Week 12 NFL Betting Analysis

There are three helpings of NFL football on the menu for Thanksgiving Day again this season, while the marquee Sunday night betting matchup offers up a battle between the Green Bay Packers and the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. Here's a look at the matchups and NFL betting odds for this week's schedule of pro pigskin action.

On Thursday the festivities get underway in Detroit, with the Lions sitting as 3-point home underdogs on the NFL odds at 5Dimes with the Houston Texans coming to town. The Lions have been an ugly ATS option so far this season at just 3-6-1 against the posted NFL spread (4-6 SU), while the Texans are gaining supporters on the betting lines with a 7-3 ATS mark to go along with their stellar 9-1 SU record on the season.

The NFL trends side with the Lions for this matchup, although there's not much past data for the matchup – the teams have split their two meetings since 2004 at 1-1 SU with the Lions managing to cover the posted spread in both of those games.

After the Texans/Lions matchup on Thursday comes Washington at Dallas, with the Cowboys at 5-5 SU and 4-6 ATS on the season and pegged as 3-point home favorites against the division-rival Redskins (4-6 SU, 5-5 ATS).

Despite those middling marks the Cowboys and Redskins are both still within shouting distance of first place in the NFC East standings thanks to the Giants' recent struggles. Washington has lost six of its past seven games SU against Dallas, but their supporters on the NFL betting lines at 5Dimes saw them go 5-2 ATS in those contests.

The Thanksgiving nightcap then has New England (7-3 SU, 6-4 ATS) at the New York Jets (4-6 SU, 6-4 ATS), with Mark Sanchez and company the 7-point home underdogs at 5Dimes. The Jets fell 29-26 to the Patriots on the road when the teams met back in late October, but New England was a big 11.5-point favorite in that contest and didn't come close to covering the spread on the day.

The Jets have paid off on the NFL betting lines in five of their past 10 games against the Patriots, with New England winning six of those games SU. UNDER bettors haven't been paid in Pats/Jets matchups over the past few seasons, with the OVER/UNDER going 7-2-1 over their last 10 meetings – and the OVER currently on a strong 6-0 run.

The Sunday afternoon slate around the NFL this week has Minnesota at Chicago (off), Oakland at Cincinnati (-9.5), Pittsburgh at Cleveland (off), Buffalo at Indianapolis (-3), Denver at Kansas City (+11.5), Seattle at Miami (+2.5), Atlanta at Tampa Bay (pick), Tennessee at Jacksonville (+2.5), Baltimore at San Diego (pick), St. Louis at Arizona (-1), and San Francisco at New Orleans (off).

On Sunday night it's then Green Bay (7-3 SU, 5-5 ATS) at the Giants (6-4 SU, 4-6 ATS), with New York sitting as a 2.5-point home favorite at 5Dimes despite their current two-game losing streak – and the Packers' current five-game winning streak. The Packers are 6-4 SU and 5-5 ATS over their last 10 meetings with the Giants, while the OVER has paid out in five straight Green Bay/New York contests since 2007.