It’s a tradition unlike any other: Thanksgiving and STN Sports Books, and you can’t spell Thanksgiving without STN… and why would you want to?
This week’s holiday comes after an NFL weekend that saw a slew of big comebacks, a Shedeur Sanders win, and a clearly defined NFC frontrunner in the Rams. “We didn’t get that big moneyline underdog winner, but a lot of ‘dogs covered,” said Chuck Esposito, Station Casinos Sports Book Director. “It was a winning day.”
Now, though, all eyes will shift to the three Thanksgiving Day games and the Black Friday standoff — games everyone will be watching as they load their holiday plates and fill up like an empty gas tank.
As we always do, let’s preview the four big holiday games and peek at what’s ahead on the STN Sports App and the STN Sports Books…
Packers-Lions
Turkey Day kicks off with an NFC North matchup between the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions, two squads looking up at the Chicago Bears for the division lead. Detroit enters the game as the favorites by a field goal, but early money has come in on the Pack, despite Josh Jacobs’s uncertain status.
“They didn’t play great against the Giants, but the Lions are a real scary team,” Esposito believes. “To me, Green Bay’s offense has really struggled.” The Packers’ defense, though, is the fourth-best in the league. Having said that, Detroit’s offense is fourth-best in the league. After this game, one team’s playoff chances will become a little slipperier than the F1 track last weekend!
“Seeing that this is the first game of the day, I think we’ll have some over money show up on the total,” Esposito said.
Chiefs-Cowboys
Both the Chiefs and the Cowboys are fighting for their playoff lives. Kansas City is 6-5, but has an ATS record of 5-6. The Cowboys are 5-5-1, and have an ATS record of 6-5. No matter who you slice it, these records are more mid than Geno Smith’s one-finger salute last Sunday.
Kansas City enters as a road favorite of around a field goal. Had Andy Reid’s squad not come back and win against the Colts last weekend, this would have been a doomsday scenario for them. Now, if they can win in Dallas, they’ll have momentum (watch out!) Plus, two of K.C.’s final three games are against the dismal Raiders and the even more dismal Titans. Let’s be honest, no one wants to face the Chiefs in the playoffs.
Dallas, meanwhile, came back from being down 21 points against the defending Super Bowl champs, so they feel like they have the wind at their back following consecutive wins. “The fact that the Cowboys have won a couple of games in a row and were able to pull that game off makes the action on this game a lot more balanced,” Esposito said of the Thursday afternoon game. “I think you’ll see some two-way action in this game because of that. I still think we’ll need the Cowboys in the game, but I think maybe bigger, we might just need to keep the game under for our side of the counter.”
Cincinnati-Baltimore
Without Joe Burrow, the Cincinnati Bengals have sunk lower than Congress’s approval rating, but the former Heisman winner is coming back this Thursday. Still, he’ll be missing a big weapon in Tee Higgins, who’s out with a concussion.
Trey Hendrickson will also not play on the defensive side. The Ravens, who just took over control of the AFC North, are favorites of a touchdown in this divisional matchup, but Joe Cool is the leading storyline, as he’s been out since his Week 2 toe injury.
“I have to think there’s going to be some rust, but he’s been in the league long enough,” Esposito said. “When all their guys are healthy, they play high-scoring games because they don’t really stop anybody, and I could see that being the case again with the Ravens. The Ravens haven’t been great, but this is a Bengals team that defensively is really, really bad.”
Chicago-Philly
The Chicago Bears might be the biggest surprise of the season, as they enter the Black Friday game with an 8-3 record. Few can honestly say they saw that coming.
Philadelphia, after losing to Dallas in a thriller, still has a fairly firm grip on the division, but the Eagles are now behind the Rams in the NFC. Another loss could have devastating home-field ramifications for the Eagles, and a Bears loss would open the window for the Green Bay-Detroit winner. The NFC North has more drama than a Wicked sequel.
“I think they’re really good, and it’s not going to stun me if they’re playing in February,” Esposito said of the Eagles, “but they just seem to kind of go through the motions right now.” Philly enters as favorites of the touchdown, and the action is expected to be one-sided.
“I think you’re going to see an influx of Eagles money show,” the STN oddsmaker said. “The Bears really have struggled to stop the run. They’re very banged up at linebacker. They’re going to need a monumental effort on Friday, and this is a really tough task, in my opinion, because of all the injuries the Bears have.”
Bets To Know
Don’t forget the salami this Thanksgiving. The STN Sports “Grand Salami” bet offers a total for all Pro Football games played on Turkey Day: over/under 155.5.
Weekly Winners
A nice little weekend parlay across football and basketball. $25 hits for $3,124!
-Rams -4.5
-Patriots -5.5
-Packers -6.5
-Longhorns money line
-Huskies money line
-Sun Devils money line
-Ducks -8.5
-Boise St. Broncos money line
-Lobos -3.5
-Commodores -9
-OKC Thunder -14.5