A massive sports betting week for the NFL kicks off with a trio of Thanksgiving Day games featuring plenty of wagering options.
The theme of this Turkey Day is clear: home favorites. The Detroit Lions, Dallas Cowboys, and Green Bay Packers are getting the majority of action and money at several U.S. sportsbooks.
The Lions, as one of the most popular teams for bettors, start and highlight Thanksgiving Day’s games against divisional foe Chicago. Detroit is BetMGM’s biggest liability in the Super Bowl winner market as they’ve moved from +325 to +260 this week.
As a 9.5-point favorite at DraftKings, Detroit is getting 81% of the handle and 72% of the bets among Bears vs. Lions predictions and picks. BetMGM has reported a similar split with the Lions (-10.5) getting 76% of bets and 89% of the handle.
Top receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown was designated as questionable for this game, which likely caused the line to drop from 10.5 to 10 at ESPN BET. He’s trending toward being available. Regardless, 82.8% of the tickets and 78% of the money is backing the Lions at the online operator.
Cowboy up
The team getting the highest handle among sportsbooks’ early-week reporting is the Cowboys, who host the ailing New York Giants in the second game of Thanksgiving Day. As a 3.5-point favorite, Dallas is getting 91% of the handle at DraftKings, 89% at BetMGM, 83% at ESPN BET, and 82% at Caesars.
bet365 said 76% of all spread plays are on the home team while DraftKings has seen 90% of the moneyline handle backing Dallas.
The Cowboys are coming off a wild win at Washington last Sunday and face a Giants team that hasn’t won a game since Oct. 6 and released quarterback Daniel Jones late last week.
Back the Pack
In the night game, bet365 said the Packers have taken 64% of all spread plays against the Miami Dolphins despite the line dropping a half point to -3.
The Packers are getting 74% of the bets and 65% of the money at BetMGM while ESPN BET is reporting 73.1% of the handle backing the home team.
DraftKings reported that 58% of tickets are on the Dolphins but just 42% of the money believes in the road underdog.
Total time
Typically, games played in climate-controlled stadiums are prone to wagers on the over. While that usually applies to the high-scoring Lions, that’s not the case this week. bet365 said it has seen more under action than in recent Detroit games likely due to the Bears’ struggling offense and the Lions’ recent 24-6 victory in Week 12.
Still, with a total of 48.5, DraftKings reported that 84% of the handle and 73% of bets are on the over.
The Cowboys and Giants are both on backup quarterbacks at this point in the season, which could be the cause for a significant split. Over 38.5 is getting 72% of the bets at BetMGM, but 57% of the money is on the under. At ESPN BET, the total has dropped to 37, and while just 23.5% of the bets are on the under, it’s getting 53.3% of the money.
At BetMGM, the total of 46.5 in Dolphins-Packers has the largest percentage of money on a total with 63% on the under, which is also getting 60% of the tickets.
Turkey Day touchdowns
It should come as no surprise that Green Bay’s Josh Jacobs is the leader in anytime TD wagers at both ESPN BET and bet365. The Packers running back has scored six touchdowns in his last four games and is listed at -138 to find the end zone by bet365.
Detroit’s rushing duo of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs are listed second and third among ESPN BET’s most-bet TD scorers for Thursday. Cowboys wideout CeeDee Lamb and Dolphins pass-catcher Tyreek Hill round out the top five.
