Thanksgiving NFL Betting guide
Minty Bets has the betting preview you have been looking for. She dives into her best bets in all three of the Turkey Day matchups. Pamela Maldonado will join Minty tomorrow to break down the rest of the NFL slate.
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Video Transcript
MINTY BETS: Welcome to Yahoo Sportsbook Daily. It's Thursday, November 25. And I am your betting guide, Minty Bets, here to preview every game on the board for Turkey day. Let's start with the Bears and Lions. The Bears are 3 and 1/2 point favorites and the total is 41. I got to go with the over here. OK? This one is tough to call because Fields and Goff will be unlikely to start, which leaves us with Andy Dalton and Tim Boyle. So I certainly can't bet on a side here. Both teams are banged up as the Lions are down three offensive linemen, slim in the receiver core, and defense is poor.
The Bears are in bad shape as well. Players on injury or just coming off of injury really don't help much for Chicago. I know I said I wouldn't bet prime time totals, but this is a holiday weekend. So it doesn't count just like calories. So with that being said, I'm going to take the over with this total set very, very low. Both of these defenses are not only struggling, but will be tired coming off a short week. So I expect some scoring.
Moving on to the Raiders and Cowboys. The Cowboys are 7 and 1/2 point home favorites. And the total is set at 51. It's clear that the Raiders are dealing with a lot right now. And it's affecting them on the field, and most importantly affecting Derek Carr. They're going up against a team accumulating some of the most total yards per game, scoring some of the most points per game, and being one of the best covering teams of the season. It's going to be tough. But the Cowboys have been struggling. And they're 1 and 9 against the spread on Thanksgiving.
Let me give you another nugget. The Raiders have only been underdogs of 5 or more points twice this season, once against the Steelers, and once against the Broncos. The Raiders won outright in both of those games. 7 points, 7 and 1/2 points, is far too much to lay with the Cowboys. I think I'll take my chances with the Raiders as they bounce back from their slump and keep it within a score. Of course, when you beat the underdog to cover, you got to throw some money on the money line as well. The Raiders could very well upset the Cowboys on Thanksgiving.
And lastly, we've got the Bills minus 5 and 1/2 in New Orleans. I know the Saints have looked ugly as of late, especially under Trevor Siemian. However, other than that game last week against Philly, the Saints have been able to keep things within 2 points in their last two losses. I think the Bills may be overlooking this game, as they have to face a divisional rival in the Patriots after that. Buffalo's defense is solid against the pass. And it looks like they're good defending the run as well. But they are tied fifth in allowing the most rushing touchdowns.
Although Alvin Kamara is out with a knee injury, and Mark Engram is questionable, they have to somehow get the ground game going if they want to keep up with the Bills and take advantage of what's weak in their defense. The Saints are in no way the better team. But 5 and 1/2 points is too much to give the Bills after their performance the last several weeks. New Orleans is 5, 2, and 1 against the spread at home. So I will take the home underdog.
Now to recap my picks, I've got the over in the Bears, Lions game, Raiders plus 7 and 1/2, and the Saints plus 5 and 1/2. Thank you so much for listening this week and every week. Hope all have a safe Thanksgiving. You can follow me on Twitter @MintyBets. And make sure to follow all of our content over at Yahoo Sportsbook. Create a BetMGM account and place your first bet risk free bet up to $1,000. If your bet loses, you get your bet amount up to $1,000 added back to your account in free bets.
You must be 21 and older in Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming only. Terms apply. Go to betmgm.com/yahoo to get started. Or use promo code Yahoo when making your first deposit. Pam and I will be back tomorrow to host the next episode on Yahoo Sportsbook Daily, previewing some more NFL. Until then, good bye and good luck.