Thanksgiving Day Exotic Wagers, Parlay, Teaser & Prop Bets

Editor's Note: The Baltimore-Pittsburgh game will be played on Sunday Nov. 29

Football being played on Thanksgiving is a tradition that has been around longer than the Super Bowl and this year we have three star-packed contests lined up and ready to dazzle fans everywhere on what is set to be one of the best days of the NFL season.

My picks for Thursday’s games can be found below.

I wish everyone the best of luck with their bets and a Happy Thanksgiving!

NFL Thanksgiving Day Parlay Best Bets

Money Line Parlay

  • Houston Texans (-156) at Detroit Lions
  • Baltimore Ravens (+166) at Pittsburgh Steelers

Payout: 3-Tean Parlay +359 at FanDuel

The Houston Texans have been a complete disappointment so far this year, posting a 3-7 record in their first 10 games with their only wins coming against teams owning losing records (Jaguars and Patriots).

While a large portion of Houston’s struggles can be attributed to its extremely porous defense or the trade that shipped DeAndre Hopkins to Arizona, some of it can also be placed on the team’s brutal schedule, which has consisted of Kansas City, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, and Green Bay so far.

After reigning victorious over the Falcons and Jaguars in consecutive weeks, the Lions have now lost four contests in a row, most recently being shut out by the Panthers this past Sunday in a game Detroit fell 20-0 to a former XFL Quarterback making his first career NFL start in P.J. Walker.

The Lions have also lost on Thanksgiving in three consecutive years now, including one loss against a Chase Daniel led Bears team (23-16), who was filling in for an injured Mitch Trubisky.

I think Detroit is just an all-around bad football team right now, and there may be a slight chance the Texans are a little bit better than we think they are, but just haven’t had the schedule to show it yet.

Give me the Texans -156 to nab their 4th win of the 2020 season on Thanksgiving.

All eyes will undoubtedly be cast on the Thursday Night Football slate this week, as the reigning MVP, Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens will take their second crack at the undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers to cap off the Turkey Day festivities.

The last time these teams met up was just a few weeks ago, and it was the Ravens who jumped out to a 17-7 lead in the first half, but two interceptions and two lost fumbles from Jackson led to the Steelers rallying to a 28-24 comeback victory in the second half.

Since the Steelers’ victory over the Ravens, they have played nothing but soft defenses, matching up with the Cowboys, Bengals, and Jaguars over the last three weeks. While the Ravens had to match up with one of the best defenses in football in the Colts, the Patriots in the pouring rain, and the Titans who beat them overtime.

Considering the defenses Pittsburgh has matched up with recently, I think there is a good chance the Ravens’ defense will dominate the early parts of this game, allowing Baltimore to jump out to another first half lead.

The Ravens’ record for the month of November isn’t an attractive number, having dropped three of their last four contests, but I think that has put John Harbaugh’s team in a prime position to bounce back in a short week and add some spice to the AFC North race.

I love Baltimore +4 here as this game should go down to the wire, but I think the value on the money line is too good to pass up. Ravens +166 to close out this parlay.

NFL Thanksgiving Day 6-Point Teaser

  • Washington Football Team +8.5 at Dallas Cowboys (2.5)
  • Houston-Detroit Over 45.5 (51.5)
  • Baltimore-Pittsburgh Over 39 (45)

Payout: 3-Team Six-Point Teaser +140 at FanDuel

Thursday afternoon’s 4 o’clock slate will consist of the Dallas Cowboys hosting the Washington Football team, as Mike McCarthy’s team will seek to avenge the 25-3 loss his team suffered to Kyle Allen and company in the first round of 2020.

Andy Dalton was concussed in the third quarter of Dallas’ most recent matchup with Washington, but at that point in the contest, Ron Rivera’s team already owned a 22-3 lead and things weren’t looking promising for the ‘Boys in any aspect of the game.

This time out, it will be Washington trotting out its backup quarterback in Alex Smith, who has been playing decent football as of late, losing by three points or less in his first two fill-in appearances then beating the Bengals last week, while averaging 293.7 passing yards per game over his most recent stint.

