COVID-19 has reared its ugly head once again and now the third game of Thanksgiving night has been postponed until Sunday, giving the holiday the look and feel of a pre-2006, a time before Thursday Night Football.
The Baltimore Ravens will now play the undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers this Sunday at 1:15 PM, removing this key AFC North clash from the prime time slot on Thanksgiving evening.
Many online NFL sportsbooks are running promotions that included all three NFL games being played on Thanksgiving Day, and those plans have now been scrapped or altered.
With the best matchup of the day now removed from the schedule, we can focus on the riveting contest between the 3-7 Houston Texans and the 4-6 Detroit Lions.
Houston Texans @ Detroit Lions
- Point Spread: Texans -3.0
- Money Line: Texans -170, Lions +150
- Over/Under: 51.0
We’re really trying to manufacture some enthusiasm for this early Thanksgiving Day NFL game, but there’s nothing on the line to draw casual fans to watch a battle between these two sub-.500 teams. There’s only pride to play for at this point.
The Texans were actually prominently featured in the Super Bowl 55 championship odds during the pre-season, but they fell into a hole early without their star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who was traded to the Arizona Cardinals during the offseason.
The Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day is a nearly 100-year-old tradition, but times have changed, and so has the viewing audience for the NFL’s product.
This year will mark the 55th Super Bowl. Detroit has never been to one. Their last playoff victory was in 1991. That’s 29 years ago. Barry Sanders was a young man in 1991!
Not only should the league intervene and remove the Lions from the Thanksgiving Day offerings at once, but the NFL should also consider taking over their front office operations. To not win an NFL Playoff game for 30 years represents an unacceptable level of failure at any level, business, or otherwise.
What will it take for the NFL to reconsider the Detroit Lions’ inclusion on Thanksgiving? Another 30 years without a playoff win or another 55 without a Super Bowl title?
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell needs to make the call and terminate this eye-sore on an otherwise prestigious holiday event.
Washington Football Team @ Dallas Cowboys
- Point Spread: Dallas -3.0
- Money Line: Washington +130, Dallas -150
- Over/Under: 46.0
Speaking of eye-sores, the NFC East is still continuing to underperform, with each of the division’s four teams winning three games a piece after 11 weeks of action. Pathetic.
However, someone has to win this thing and go to the playoffs, and since these two NFC East teams are forced to play each other, once of them will have to walk away with a win – unless they tie!
Washington pasted the Cowboys by over 20 points less than a month ago, so we’re not exactly sure what oddsmakers are seeing now to make Dallas a 3 point favorite, but it seems like a risky bet.
Naturally, these Thanksgiving Day betting lines will see plenty of action as they have an exclusive national audience that can only be compared to the Super Bowl, only not in actual game interest.
If the NFL isn’t careful and continues to produce lackluster games for Thanksgiving, fans will eventually tune out and change the channel, or they might go out on a limb and shift their focus to spending time with family.
We’ll just have to wonder what could have been this evening when night falls and there is no Thanksgiving football on TV. We’ll have to wait to adjust our Super Bowl predictions until after the Ravens vs. Steelers game on Sunday.