How about a little football to go with your Thanksgiving dinner? The NFL has a triple header on deck for Thursday’s holiday and features a number of playoff hopefuls and Super Bowl threats. In fact, the .650 winning percentage between these teams is the second highest since the league expanded to three games at Thanksgiving. Five of the six teams playing Thanksgiving also have a winning record, which ties a league high.
As we do every week for the entire list, we’ve rounded up all the top Thanksgiving picks and gaming content from CBSSports.com and SportsLine and put them all in one place, so you can get picks against the spread. from our CBS Sports experts as well as additional content for every game, including games from top SportsLine experts and the SportsLine projection model, best bets from our staff, survivor picks and more.
All NFL odds through Caesars Sportsbook.
What choices can you make with confidence in week 12? And which Super Bowl contender falls hard? Visit SportsLinebecause its amazing model simulates every NFL game 10,000 times and is up almost $7,000 for $100 of top rated players NFL Picks since its creation.
Time: Thursday, 12:30 p.m. ET (CBS), airing on Paramount+ (Click here)
Open: Tickets -10
Running: Invoices -9.5
Featured Game | Detroit Lions vs. Buffalo Bills
“This has the makings of a game with a lot of offense. Both teams can score, but the Bills can really score. They’ll put a big number here as Josh Allen wins a second consecutive game in Detroit after beating the Browns last week in the same building. The track is fast and the Bills can fly. The Lions will not follow.” — Pete Prisco, senior NFL analyst at CBS Sportsthe Bills cover the gap by 9.5 points and this game is well over the 54.5 total.
“The Lions have been rolling for the past few weeks, but I’m just having a hard time betting against Josh Allen with this line under double digits. Yes, Detroit’s defense has played better in its last three games, but that was against the Packers, Bear and giants. The Buffalo attack is a whole different animal. Allen has always played well on Thanksgiving as the Bills are 2-0 SU in both games and the QB has a 100+ passer rating in each contest. While I think Buffalo’s offense can reach the 30s inside at Ford Field, I don’t see the Lions doing that in this context. Concretely, I have doubts because of the protection in front Jared Goff. Detroit ranks 24th on the NFL’s pass blocking team this season, according to Pro Football Focus. Meanwhile, Buffalo is the third-best passing-rushing team in the league with the same scoring system.” — Tyler Sullivan of CBS Sports on why he takes the Bills -9.5 as one of his best bets for Week 12.
“Allen has actually only crossed that line once in the last four games, but I think he’s hitting the Over here against poor defense. The star quarterback is averaging a career-high of 293 passing yards per game this season.” — CBS Sports NFL Betting Guru Jordan Dajani on why is i like Josh Allen to pass his accessory 281.5 yards passing at -127.
“On paper it looks like a game the Lions have no chance of winning, but if I’ve learned one thing in my life about choosing NFL gamesis that teams always seem to win when you think they have no chance of winning, especially when they’re coached by a guy whose most famous quote involves biting your kneecaps. I have no idea what Dan Campbell eats at his house on Thanksgiving, but there’s a 50% chance it’s kneecaps.
“The big issue in this game for the Lions is that they have one of the worst defenses in the NFL this year and they’ll be playing a Bills offense that has been one of the best. The Lions gave up the most yards per game and the most points per game and that’s definitely not a good combination when the team you’re playing against ranks second in points scored and yards per game.
“If this game had been played four weeks ago, I probably would have picked the Bills by 30, but the Lions are suddenly one of the hottest teams in football. If you combine that with the fact that the Bills have been in a slight offensive rut, that’s the recipe for a game that could go all the way. I told you we’d be talking about recipes. — John Breech, CBS Sports NFL Writer and Pick Six Podcast Co-Host on why he picks the Bills to narrowly beat the Lions, 30-27.
Time: Thursday, 4:30 p.m. ET (Fox), streaming on fuboTV (try for free)
Open: Cowboys -7
Running: Cowboys-9
Featured Game | Dallas Cowboys vs. New York Giants
“It has the makings of a Cowboys rout, much the same as Dallas’ 40-3 win over Minnesota just days ago. New York showed a few cracks in its foundation in the loss. against Detroit and lost several key contributors, including top cornerback i love jackson. That should keep the Cowboys offense humming along, but it’s their defense that could really put the game to rest. The Giants allow the second highest pressure rating (45%) in the NFL this season, when the Cowboys put the most pressure on opposing quarterbacks in the league. In Week 3, Dallas pressured daniel jones 27 times in victory, which is the third most games this season. With the Giants as fucked up as they are and Dallas playing at the championship level, they will win by double digits.” — Tyler Sullivan, CBS Sports NFL Writer on why he’s taking Dallas to cover against New York as one of his five locks of the week.
