Happy Thanksgiving

Ah it’s Thanksgiving Day, which means it’s time for the Thanksgiving Touchdown Trifecta. Thanksgiving is a day like no other. For some it is about reflecting on the year and appreciating the good things in their lives. For others, it is about loading your body with enough carbohydrates to survive an eight hour Black Friday war zone. (Sleep is temporary, $20 air fryers are forever) And for us football fans, it is a day dedicated to eating and watching football. It’s a holiday tradition to see how much turkey you can eat, and still manage to stay awake to see the Lions annual Thanksgiving field goal attempt. However, if you are trying to make it to pie time this year without an alarm clock, I recommend putting some stake on these games. But no steak on your plates, come on it’s Turkey Day.

Touchdown Trifecta

Thanksgiving is offering us full plates of turkey, tryptophan, and touchdowns. Alliteration is fun. What’s also fun is trying to guess who is scoring the touchdowns. So, I’m going to predict three touchdown scorers between the two Thanksgiving games. Then, parlay those touchdown scorers together for a shot to win enough money to fund this year’s Christmas decorations. I want to be the first house ever seen from space.

DAL v. WAS Touchdown: Ezekiel Elliott

No, there is not much of note I could report about Zeke’s 2020 season so far. The Cowboys have continued their tradition of emotionally wrecking their fans, while still being just good enough to dangle a thread of playoff hopes in front of them. It’s borderline inhumane how they find new ways to disappoint their fans year in and year out. Just take a note from Washington and offer zero expectations to your fanbase. Their 3-7 start is a “surprisingly good season” while Dallas’ 3-7 looks like a blazing 10 car pileup. However, if there is any bright spot to report about the Cowboys, it is that they actually looked like a football team last week against Minnesota. That means this week we have a tantalizing matchup between The Football Team and a football team. I know I’m excited!

Betting on this game is dangerous, because you just don’t know which version of these teams will show up. However, coming out of a bye week, Dallas looked like they might be able to move the ball again. Zeke had his first 100-yard rushing game of the season last week, and the o-line looked competent again. With Pro Bowl guard Zack Martin moving to the tackle spot, Zeke was able to find some rushing lanes last week. I expect that momentum to carry over to Thanksgiving, and Zeke will find the endzone. The line for an Elliott touchdown on Draftkings is currently -143.

DET v. HOU Touchdown: Will Fuller (And Cooks?)

Question: How do you pick someone to score a touchdown in a game with the Lions? Answer: Find anyone with hands on the other side of the line. The Lions have been bad all year, but bad doesn’t even describe their secondary. Just look at last week, when Carolina wheeled out an XFL quarterback and shut out Detroit. In that game, Carolina had 3 receivers with at least 7 catches and Samuel snagged a touchdown. I’m betting that if PJ Walker can throw a touchdown in his first NFL start, Deshaun Watson should throw multiple. On top of that, Lions’ first-round corner Jeff Okudah is nursing a shoulder injury. Not that Okudah has been effective in stopping the pass this year, but him being out or injured certainly doesn’t help matters.

Now picking Fuller among the Texans receivers to score is simply because he’s a primary receiver in Houston. Frankly, I would bet that Fuller and Cooks both score in this game, but Draftkings doesn’t let you make same game parlays. If your Sportsbook does, and you’re looking for a little extra gravy on your Thanksgiving bet slip, take them both. Taking an elite QB like Deshaun Watson facing off with an atrocious secondary is a bet that’s easy to back. And with Cooks and Fuller both looking like legit top wide receivers, I think they both have massive games finding the endzone. I like Fuller slightly more because he has been Watson’s favorite endzone target in 2020. Also, Fuller will likely be looking for another touchdown after a 2-week drought following a 6-game touchdown streak. The betting line for a Fuller (or Cooks) TD on Draftkings Sportsbook is currently +130.

Winning Time

Now originally, there were supposed to be three Thanksgiving day games for us NFL fans to enjoy. However, due to unfortunate COVID-19 related issues, the Pittsburgh vs. Baltimore game has been postponed until Sunday. That’s tough news since that was the prime matchup of Thanksgiving. However, let’s be honest, you were probably going to be asleep by that kickoff anyway. So now you get an extra game to watch Sunday, and that’s something to be thankful for. But, for the two Thanksgiving day games we do get, there’s money to be made. Since I couldn’t pick a touchdown scorer for the Pittsburgh v. Baltimore game, I threw in a second touchdown scorer I like from Houston to complete the Thanksgiving Touchdown Trifecta.

When parlaying a Zeke Elliott touchdown with a Will Fuller touchdown you get an odds line of +291. If your betting platform allows you to parlay all 3 TD picks of Elliott, Fuller, and Cooks, that line will come out at +799. However you bet this Thanksgiving, please bet responsibly, enjoy the holiday, and let’s win some money. Good luck!

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