Your Thanksgiving Bettors Guide
BEARS at LIONS 12:30 p.m., Bears by 4, 44 1/2
HANK’S HONEYS: With Mitch Trubisky most likely out with an injury to his throwing shoulder, this pick goes from a Bears lean to a Lions lean. The Bears have dropped five straight games at Ford Field and will be operating on the shortest of all possible turnarounds – a Sunday nighter into a 12:30 p.m. Thursday kickoff. Those 88 hours in between games are hardly going to be enough to get Chase Daniel ready. The Lions have been able to score points at home (they’ve upset the Pats and Panthers there this year) and may have regained some confidence with their win over a similarlystructured Carolina team last week. IF I WERE A BETTING MAN: Lions and the over.
WASHINGTON at COWBOYS 4:30 p.m., Cowboys by 7 1/2, 40
HANK’S HONEYS: Suddenly, it’s the Cowboys who have the inside track on the division, which means one thing: beware. Every time you start liking them, they let you down. Alex Smith may be in a cast for the rest of the season but we’ll take a TD-plus spread in most divisional games anyway, especially one in which the favored team is a mediocre 5-5. Colt McCoy may be a career backup but he’s been in this spot before – in fact, he beat the Cowboys on Monday Night Football in 2014. And, with Ezekiel Elliot still Dallas’ top gun, Washington’s run defense allows under 100 ypg. Cowboys are 9-1 SU in their last 10 games when favored by more than a TD but have covered in only one of those contests. IF I WERE A BETTING MAN: Washington and the under. FALCONS at SAINTS 8:20 p.m., Saints by 13, 60 1/2 HANK’S HONEYS: There is no stopping the Saints, not at home, not at prime time and not against this shabby defense or this slumping team. With a 9-1 SU record and eight straight covers, the Saints are a team to ride until proven otherwise. Look for Alvin Kamara to have a field day against a defense that can’t stop either the run or pass catchers out of the backfield as Kamara looks to build on the first game when he caught 15 passes for 124 yards. Matt Ryan and the Falcons touched the Saints for 37 points in a Week 3 loss but the Saints’ D has toughened to the tune of 19.4 ppg with the Rams’ 35 points figured into that average. IF I WERE A BETTING MAN: Saints and the over.