Thanksgiving Football Betting Guide: NFL Odds, Analysis, How To Bet Each Game
Football and Thanksgiving are the perfect marriage as no other sport is so uniquely tied to a holiday. The NFL has been playing games on Turkey Day for a full century now, and these days the league features three nationally broadcast games on the holiday. These games not only garner massive TV ratings, but are also some of the most wagered-on games of the year. Here is a betting guide with Thanksgiving football odds to get you ready for one of the best days on the US sports calendar. We will feature live point spreads for the Bears (+10.5) at Lions (-10.5), Giants (+3.5) at Cowboys (-3.5) and Dolphins (+3) at Packers (-3).
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Here are live Thanksgiving football game odds along with a betting preview of each holiday contest.
Chicago Bears (+10.5) at Detroit Lions (-10.5)
The Lions, the current Super Bowl favorites, are 10-1 and have won nine straight. The 4-7 Bears are 0-4 away from Soldier Field this season.
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The Bears versus Lions spread opened with Detroit favored -3.5. The initial total of this game was 44.5.New York
Giants (+3.5) at Dallas Cowboys (-3.5)
These NFC East rivals are facing each other for the second time this season, but this time around, both teams are starting a different QBs. Tommy DeVito has taken over as the Giants starting quarterback after New York parted ways with Daniel Jones. Cooper Rush is starting for Dallas due to Dak Prescott having season-ending surgery.
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The Cowboys opened as a sizable favorite over the NFC East rival Giants. Dallas began as an -8 favorite, and the initial over under was 44.5.
Miami Dolphins (+3.5) at Green Bay Packers (-3.5)
The nightcap of the NFL Thanksgiving Day slate takes place at Lambeau Field and will feature a showdown between Tua Tagovailoa and Jordan Love. The Miami Dolphins are winners of three straight, while Green Bay is contending for a wild card spot with an 8-3 record.
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The Packers opened as a -3 betting favorite over the Dolphins. Green Bay versus Miami had an opening total of 48.5.
Because of the betting interest in each Thanksgiving Day football game, lines have been up at sportsbooks for months. Here are what the opening Thanksgiving football odds looked like when they were released in May.
- Bears +3.5 at Lions -3.5
- Giants +8 at Cowboys -8
- Dolphins +3 at Packers -3
Black Friday Football Odds
The 2024 NFL schedule also includes a Black Friday game between the Las Vegas Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs.
Las Vegas Raiders (+13.5) at Kansas City Chiefs (-13.5)
Patrick Mahomes and the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs are hosting the Raiders in this year's Black Friday game. KC won the October game between these AFC West foes, 27-20. The Chiefs, at 10-1, are tied for the league's best record with the Detroit Lions. Las Vegas, on the other hand, will take the field with a 2-9 record, and Desmond Ridder as the starting QB following an injury to Gardner Minshew.
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When NFL odds were released in May, the line was Chiefs -7 and Raiders +7.
Find the best Thanksgiving betting prices
Thanksgiving weekend is a fabulous time to shop and there is no better place to find the best bargains on betting odds than right here using TheLines Props Search Tool. Enter the player name or team name to find a variety of odds from the top US sportsbooks.
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Thanksgiving football schedule and TV channel
Thanksgiving Day games are currently televised by CBS, FOX, and NBC. The Lions always host the first game of the day, which kicks off at 12:30 p.m. ET, while the Cowboys host the middle game, which kicks off at 4:30 pm ET. The Thanksgiving Night game kicks off at 8:20 p.m. ET. Since 2012, CBS and FOX have rotated the early and middle games on an annual basis. CBS gets the first game in even-numbered years, while FOX has that distinction in odd-numbered years.
Prime Video, home of the TNF TV package, has the exclusive rights for the Black Friday game.
This season’s Thanksgiving games will air as follows:
- Bears at Lions TV channel: CBS 12:30 p.m. ET
- Giants at Cowboys TV channel: FOX 4:30 p.m. ET
- Dolphins at Packers TV channel: NBC 8:20 p.m. ET
The day after Thanksgiving game will air as follows:
- Raiders at Chiefs Streaming channel: Amazon Prime 3 p.m. ET
Games are also viewable on a number of authorized streaming services, such as Amazon Prime, NFL Network, FOX Sports GO, Twitch, PlayStation Vue, Hulu, Sling and YouTube TV for those who don’t have cable or satellite programming subscriptions. However, subscriptions to these streaming services are required.
How to bet Thanksgiving Day games like a sharp
Many of the same caveats that apply to betting Thursday Night Football games during the regular season are also applicable when it comes to looking at Thanksgiving football odds. After all, the teams are on the same type of shortened week as in a conventional Thursday Night Football contest, and the fact these games typically unfold in Week 12 of the regular season often makes the physical toll harder on players who have only three full days to recover from their prior contest.
All six teams playing in this year’s Thanksgiving Day games will have played their Week 11 games the previous Sunday. As is often the case, the visiting Thanksgiving Day teams will play home games in Week 11, in order to limit their travel to one trip on the short week. The Packers will host the Chargers the Sunday prior to their Thanksgiving tilt. Washington will host the Giants and the 49ers will host the Buccaneers.
Thanksgiving Day games can also offer the host teams a particularly pointed home-field advantage. The holiday contest is a long-entrenched tradition in Detroit and Dallas, where the Turkey Day game is a legitimate sell-out each season.
Needless to say, home-field edge undeniably carries the most weight when the hosts field a quality, healthy team. As is the case with many late-season games, injuries are a pivotal factor when considering a bet on the contest. Key absences can derail even the most formidable of home-field advantages, especially on a short week.
- The Lions, who have suffered through extended periods of ineptitude, are just 37-44-2 straight-up in Thanksgiving Day games, including 4-10 since the 2009 season. In contrast, the Cowboys, who have enjoyed much more overall success than Detroit in the last several decades, are an impressive 32-22-1 straight-up in Thanksgiving games - although only 6-8 since 2009.
- All of last year's early Thanksgiving games were close with the Bills beating the Lions 28-25, the Cowboys edging the Giants 28-20, and the Vikings taking down the Patriots, 33-26.
- As for Thanksgiving NFL spreads, the Lions are actually outperforming Dallas in that category over the last decade-plus. While the Lions are 8-6 ATS over their last 13 Thanksgiving Day games, the Cowboys are a paltry 2-12 ATS on the holiday over that same span.
- Favorites – be they visitor or host -- have had a solid track record on Thanksgiving against the spread. Since 2009, favorites have gone 21-19 versus the number.
History of Thanksgiving Day football
The first official NFL games to be hosted on Thanksgiving Day occurred in 1920. However, in terms of current teams still playing annually on the holiday, the Detroit Lions have hosted a Thanksgiving Day game since the 1934 season, while the Dallas Cowboys, with the exception of the 1975 and 1977 seasons, have done the same since 1966, their seventh season in existence.
A third game, often between divisional rivals, was added as a primetime game beginning in the 2006 season with a Broncos vs. Chiefs tilt at Arrowhead Stadium. That contest aired on NFL Network. The only existing franchise that has yet to play in a Thanksgiving Day game is the Jacksonville Jaguars, which came into the league in 1995.
The first televised Thanksgiving Day game occurred in 1953 between the Lions and Packers, which aired on the now-defunct DuMont Network.
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