It’s Turkey week as we have 3 NFL games on Thanksgiving, 1 on Black Friday, and another 12 this weekend with zero teams on a bye. It’s going to be an action packed weekend and we’re going to be breaking down our predictions for each matchup this week. So far on the year, we’re 104-60 in our predictions.
Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions
The first Thanksgiving game is the Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions. At the beginning of the season, this sounds like it would be a great matchup. But here we are and the Packers are garbage, the Lions first feast of the day is against them.
Winner: Detroit Lions
Washington Commanders at Dallas Cowboys
The second feast of the day is going to be the Cowboys tearing apart the Commanders. The Commanders couldn’t even beat the Tommy DeVito led Giants and now they get Dallas on Thanksgiving. It’s going to be a bloodbath.
Winner: Dallas Cowboys
San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks
The only close matchup of Thanksgiving is the night game between the 49ers and the Seahawks. Even saying close is a reach as the 49ers are by far the better team, but the difference between this game and other two is the Seahawks aren’t terrible. The 49ers win this one, but it’s the closest game of the day and it still could be double digits that they win by.
Winner: San Francisco 49ers
Miami Dolphins at New York Jets
The inaugural Black Friday game is between the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets. This game also appears to be following the same trends as the Thanksgiving games where it’s going to be another blowout. The Dolphins offense is the best in the league and the Jets offense just had to bench Zach Wilson and signed Tim Boyle to come in as their new starting quarterback. Things aren’t going to go well for them as they are just hoping that Aaron Rodgers has a miraculous recovery and can come back before the season is over.
Winner: Miami Dolphins
New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons
Sunday finally brings us the slate of games that are going to be close and kicking us off in the early games is the New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons. This game isn’t going to be pretty but it will be close. The Falcons are the more talented team, but Arthur Smith is their head coach which is what’s holding them back from winning. Smith shouldn’t be a coach and is going to get outplayed by the Saints as a result who put some distance on their lead in the pathetic NFC South.
Winner: New Orleans Saints
Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals just lost Joe Burrow for the season and the Steelers just fired Matt Canada. What happens during this game with both of their offenses will tell us a lot on how the rest of the season is going to go for each team. We think the Bengals offense which has been hit or miss this year will struggle with Browning at quarterback. We think the Steelers offense is going to get better as Canada has been holding them back for years. The Steelers offense shows life in this game and Kenny Pickett has his best game of the year in a big road win for the Steelers in the first game in the post Matt Canada era.
Winner: Pittsburgh Steelers
Carolina Panthers at Tennessee Titans
In one of two matchups this week where the teams have a combined 5 or fewer wins, the Carolina Panthers square off against the Tennessee Titans. Both teams are starting rookie quarterbacks and it’s not a matter of which rookie quarterback is better, but rather which defense will play better and that’s the Tennessee Titans.
Winner: Tennessee Titans
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Indianapolis Colts
Another NFC South at AFC South matchup is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the Indianapolis Colts. Both teams need a win if they’d like to stay alive in the playoff race. The Buccaneers on paper are the better team, but they’ve struggled as of late and the Indianapolis Colts are coming off a bye and teams tend to perform better when getting that extra rest. We’re going with Minshew Mania in the upset.
Winner: Indianapolis Colts
New England Patriots at New York Giants
The second matchup between two teams with less than 5 wins combined is the New England Patriots at the New York Giants. A lot of people are leaning towards New England with Tommy DeVito being the starter for the Giants. However, we think DeVito in his limited action has played better than both Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe have for New England so far. New England is done and this game will solidify their status as a bottom team in the NFL.
Winner: New York Giants
Jacksonville Jaguars at Houston Texans
Surprisingly, these two teams are in store for a very competitive contest with one another. At first glance, you’d think otherwise but both teams enter this matchup with a winning record and fighting for the division title. Jacksonville has the better record and the more experienced team, but we don’t think anyone is as hot as CJ Stroud is right now. We have to go with the hot hand while it’s rocking.
Winner: Houston Texans
Cleveland Browns at Denver Broncos
The Browns signed Joe Flacco who could see the field this weekend, but is unlikely. If Dorian Thompson-Robinson plays the full game, the Broncos should win. The Browns defense might be elite, but their offense is bad. The Broncos defense has kept it together the last few weeks and the offense finally appears to be clicking. The Broncos are on a winning streak with some big upsets against teams like Kansas City & Buffalo on their streak that we think they actually can move to above .500 for the first time on the season.
Winner: Denver Broncos
Los Angeles Rams at Arizona Cardinals
Trying to avoid getting last in the NFC West are both the Los Angeles Rams and the Arizona Cardinals. The Rams just aren’t good anymore and are struggling with injuries. The Cardinals injuries struggles were early on but now both Kyler Murray and James Conner are back and the offense has looked promising. The Cardinals offense does enough to get another win in the win column for them and help end the season on a good note.
Winner: Arizona Cardinals
Kansas City Chiefs at Las Vegas Raiders
The Chiefs lost the Super Bowl rematch and they have yet to lose back to back games this season and it’s not happening this weekend. The Chiefs are going to put on a clinic against the Raiders after they had a poor offensive showing against Philadelphia. They are on a mission and the Raiders wished they could step out of the way.
Winner: Kansas City Chiefs
Buffalo Bills at Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles improved to a whopping 9-1 as they won the Super Bowl rematch in the Kelce bowl. The Eagles were impressive during that game and have been very impressive on the season boasting the best record in football. A win here would solidify their status as the best team in football all around. But the Bills need this win desperately to not fall behind and to prove that Josh Allen can win in big games despite his turnover ratio. The Bills put up a fight, but the Eagles outlast them in what’s going to be one of the best games of the week.
Winner: Philadelphia Eagles
Baltimore Ravens at Los Angeles Chargers
Surprisingly, the Baltimore Ravens are only a few point favorites against the Los Angeles Chargers on the Road. They really should be double digit favorites as the Ravens are one of the most complete teams from top to bottom in the NFL. The Chargers have struggles on defense and primarily with their coaching, but maybe the line is the way it is as they can keep games close regardless of who they are playing. We think the Chargers can pull off that feat here, but the game is still going to the Ravens.
Winner: Baltimore Ravens
Chicago Bears at Minnesota Vikings
Both NFC North teams lost in poor fashion last week as the Bears blew a two touchdown lead to the Lions and the Vikings couldn’t overcome the Broncos. The Vikings needed that win for playoff chances and they are going to keep fighting for the playoffs as every win counts right now. Chicago has nothing to play for and it’d be better for them to tank to get a better pick. Justin Fields is the only one on Chicago that needs to play to fight for his job, but we just don’t think he’s a good quarterback and the Vikings defense should keep him in check as they get a nice bounce back win.
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