NFL Thanksgiving Games: Picks and non-Vikings game discussion

Thanksgiving is, first and foremost, an opportunity to spend time with friends and family. Beyond that, it gives us National Football League action, in this case three contests that should all be pretty high-quality games, to watch while we’re putting away that third helping of turkey, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie.

Our Minnesota Vikings won’t be playing until this evening, but this is a spot for everyone to talk about the other two contests that will take place today.

Things will be kicking off in about thirty minutes on CBS in Detroit, as is tradition. The Detroit Lions will serve as the hosts as they take on the Buffalo Bills, who are actually playing their second straight game at Ford Field. . .their game against the Cleveland Browns was moved there because of weather concerns in Buffalo last week. A loss for the Lions is, obviously, good for the Vikings as far as wrapping up the NFC North is concerned. That game starts at 11:30 AM Central and will be shown on WCCO-4 in the Twin Cities and CBS affiliates around the country.

From there, the scene shifts to the other traditional Thanksgiving hosts, as FOX will bring us an NFC East matchup between the New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys from Jerryworld. We know what the Cowboys did to the Vikings this past week, but we’re beyond that now. . .at least, I hope we are. These two teams are both playing for wild card position in the NFC and the Vikings will face the Giants later this season. Kickoff for this one is slated for 3:30 PM Central on FOX affiliates everywhere, including KARE-9 in the Twin Cities.

Then, of course, there’s our game, which will kick off at 7:20 PM Central time and be broadcast on NBC and streamed on Peacock as the Vikings host the New England Patriots in the first Thanksgiving home game in franchise history. Your NBC affiliate in the Twin Cities is KARE-11. We’ll have the Open Threads for our games firing up about an hour before kickoff, as we generally do.

Here are our picks for all three of today’s games, powered by our friends at Tallysight. As usual, betting lines may vary based on when people put their picks into the system. For the latest lines and numbers, be sure to check out the DraftKings Sportsbook.

With that, enjoy the early NFL action today, ladies and gentlemen, and get ready for tonight’s main event!