NFL Turkey Day Predictions

With Thanksgiving tomorrow and the national pastime to watch the NFL games before pigging out, I decided to preview that jam-packed slate that is on tomorrow. This year, instead of the traditional one game- there is three games on, and they are all pretty interesting.
New England Patriots at the New York Jets

This is going to be a very interesting game- the last time they faced, New England eked out a 3-point overtime victory in front of there home crowd- and now they're traveling to New York without one of the most important parts of there offense. The Gronk. Against the Colts last week, and the end of the game nearing with a 51-24 lead- tight end Rob Gronkowski broke his forearm and Patriots fans everywhere screamed at the wall. And so did the millions of fantasy football owners throughout the world at the sight of the #1 fantasy football tight end go down. The Patriots will feel the pain of playing without there chief playmaker, but you can't forget the guy that they have behind center- Tom Brady. You can gurantee there will be very few three and outs when he's playing, and even though the Patriots defense is horrific- the Jets aren't built to score. With the two most overrated players in the NFL (according to a SI players poll) in Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow, the Jets are going to go three and out often and end up falling to far back to have a chance. My prediction: Patriots 30, Jets 20
Houston Texans at the Detroit Lions

Coming into this Thanksgiving match up  the two teams are going in opposite directions. The Houston Texans are coming in with a record of 9-1, a top-ranked running back with Arian Foster and a 4 game winning streak. They also have a shutdown defense who is 2nd in rushing defense and 7th in passing defense. On the other side of the spectrum, the Detroit Lions are coming in with a 4-6 record, clinging to the hope of a postseason berth. They've lost two in a row, both to divisional rivals. However, this game might not be a complete domination by the Texans- they've got there hands full with the best, statistically speaking, quarterback in the league in Matthew Stafford and the best wide receiver in Calvin "Megatron" Johnson. This passing attack is ranked number one in the league, and Stafford is averaging over 300 yards a game, a shocking number. This matchup with the Texans strong secondary should be interesting, as they only normally give up only 210 yards a game. I think, that overall- both of these teams are pretty equal, just that the Lions have struggled this year. I'm going to go with a upset: Lions 28, Texans 21
Washington Redskins at the Dallas Cowboys

This is going to be a great game between two teams that are close to equal and big time divisional rivals. Coming into this game, the Redskins are 4-6, but are drawing huge crowds because everybody wants to see the next big thing- Robert Griffin III, or RG3. The Cowboys have a better record, at 5-5, and come in to this with a two game win streak and the great news that there superstar running back Demarco Murray is back and can play. Both of these teams need a win urgently! If the Redskins win, they pull into a second place tie with the Cowboys in the NFC East- and if the Cowboys win, they pull ahead a game on the Redskins, which will basically eliminate the Redskins playoff chances. Both of these teams are talented- the Redskins #2 rated rush attack and the Cowboys #7 passing attack- but I think in the end, the return of Demarco Murray to help out the Cowboys #29 rushing will give them the edge. My prediction: Cowboys 36, Redskins 20