The real problem for the Cowboys in the first matchup with Washington was that Dallas’ offensive line just flat out, could not handle Chase Young and the rest of the Washington defensive front, while Dalton lacks the playmaking ability that a quarterback such as Dak Prescott possesses when the play falls apart.

After losing six out of their last seven games, the Cowboys finally got over the hump last week against the Vikings as Dalton connected on a game-winning touchdown pass to Dalton Schultz to seal the slim 31-28 victory.

I think Dallas loses another one to Washington here, but whichever way you slice it, I am having trouble seeing how the Cowboys win any game by more than one score at this point. Washington +8.5 feels safe.

The Lions were shutout by the Panthers last week (20-0), but that cannot be expected from a Matthew Stafford led offense that averaged about 24 points per game over its last three contests against solid defensive squads (Colts, Vikings, Washington).

Houston, on the other hand, has scored 27+ points in four out of its last six contests and is averaging roughly 358 yards of total offense per game.

Detroit ranks 28th in points allowed per game (28.7) while Houston ranks 31st in yards allowed per game (411.7).

These teams should have no problem eclipsing 45.5 total points in this contest. Brace for offensive fireworks in the Detroit-Houston game.

On the flip side of things, two of the best defenses in the league square off in the night cap with Pittsburgh hosting Baltimore, and the line reflects that defensive prestige as the total sits at a low bar of OU 45 points.

Part of the reasons these teams boast great defensive stats though, is the fact that their offenses are capable of dominating time of possession and generating points. Pittsburgh ranks 4th in the NFL in points scored per game (29.8) while Baltimore ranks 12th (26.8).

When these division rivals met up a few weeks ago, they combined for 52 total points, resulting in a Steelers victory and easily cashing this over (28-24). I don’t think we will get quite as many points this time around but teasing the line down to 39 points feels like a number that will inevitably be achieved when quarterbacks with this much talent face off. Over 39 points in the Baltimore-Pittsburgh game to finish this teaser.

NFL Thanksgiving Touchdown Props

Washington - Antonio Gibson (+105)

Antonio Gibson has punched in 5 touchdowns and racked up 352 total yards during Washington’s last four contests, and now the first-year RB out of Memphis gets his second crack at a Dallas defense that ranks 23rd in rushing TD’s allowed per game (1.2) and 31st in opposing rushing yards allowed per game (153.8). In his first appearance against the Cowboys this season, Gibson carried the ball 20 times for 128 yards (6.4 YPC) and a TD. I think he rumbles for a TD in a fifth straight game here at +105 odds.

Baltimore - Gus Edwards (+140)

Ravens’ running backs, Mark Ingram and J.K. Dobbins both tested positive for COVID-19 following the team’s overtime loss to the Titans this past weekend, leaving Gus Edwards to serve as the feature back for Baltimore on Thanksgiving night.

Edwards is a downhill runner with a great nose for the endzone, and I expect him to receive the bulk of the goal line touches for Baltimore in a decently high scoring affair on Thursday.

Houston - Will Fuller (+130)

At one point this season, Will Fuller tallied a touchdown reception in six consecutive contests, but has now failed to capture one in back-to-back weeks.

One of those games took place in extremely poor Cleveland weather (L – 10-7), while the other was played against Bill Belichick, who is notorious for neutralizing quarterback’s favorite offensive weapons, which happened to be Fuller in the Texans’ case (W – 27-20).

I am going to back Fuller to bounce back on Thanksgiving against a poor Detroit pass defense ranking 19th in passing touchdowns allowed per game (1.8) to haul in his 7th touchdown of the year.

Where to place a bet this NFL Season?

  • Use our exclusive BetMGM Bonus Code VIBONUS1500 to unlock BetMGM’s welcome offer for new sportsbook users!
  • Compare the latest NFL Odds from the best sportsbooks before placing a bet on this week's games.
  • Check out the North Carolina Sportsbooks just before they launch legal online sports betting.