It’s finally time for the annual NFL Thanksgiving games and there is a great slate of games this year. The Bills take on the Lions at home at 12:30 est. the Giants take on the Cowboys at 4:30 est., and the Patriots take on the Vikings at 8:20 est. Before these games start let’s predict how each game will go, and why that’s how it’ll likely go.
First Thanksgiving game: Bills 38 – Lions 31
While the Lions have been playing great football as of late the Bills are one of the best teams in the league and the Lions are missing some key players. The Lions will be without both of their starting guards Jonah Jackson and Evan Brown and will be missing their complementary pieces to Aidan Hitchunson in Charles Harris and Josh Paschal. Along with those key injuries, the biggest of them all is missing Jeff Okudah due to the new concussion protocol rules. While the Bills aren’t nearly as injured as the Lions they are still going to miss some big players in Tremaine Edmunds and Greg Rousseau.
Even with all these injuries though, since the start of the year, the Bills have been the better teams, largely due to their star quarterback and wide receiver duo, Josh Allen and Stephon Diggs. Allen is one of the league’s best running QBs and an incredible passer, which will pose a great threat for the Lions with their secondary and linebackers not playing great against QBs like that. Also, Stephon Diggs is already one of the best receivers in the league and the Lions will be without their best corner. The Lions will likely still manage to put up a fight in this Thanksgiving matchup, but it feels like there is no way the Bills don’t win this one.
Second Thanksgiving Game: Cowboys 34 – Giants 21
If you were asking about this game before Week 11 this prediction would be a lot closer, but last week revealed a lot about both of these teams. The Giants got destroyed by the Lions, losing 31-18, and the Cowboys obliterated the 8-1 Vikings 40-3. You could say purely based on those two games that the Cowboys are going to win this game, but there are a lot of factors that go into why the Cowboys should win this one.
The main advantage that the Cowboys have over the Giants is their pass rush versus the Gaints’ offensive line. The Cowboys’ pass rush had an incredible collective game against the Vikings last week, and the Giants are projected to be missing 4 of their starting offensive lineman. When you’re offensive line isn’t good, to begin with, then you lose four of the starters against one of the defensive lines in the league your quarterback is in for a world of pain. So while there is a chance for an upset, this Thanksgiving game is almost a lock for a Cowboys win.
Final Thanksgiving Game: Vikings 24 – Patriots 20
This is probably the best matchup of all of Thanksgiving day and you can make a case for both teams here, but I believe the Vikings will take it away. The Vikings are coming off an extremely embarrassing loss to the Cowboys, 40-3, so they will likely come into this matchup angry and ready to prove to the world that that game was just a fluke and that they are still one of the best teams in the league. The Patriots are likely going to make this an extremely tough task for the Vikings though
The Patriots have probably the best defense that the Vikings have played this year and the second-best pass rush they have faced. However, the Patriots’ offense has been extremely sub-par this year. All it takes for the Vikings’ offense to get going is for Justin Jefferson to break free on some routes quickly, but the Patriots don’t have that type of offensive firepower to do that. So while this game could go either way, I think the Vikings take away this Thanksgiving game despite it being Kirk Cousins in Primetime.
