‘It’s all Detroit’: One-sided Thanksgiving betting action on Lions
By Jason Logan
The sights, smells, and spreads of Thanksgiving Day. The holiday Thursday is one of the biggest single betting days of the year, with three NFL matchups on the board. We talk to sportsbooks in Las Vegas and offshore, getting the inside scoop on the betting action and where the lines could end up come kickoff:
Philadelphia Eagles at Detroit Lions (-2.5, 46)
Just like a dysfunctional family, football bettors are expecting the mashed potatoes to hit the fan for the Eagles this Thanksgiving. Philadelphia opened as big as a 2-point favorite at some books, traveling to Detroit Thursday, however, with back-to-back losses bettors have soured on the Eagles, betting the Lions up as high as -3.
“It’s all Detroit, parlays and straight bets,” says Nick Bogdanovich, U.S. director of trading for William Hill sportsbooks in Nevada, who says ticket count is 3-to-1 in favor of Detroit. “They’ve won two in a row over some good teams and the Eagles are hemorrhaging and it sounds like Chip Kelly has lost this locker room. People don’t want anything to do with the Eagles right now.”
Offshore at GTBets, they opened Philadelphia -1.5 and saw immediate money on the home side. According to lines manager Mick Sloan, since November 22 this spread has jumped the fence and currently sits Lions -2.5.
“This is probably the most confusing game of the day,” Sloan. “The public has been on Detroit at 2-to-1 on bets, however, the money is only 3-to-5 on Detroit, so there might be a few sharps on the Eagles. The house is really going to need the Under in this one as well.”
The total for this game has seen minimal movement, with most books opened 45.5 or 46. As of Thursday morning, most markets are dealing 46 points, but with this being one of the most public betting days of the NFL, the average bettors will look to play the Over.
The Lions come into this annual Thanksgiving Day game on a two-game Turkey Day winning streak, going 2-0 SU and ATS the past two season, which ended a nasty 0-9 SU and 0-8-1 ATS skid in the previous nine Thanksgiving matchups.