The SportsLine projection model, which simulates every NFL game 10,000 times, enters Week 12 of the 2022 NFL season on an incredible 155-109 run on the best NFL Picks which dates back to the 2017 season. Now the model is eyeing a six-legged Thanksgiving bet that would pay nearly 50-1. One of those legs is the 45+ point total in the Cowboys-Giants game. As for the rest, you will need to go to SportsLine.
“When these two teams met in Week 3, the Cowboys won 23-16 and it was with Cooper Rush. In this game, the Cowboys fired daniel jones five times and picked it once and I think we’re going to see the same on Thursday. The Cowboys have won 10 of the last 11 games in this series and I don’t see that dominance ending this week.
“This is the first time these two teams have played Thanksgiving since 1992. Thirty years ago, the Cowboys destroyed the Giants 30-3 and then won the superbowl Two months later. I’m not saying it’s going to happen this year, but I’m not saying that.” — CBS Sports’ John Breech why he likes the Cowboys beating the Giants, 31-17.
“The Giants are coming off of a horrible home performance against the Lions, which means they might have anticipated this one. The Cowboys turned things around in their blowout victory over the vikings. The defense dominated, and they will dominate here too. The Giants are too limited on offense.” — Pete Prisco, senior NFL analyst at CBS Sports says the Cowboys defense will once again lead them to victory.
Time: Thursday, 8:20 p.m. ET (NBC), streaming on fuboTV (try for free)
Open: vikings -3.5
Running: Vikings-3
Featured game | Minnesota Vikings vs. New England Patriots
The SportsLine projection model has simulated NFL Thanksgiving Day games 10,000 times and reviewed Caesars Sportsbook’s dozens of player props. We can tell you that the model indicates that Vikings WR Jefferson is passing 88.5 receiving yards (-117), with the model projecting that he finishes with 99 on average. However, the model also says another star skims over her yardage total and offers an accessory with an extra payment. To see what it is, check out SportsLine.
“Now this is the most intriguing Thanksgiving game for me. The last time the patriots played Thanksgiving, they beat the New York Jets 49-19 in the “Butt Fumble” match. Speaking of beating the Jets, that’s what the Patriots did last week on an 84-yard punt return touchdown with just five seconds left in the fourth quarter. They seemed like the better team all afternoon, but it took them an incredibly long time to prove it. I thought McJones it was okay. He completed 23 of 27 passes for 246 yards, which is the highest completion percentage Jones has had this season (85.2%). The wind played a role in this match, but the defense was outstanding. They fired Zach Wilson four times and allowed only 103 yards of total offense! In rank teams competing for wildcard spots in the AFC, I actually have the Patriots at No. 2. They could make a second-half run — just like they did last year.
“As for the Vikings, yes, that 40-3 loss to the Cowboys is going to take some time to recover. Still, they can pull a page out of the Cowboys’ book and force everyone to forget about it with a dominant win. Thanksgiving Even with Dalvin Cook and Justin Jefferson, I can’t help but be impressed with New England’s defense. This unit has allowed just 7.7 points per game in the last three contests and allows a 19% conversion rate on third downs in the same period. The Patriots have the second-highest pressure rating in the NFL this season, while the Vikings allow the fifth-highest pressure rating. I will say that of the three Thanksgiving contests, I’m the least confident on this one when it comes to picking a side. I’ll take the Patriots to surprise here, and I like the Over.” — Jordan Dajani of CBS Sports feels an upheaval in Minnesota as the SU Patriots beat the Vikings in the Thanksgiving Finals while also hitting the Over.
RJ White, a fantasy and games editor for CBS Sports, consistently smashes as SportsLine’s #1 NFL expert. Along with owning a 445-378-24 on his 2017-21 ATS picks, he’s been especially sharp when it comes to the Vikings. On his last 84 picks involving Minnesota, White went 52-28-4 (+$2,053), so you’ll definitely want to know where he’s leaning Thursday night. To see this choice, go to SportsLine.
“The Vikings were hampered on Sunday at home, getting crushed by the Cowboys. They’ll bounce back and play better here. New England’s offense is struggling, but the defense is playing well. Even so, I think the Vikings will react on offense in this one to win it. The Patriots offense is bad. — Pete Prisco, senior NFL analyst at CBS Sports why he takes the Vikings to beat New England by 10 in the Thanksgiving Finals.