Thanksgiving Day in America means one thing in the UK – three NFL games one after the other – except this year there are only two because positive Covid-19 tests have put paid to the last one on the schedule. That leaves us with a double header which begins with the Detroit Lions taking on the Houston Texans.
With the Detroit Lions coming into the match with a 4-6 record and the Texans 3-7 for their year, there isn’t much of a competitive feel about this game so it will just be the national spotlight being on them that will drive both teams to perform.
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions go into Turkey Day off the back of three defeats in their last four matches and their latest outing was probably the worst of all as they were unable to score a single point against the Carolina Panthers. They can be excused of the other defeats in that run as the Minnesota Vikings and the Indianapolis Colts are more formidable opposition. Detroit will also know they don’t have the best recent record in the Thanksgiving Day match so they will be out to put that right here.
Clearly after being nilled last week the Lions won’t need to go and search too deep for where their issues lie. Offensively they have been found wanting with quarterback Matt Stafford struggling with an injury. The other issue they have had has been that their rushing defence hasn’t lived up to expectation so when teams are getting in front of them they are able to pull away even when their primary aim is to run the clock down.
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Houston Texans
The Houston Texans made a horrendous start to the season but they have won two of their last three matches including one on Sunday so they are building up a head of steam, although critics would suggest that in the Jacksonville Jaguars and New England Patriots they haven’t beaten a whole lot in those games. You can only beat what is in front of you and fans of the Texans would argue that they are not up against a whole lot here.
There is no getting away from the fact that DeShaun Watson has been disappointing this term but the amazing decision to trade DeAndre Hopkins away has really come back to hurt this side. You didn’t need to be a psychic to see this happening but it has any they now need to deal with it. It might be that they have the perfect opponents to feast on here although away sides on the short week can sometimes struggle.
Betting
I like the Houston Texans here and I don’t think it is asking too much of them to cover a field goal in this game. The Detroit Lions offense just isn’t firing and off a short week that is unlikely to change here. The other thing that isn’t working terribly well for the Lions is their rushing defence and the Texans certainly have players who can take advantage of that, and if they get in front the Detroit defence might find it hard to get the Texans offense off the field.
I’m not normally one for backing away sides in these short weeks but I do like ones who have a bit of momentum going their way and won’t have needed to do too much work on the practice field to tone up on what is going wrong. There is something about the Lions that doesn’t get along with Thanksgiving and if they are not careful that might become a bit more of a burden for them than they would like. It all leads to the Texans for me.
Tips
WON – Back Houston Texans (-3) to beat Detroit Lions for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with 888sport
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