The NFL schedule makers hit a few house runs when it got here to assembling the schedule for this 12 months’s Thanksgiving slate of video games. All three video games on Thursday have huge playoff implications, with the winners and losers seeing probably important swings of their playoff odds.
Issues get began with the primary recreation of the day and an enormous NFC North conflict in Detroit.
The Lions entered the season as Tremendous Bowl contenders however enter Thanksgiving on the surface of the NFC playoff image. Going into the week their playoff odds nonetheless sit at a very solid 75%, however would enhance to 86% with a win. They’d drop to 60% with a loss.
A win would tie them with the San Francisco 49ers for the ultimate wild-card spot, and transfer them to inside a half recreation of the Packers. A loss wouldn’t solely preserve them under San Francisco and drop them to a game-and-a-half behind the Packers, it could additionally give the Packers the all-important head-to-head tiebreaker.
Inexperienced Bay, in the meantime, enters the sport with a 78% playoff likelihood and will go as excessive as 92% with a win. A loss takes them right down to 69%.
The winner of this recreation might additionally discover itself in first place within the NFC North by Saturday if the Chicago Bears have been to lose their Black Friday recreation towards the Philadelphia Eagles.
It’s a huge recreation.
The Chiefs might have saved their playoff probabilities with Sunday’s win over the Indianapolis Colts, and now they should do it once more on the street in Dallas.
The Chiefs enter Thursday’s recreation with a 52% playoff likelihood, and will enhance as much as 61% with a win. A loss, nevertheless, would drop all of them the best way right down to solely 35%. That could be a potential 26 level swing. Until the Chiefs go on a serious profitable streak over the subsequent few weeks just about each recreation they play goes to have this form of affect on their probabilities.
Dallas is desperately making an attempt to remain within the race, and will see its playoff likelihood go as much as 15% within the NFC with a win. A loss would most likely be a knockout punch as their probabilities would go down to simply 4%.
The massive story right here for the Bengals is the return of beginning quarterback Joe Burrow, however it’s most likely method too little, method too late to salvage their playoff probabilities. The Ravens, nevertheless, have the whole lot to play for and must preserve profitable. After beginning the season 1-5 they’ve gone on a five-game profitable streak that has put them again into the highest spot within the AFC North.
A win on Thursday, mixed with a Pittsburgh Steelers loss on Sunday (very attainable towards the Buffalo Bills) would give them a full one-game lead within the division with two head-to-head matchups remaining.
A win would transfer their playoff probabilities from 69% to 75%, whereas a loss would nonetheless solely drop them right down to 55%.
