With Thanksgiving quickly approaching, which teams will win the two early NFL Turkey Day games?
You can always count on two things besides turkey and stuffing on Thanksgiving Day and that’s the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys hosting a NFL game.
This content was produced in partnership with Gambler Labs.
Once again in 2022 the Lions will host the “early’’ game and the Cowboys will host the “late’’ game. This year it will be high-flying Buffalo Bills coming to Detroit for the 12:30 EST kickoff on the game televised by CBS. Dallas will host their NFC East rival New York Giants at 4:30 EST on Fox.
With upstate and New York City represented, this could be a big Turkey Day afternoon of football for Empire State fans.
This will be the 73rd season that the Lions play on Thanksgiving and the team is 37-43-2 in the first 72 games. It started in 1934 when the Lions lost to the Chicago Bears, 19-16, and was put on hold from 1939-44 due to World War II.
More recently the Lions have lost five straight Thanksgiving Day games and are 1-4 in those five games against the point spread. The last time the Lions won on Thanksgiving was in 2016 when they beat the Minnesota Vikings, 16-13.
This year the Lions didn’t get any breaks with the Bills coming to town. Buffalo, which got eliminated from the 2021 playoffs in overtime to the Kansas City Chiefs are on a team on a mission. And that mission is to get back to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1993.
Quarterback Josh Allen, the current favorite to win the NFL’s Most Valuable Player award, leads the Bills. But the team also plays tough defense. The Lions, who are once again struggling under second-year head coach Dan Campbell are going to have their hands full with Allen and the Bills offense.
The Dallas game will be a rematch of a week three game in which the Cowboys beat the Giants, 23-16, at MetLife Stadium on Monday Night Football. Mike McCarthy’s Cowboys will look to sweep the Giants for the second straight season on Thanksgiving.
It won’t be as easy as it was last year when the Giants were among the worst teams in the league. New head coach Brian Daboll, the former Buffalo offensive coordinator, has brought a new attitude and a new culture to a Giants organization that had the worst record in the league over the past five years.
The Cowboys, who are 31-22-1 in their Thanksgiving Day history, have gone 0-7 against the spread the past seven years. Last year they were upset by the Las Vegas Raiders, 36-33, in overtime and two years ago were blown out by Washington, 41-16.
The Picks: Check the lines, of course, but take Buffalo as long as the spread isn’t too high (more than 10) and the over in the early game. And take the Giants and the points and the under in the second game.
Make sure you check the different New York sportsbooks to ensure you are getting the best line for each contest.
If you or anyone you know has a gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER.