TheLines.com: NFL’s Thanksgiving schedule a recipe for betting

The NFL offers a Thanksgiving Day tradition only equaled by turkey for dinner, each year offering a slate of games that are easily among the most watched and most wagered-on games of the regular season, according to TheLines.com, which tracks odds in the U.S. regulated sports betting market.

Playing their traditional Thanksgiving Day home roles, the Detroit Lions enter the week as 2.5-point underdogs to the Houston Texans, according to a consensus of that nation’s largest legal online sportsbooks — including FanDuel, DraftKings, PointsBet, PlaySugarHouse, and BetMGM. Meanwhile, the Dallas Cowboys will host the rival Washington Football Team as 2.5-point favorites. Thanksgiving’s games will peak with a heavyweight matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and the undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers, who enter the week as 3-point home favorites.

In their long history as Thanksgiving hosts, the Lions are 37-41-2 straight-up on the holiday, including 4-7 since 2009. Meanwhile, the Cowboys have gone 31-20-1 straight-up, though only 5-6 since 2009. Against the spread, the Lions are 6-5 over the last 11 Thanksgiving Day games, while the Cowboys have struggled at 2-9. Whether playing at home or on the road, favorites have gone 19-14 against the spread since 2009.

“Thanksgiving games mirror what we see on the weekly Thursday Night games, with quality teams enjoying a particular advantage during the short week of preparation,” said Brett Collson, lead analyst for TheLines.com. “But like any Thursday Night game, the results of Thanksgiving games can be difficult to predict, which is often what makes them such a fun holiday tradition.”

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The consensus point spreads for Week 12 games, as of Monday, Nov. 23:

• Houston Texans (-2.5) at Detroit Lions; over/under 50.5
• Washington Football Team at Dallas Cowboys (-2.5); over/under 47
• Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers (-3); over/under 45.5
• Arizona Cardinals (-2.5) at New England Patriots; over/under 48
• Carolina Panthers at Minnesota Vikings (-4.5); over/under N/A
• Cleveland Browns (-6) at Jacksonville Jaguars; over/under 48.5
• Los Angeles Chargers at Buffalo Bills (-5.5); over/under 53.5
• Miami Dolphins (-6.5) at New York Jets; over/under 45.5
• Las Vegas Raiders (-2) at Atlanta Falcons; over/under 56
• New York Giants (-4.5) at Cincinnati Bengals; over/under 41.5
• Tennessee Titans at Indianapolis Colts (-3.5); over/under 49.5
• New Orleans Saints (-5.5) at Denver Broncos; over/under 45
• San Francisco 49ers at Los Angeles Rams (-6.5); over/under N/A
• Kansas City Chiefs (-2.5) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers; over/under N/A
• Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers (-7.5); over/under
• Seattle Seahawks (-4.5) at Philadelphia Eagles; over/under

To access the updated futures lines for every NFL team, and for more analysis, visit TheLines.com/odds/super-bowl. To access Week 12 odds, visit www.thelines.com/nfl-week-12-lines-2020.

About TheLines.com:
TheLines.com is a leading source for news, analysis, and research related to the market for regulated sports betting in the United States. Affiliated with the PlayUSA.com Network, TheLines.com provides original daily reporting and offers player advocacy tools related to the advancement of safe, licensed, and legal online sports betting. Based in Las Vegas, the PlayUSA Network is independently owned and operated, with no affiliations to any casino — commercial, tribal, online, or otherwise.