Live NFL - Thanksgiving Games

Houston Texans at Detroit Lions - Sky Sports 5.30pm

Last week the Texans got it going through the air, but I expect them to revert to type today and key on Arian Foster who can take advantage of the Lions' defense's tendency to over-pursue. The Jags loaded up the box last week and limited Foster nicely, and the Detroit run defense has had its moments, but Schaub's ability to air it out and a defensive inconsistency against the run means that Houston should be able to move the chains.

The Detroit inconsistency on D is reflected on the offense; Stafford has had a patchy season and was poor last week. That spread to the rest of the offense and culminated with Titus Young having a hissy fit on the sidelines which sees him benched today. The Texans were lit up by Chad Henne last week, which is not a good sign, but J.J. Watt is playing out of his mind (and the Pack got to Stafford last week without Clay Matthews) and I'm looking for a rebound performance this week.

I'll give the points.

Pick: Houston Texans -3 @ 1.86

Pick: 1st TD Arian Foster @ 6
Pick: Anytime TD Owen Daniels @ 2.1

Washington Redskins at Dallas Cowboys - Sky Sports 9.30pm

Shanny and RBs: the guy is a genius. If Washington get Alfred Morris rolling tonight, Dallas could be in trouble, and with the Cowboys' D line a little nicked up, the home team could struggle to put together a scheme that limits Morris and Robert Griffin III on the ground. RG3 can also look to exploit a Dallas secondary that has occasionally missed, particularly corner Morris Claiborne. How the Redskins cope with the Dallas pass rush will be critical, but RG3's talent out of the pocket will be a powerful advantage.

Tony Romo in November: 21 and 3. Ouch. Washington have been vulnerable deep, but over the last three games they've been much better. The intriguing aspect here will be whether Romo will be hobbled by the loss of key players on the Dallas O line; the Cowboys are down to their third string centre and Left Tackle Tyron Smith is injured. Dallas have given up sacks of late and if the away team can force them into 3rd and long situations, then Jim Haslett can dial up blitz packages to force Romo into mistakes. The Dallas run game is still a mess, so it will be up to Romo to win it; look for the Cowboys' wideouts to score therefore.

It's always difficult capping your own team, but I think the Redskins can keep this close, so I'll take the points.

Pick: Washington Redskins +3.5 @ 1.85

Pick: 1st TD Robert Griffin III @ 10
Pick: Anytime TD Miles Austin @ 2