The NFL is back for week 12 of the regular season as the Detroit Lions take on the Green Bay Packers at Ford Field on Thanksgiving Day.
The Lions have had a superb season so far with an 8-2 record with three consecutive wins, while the Packers have had a mixed season with a 4-6 record but with two wins in their last three games.
We’ll take a look at the match-up and provide you with our best free NFL betting picks to see if we can earn you some extra cash while you take in the action on the field.
Detroit have had a magnificent season so far, starting their campaign with a shock win over reigning champions Kansas City Chiefs. They followed that up with a defeat in overtime in week 2 against Seattle Seahawks, before a mightily impressive four game winning streak followed.
The Lions beat the Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers, Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers consecutively before suffering a one-sided defeat to the Baltimore Ravens.
They bounced back quickly with a win over the Las Vegas Raiders in their next game before a bye week, and have returned to action with consecutive wins over the Los Angeles Chargers and most recently a 31-26 win over the Chicago Bears.
Their form this season so far has got them sitting in second place in the NFC Conference behind only the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Packers have had a terrible season to date, but it started in the best possible way with a 38-20 win over the Chicago Bears in week 1.
They followed that up with defeat in week 2 against the Atlanta Falcons by just one point in a game that ended 24-25, before getting back to winning ways in week 3 when they defeated the New Orleans Saints 18-17.
After that things went downhill though with four consecutive defeats against the Lions, Las Vegas Raiders, Denver Broncos and Minnesota Vikings with a bye right in the middle which didn’t help them to halt the issues they were facing.
They snapped the losing streak with a dominant 20-3 win over the Los Angeles Rams, but quickly fell back into losing mode against the Pittsburgh Steelers in a close 19-23 loss. Last time out they returned to winning ways though, claiming a 23-20 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Packers currently sit in 9th place in the standings, just outside the playoff spots.
This time, things feel different and why shouldn’t they? The Lions are 8-2, second in the NFC, in prime position for a playoff run, while the Packers are 4-6, third in their own division, and floundering.
The Lions have won the last three games in this storied rivalry, and looking at the way this season is going it would be a huge shock if this went any other way.
The Lions are thriving and clearly have the better team in this matchup. They’re at home, where Jared Goff has been a machine for tover a year now if you excuse his performance last week, and now they have two of the most dangerous running backs in the NFL in Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery to add to Amon-Ra St. Brown‘s excellence.
If the Packers want to win this game, or at the very least cover the spread, then it starts with Jordan Love playing the way he did last weekend against the Los Angeles Chargers’ poor pass defense.
While the Lions have faltered at times defending the pass, it seems highly unlikey that the Packers have enough firepower to beat them in this area, and whether they’ll be able to move the ball on the ground seems like a huge question mark, especially since they’ll likely be without Aaron Jones.
Go with the Lions to get a big win on Thanksgiving day and earn some extra cash over the holiday period.
Check out our review for MyBookie sports betting here.
So far this season the Detroit Lions have averaged a big 28.2 points per game over their ten games this season, and they have hit 30+ points in five of those.
At the other end of the field, they have conceded an average of 22.9 points per game, meaning their games generally tend to hit this points total. In fact, it has landed in five of their ten games so far this campaign.
Green Bay alternatively are averaging 20.2 points scored per game this season, hitting 20+ points on five occasions. Defensively they are conceding an average of 20.2 points per game also, and they have conceded 20+ points on six separate occasions.
The first game between these teams this season ended 34-20 to Detroit, and a similar result in this game is likely and would see both our best picks land.
Check out our review for BetOnline sports betting here.
About the Author
Daniel is a football writer who has a great thirst for the Premier League and other major European leagues. A lover of the beautiful game and a firm believer that the eye test is better than statistics. Also an avid MMA fan.
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