New England vs Detroit

Thanksgiving has arrived, and thus the triple header NFL day that makes us have an excuse to have 3 lunches in 8 hours. Our first kick off is in Detroit as the Patriots come off of a huge win at home against Peyton Manning and the Colts, while the Lions are traveling home after a disappointing loss to the Cowboys. The Kickoff from Ford Field is at 12:30, and the game should be over not to soon after that.

Though their defense has been ranked among the worst in the league, Tom Brady has been able to lead a makeshift offense into victory enough times to keep New England on top of the AFC East. Against the Colts, New England had a split running game that saw touchdowns for both BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Danny Woodhead. Combined the 2 ran for over 150 yards and 2 scores, and allowed the Patriots passing game to flow as Brady threw for 186 yards and 2 scores. The Lions rush defense held Felix Jones to 51 yards on 11 rushes, as Marion Barber rushed for 36 yards on 13. Though they may be able to maintain the Patriots running game and stop the big run, they still gave up 3 passing touchdowns to Jon Kitna. Tom Brady is no Jon Kitna, so it should be interesting to see what he can do with his core of receivers which include Deion Branch, and rookie tight end Aaron Hernandez.

As for the Lions, they continue to disappoint, though they have fallen hard to the injury bug. Jahvid Best was limited to 3 carries for 2 yards against Dallas, as the Lions continue to struggle finding a solid replacement for the banged up Rookie. Until he is cleared and 100% healthy, then Maurice Morris will be the running option in Detroit. With Smith on IR and Best ruled out for the Thanksgiving game, Morris should see a good amount of carries come Thursday. Keep in mind this is a Pats defense that may be weak in the secondary, yet completely able to shutdown the opposing teams run, as the Colts got very little done against them. The recipe for success in Detroit on Thursday will have to be passing, as Shaun Hill will look to continue his string of solid performances, most recently 289 yards and a pair of touchdowns against the Cowboys.

GOOD START: Tom Brady, Shaun Hill, Wes Welker, Nate Burleson, Calvin Johnson

MIDDLE OF THE ROAD: Benjarvus Green-Ellis, Aaron Hernandez, Deion Branch, Maurice Morris, Danny Woodhead

BAD START: Jahvid Best (questionable)

 New Orleans vs Dallas

In no way is this Thanksgiving game in Dallas as sexy now as it was back in the Summer when the schedules were released. That being said, the Cowboys are playing rejuvenated football since the firing of Wade Phillips. At the same time, the Saints seem to have woken up from the early season Superbowl hangover, and have many of their offensive weapons looking more alive now then they did at all during the first couple of weeks. The defending champions coming into town on Thanksgiving Thursday should be more then enough of a reason for Dallas to show up for a 3rd week in a row.

Right as you should be sitting down from your first serving of Turkey, the Cowboys should be taking the field. Jon Kitna has thrown for 8 touchdown passes in the last 2 weeks. Since taking over for the injured Tony Romo, he has developed a relationship with rookie Wide Receiver Dez Bryant, that has translated into 5 touchdowns in the last 5 games. The Saints defense gave up 366 yards to Seattle last week, so definitely be on the look out for an air attack out of the Cowboys come Thursday afternoon. The Saints run defense should be able to keep Choice and Barber in check, as neither has been able to rush for anything over 51 yards in the last 4 weeks.

The Saints passing attack is back, as Marques Colston has woken up from the early season disappearing act he took which was handcuffing many of his owners. Colston has 4 touchdowns in his last 4 games, including two +100 yard performances.  Over those same 4 games, Drew Brees has thrown for 10 touchdowns, including his 4 touchdown performance against Seattle this weekend. Look for a similar attack against a cowboys secondary that has been giving up plenty of over 250+ yard passing games to opposing quarterbacks all year.

GOOD START: Drew Brees, Marques Colston, Jon Kitna, Miles Austin, Lance Moore

 MIDDLE OF THE ROAD: Jimmy Graham, Dez Bryant, Felix Jones, Robert Meachem, Roy Williams

BAD START: Marion Barber, Devery Henderson

Cincinnati vs New York Jets

 The final game of Thanksgiving 2010 should be an entertaining one. Record aside, Terrel Owens still feels the need to talk trash. Owens referred to Jets cornerback Darrell Revis as an “average” corner. Though Owens has been having a very productive Fantasy season, the Bengals only have 2 wins on the year. The Jets find themselves on the complete opposite side of the spectrum's, as they are on top of the league with 8 wins on the year. At the same time, though Revis may have been thrown at often in the early season, it appears his health is back beside him, and he is closer to being that shut down corner that he was in 2009. Just ask Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson, who was held to 32 yards on only 4 receptions. The Bengals have the 14th ranked offense in the league, and in order to stay close to the Jets, they will have to come out just as hard as they did against the Bills last week. Carson Palmer threw 2 early touchdowns to OchoCinco and Owens in the 1st half, but was slowed down since, as the Bills offensive attack completely changed the complexion of the game. The question will now be if there defense can hold on.

The Bengals defense was a complete disaster last week, as it allowed the Bills to come back from the certain defeat, and pull off an amazing comeback. In doing so, they allowed 4 passing tds and 316 yards in the air. This may bode well for Mark Sanchez and his group of reliable receivers who have been winning many close and tight games as of late. If the trends continue, the lead may big big and early, which could allow the running game to take over in the 2nd half. Santonio Holmes has been the go-to guy for Sanchez in the clutch situations the last couple of weeks, and until he is proven as a non entity, he should be in your starting lineups as a solid #2 WR option.Should also take a look at Shonn Greene who has had a quieter year. Green got about 15 looks last week and 20 the week before which have been a significant increase for him. The Bengals defense gave up 116 yards rushing and 2 TD's to Fred Jackson of the Bills, and that was at home.

GOOD START: Mark Sanchez, Ladanian Tomlinson, Santonio Holmes, Braylon Edwards, Shonn Greene, Terrel Owens,

MIDDLE OF THE ROAD: Carson Palmer, Chad OchoCinco, Dustin Keller, Cedric Benson

BAD START: Jermaine Gresham, Jordan Shipley