NFL Turkey Day Games

The hits just keep coming from the Motor City: watching the Lions tomorrow might cause actual pain.

Kevin put out a special Turkey Day edition of his picks...these games should be blowouts unfortunately. Take it away, Kevin.

Tradition.  NFL games in both Dallas and Detroit on Thanksgiving Day.

A much newer tradition is playing a third Thanksgiving game at night and I am definitely “thankful” we have that this year.  Also, it is time for the NFL to explore whether Thanksgiving Day games should be rotated.  With the exception of the playoffs and Super Bowl, Thanksgiving Day games are probably the most viewed as families across the country gather for their turkey day feasts.

And unless you’re a football die-hard, and as publisher of a site named “EatDrinkandSleepFootball.com,” I certainly claim to be, you’re probably not too interested in the first two games.  In fact, both games feature double-digit point spreads indicating that you should expect two blowouts.

However, the third game has a ton of drama surrounding it.  One week after Donovan McNabb was widely ridiculed in the media for not knowing about the possibility of a game ending in a tie, he was benched at halftime of a 10-7 game last week.  He has been named the “starting QB for this team” by Andy Reid for Thursday night’s game, but for how long will that last?

Here are my picks and previews of the 3 Thanksgiving Day games:

Tennessee Titans -11 (over Detroit Lions): The Detroit Lions, one of my picks last week to cover, jumped out to a 17-0 1st-quarter lead over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  Then, the Lions imploded only as the Lions can (o.k. maybe the Rams, Bengals and Chiefs can too).  The Lions were losing at the half 21-17 and the Bucs never looked back.  I have Calvin Johnson (by far, the Lions best player) and Chris Johnson (perhaps 2008 Rookie of the Year) on my most important fantasy football team and this week is the week before the playoffs.  Unfortunately, this particular team is on the playoff fence.  But what else can you look forward to in this game?  Well, LenDale White publicly complained about only getting 3 carries in their loss to the Jets last week.  He should get more carries this week, but if he doesn’t, how will he react? Last week, Daunte Culpepper was benched and then reinserted into the lineup after Drew Stanton, Culpepper’s replacement, was injured.  This game should be over by halftime as the Lions have the worst rushing defense in the NFL.  My advice is to plan dinner for 2 p.m. ET (roughly half-time of this game) and then you have 2+ hours to enjoy your Turkey feast.

Seattle Seahawks +13 (over Dallas Cowboys): With the Cowboys tough December schedule, they need to take care of business here to have a good chance of earning a playoff berth.  With Romo back, the Cowboys passing attack has returned to its pre-Brad Johnson form.  T.O. is happy again with 200+ receiving yards in week 12.  The Seahawks have the 2nd-worst pass defense in the league.  This game should be an easy win for the Cowboys as the Seahawks have to travel in a short week.  However, I can foresee the Cowboys being up 35-17 in the 4th quarter and the Seahawks getting a garbage TD to cover.

Philadelphia Eagles -3 (over Arizona Cardinals): The Arizona Cardinals are one of the best football teams in the NFL.  Yes, the Arizona Cardinals.  They have the best WR corps in football and Kurt Warner is a possible league MVP.  However, after Donovan McNabb was benched last week, I expect him to come out swinging and the Eagles to bounce back.  The one thing that Warner has struggled with in the past is hanging onto the ball with a fierce pass rush.  I expect Joe Johnson and the Eagles to throw the kitchen sink at Warner.  This will be a close game with lots of drama.  Everyone should be “thankful” for the league adding a third Thanksgiving Day game.

Check back Friday for some picks on the weekend games and Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

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