings on their schedule next. Could be trap game. PANTHERS, 26-20
No. 13 Tennessee (minus 4) at No. 29 Indianapolis — Look for bounce back from Marcus Mariota. TITANS, 20-13
No. 10 Seattle (minus 7) at No. 31 San Francisco — Like Redskins, Seahawks very bangedup, but good enough to survive this week. SEAHAWKS, 24-14
No. 27 Denver (plus 5) at No. 21 Oakland — This looked like a blockbuster when schedule came out. No more. RAIDERS, 23-13
No. 32 Cleveland (plus 8) at No. 22 Cincinnati — Bengals thinking wild card. Browns thinking “when does this end?” BENGALS, 20-13
2017 RECORD Last week
Against spread (6-8). Straight up (8-6)
Season rotals
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