Yes, no matter how lopsided (or bad) the matchups may be, NFL fans will be locked into all three games, including the Saints vs. Bills night game. That’s due in part to the tradition, but it’s also because NFL viewers are, frankly, happy to watch any of the league’s offerings — no matter how much they complain about bad coaching, play or officiating. Of course, some might be watching the Thanksgiving Day games because they are betting on the action....

We’ll see if the chalk continues to prevail in Week 14 as the action kicks off on Thursday night with a cross-conference clash between the Rams and the Raiders in Los Angeles. After that, we have a shorter 11-game slate on Sunday thanks to six teams (Colts, Bears, Packers, Commanders, Saints, and Falcons) being on bye. We do still have several intriguing matchups, most notably Bills-Jets, Giants-Eagles, Chargers-Dolphins, and 49ers-Buccaneers....

Will that trend continue to last? Probably not. There should be regression to the mean at some point. That said, there are still plenty of quality underdogs for NFL bettors to trust. Bettors just have to understand the trends and matchups that benefit these teams; they also should look at the betting odds to see which teams are undervalued and which teams are overvalued after two weeks of NFL action....

After discussing changes to the extra point in March, NFL owners will consider three proposals at next week’s spring meetings in San Francisco. MORE: College offense hurting NFL? | AFC East outlook (minus Brady) | Minicamp, OTAs schedule The proposals include: — Snapping the ball from the 15-yard line for one point or placing the ball at the 2-yard line for a two-point attempt (Patriots proposal). — Snapping the ball from the 15-yard line for one point or placing the ball at the 1-yard line for a two-point attempt, but the defense is able to score off a turnover....

Houston (3-7) and Detroit (4-6) meet in the first game at 12:30 p.m. ET. Dallas (3-7) and Washington (3-7) renew their NFC East rivalry at 4:30 p.m. The prime-time matchup between Baltimore (6-4) and Pittsburgh (10-0), supposed to be the main event, had been posponed to Sunday. It’s a great holiday schedule and a chance to improve on our NFL pick ’em record. Last Week: 6-7 (before Monday’s game) Season: 62-46 (before Monday’s game) With that as the mind, below are our picks and predictions for the Thanksgiving games: MORE WEEK 12 NFL PICKS: Against the spread | Straight up...

There are only three matchups between teams with winning records, and that starts Thursday with the AFC South showdown between the Colts and Titans. The early set of Sunday games is brutal, but the afternoon features two more excellent matchups. The Rams and Seahawks meet in a NFC West showdown, and the Bills and Cardinals face off in a battle between quarterbacks Josh Allen and Kyler Murray. Our attention also is on the Vikings-Bears matchup on Monday Night Football....

We are thankful for the Packers, Saints and Patriots, who opened as double-digit favorites over the Lions, Panthers and Dolphins, respectively. Those relatively easy predictions are balanced out by six games that opened with lines of a field goal or less. The results of these games will determine both the NFL playoff seeding and the order for the first 20 picks in the 2020 NFL Draft. If our predictions become reality, the Cowboys and Steelers will earn the final two postseason spots, and the Redskins and Lions will cement themselves behind the Bengals in the selection process for April....

In some ways, it’s almost tougher than Week 1. Some teams have everything to play for, ranging from home-field advantage to a divisional title to a wild-card spot. Others have the option of resting starters. It makes for a messy week of picks, especially when those decisions can be made in real time based on other results. It makes Week 18 the most-exciting week, but also the toughest to pick....

Ravens coach John Harbaugh sent an emotional open letter to the team before Walker died; he was followed by a host of Ravens teammates who expressed their grief shortly after his death. MORE: Notable sports deaths of 2016 | Walker’s college coach laments loss Players from across the league sent their condolences as well, including Teddy Bridgewater and Amari Cooper, who were teammates of Walker at Miami Northwestern High School....

The Saints last week became the first team in the NFL to clinch a playoff spot when they beat the Falcons to win the NFC South title. This week, the Ravens and Chiefs are the only teams that can clinch their respective division titles. The Bills, Patriots, Seahawks and 49ers have scenarios in which they would clinch playoff berths but not the AFC East or NFC West. MORE: Full NFL playoff picture for Week 14...

Here’s how all the contenders stand after the results of Sunday and Monday:. WEEK 10 NFL PICKS:Against the spread | Straight up NFL Playoff Picture AFC No. 1 seed — Steelers (6-2): First place, AFC North. Pittsburgh had a bye and didn’t change position. It holds the top spot by virtue of a better conference record (4-1) than New England. No. 2 seed — Patriots (6-2): First place, AFC East....

Based on the standings and taking into account tiebreakers, here are how things look in the AFC and NFC. MORE: Watch the NFL in the U.S. live and on-demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial) NFL playoff picture MORE: Week 16 clinching scenarios AFC No. 1 seed — Patriots (11-3): Champions, AFC East. New England beat Pittsburgh to officially lock up the division in addition to regaining the driver’s seat for the top seed....

Based on the standings and taking into account tiebreakers, here are how things look in the AFC and NFC. MORE: Where to Watch: fuboTV (7-day free trial) NFL playoff picture AFC No. 1 seed — Steelers (10-2): First place, AFC North. Pittsburgh stayed ahead of New England — and kept full control of home-field advantage — by beating Cincinnati. What’s left: vs. BAL, vs. NE, at HOU, vs. CLE...

Yet here we are, with Andrew Luck and Patrick Mahomes providing the NFL playoff QB matchup we never knew we needed. MORE: Full 2019 NFL playoff schedule The passers will be the focus of the hype leading into the divisional playoffs for good reasons — Luck’s comeback story and Mahomes’ historic numbers. But the keys to victory for both teams are embedded deeper. For example, the Colts are here thanks to a revived rushing attack around Marlon Mack and what feels like an unstoppable third-down offense....

Saturday, 8:15 p.m. ET, NBC Weather: 38, Wintry mix Coaches: Ravens — John Harbaugh (71-40; 9-4 in playoffs); Steelers — Mike Tomlin (81-46; 5-3 in playoffs) Players to Watch: Ravens — Quarterback Joe Flacco (90.9 rating, 3,986 yards, 27 TDs) will be the first quarterback in the NFL’s modern era to start a playoff game in six of his first seven seasons. Running back Justin Forsett has 1,266 yards and eight TDs, while wide receiver Steve Smith has 79 catches for 1,065 yards and six TDs....

Cincinnati Bengals (10-5-1) at Indianapolis Colts (11-5) Sunday, 1:05 p.m. ET, CBS Weather: 44, cloudy Coaches: Bengals — Marvin Lewis (100-89-2; 0-5 in playoffs). Colts — Chuck Pagano (33-15; 1-2 in playoffs) SATURDAY: Good-time Panthers ends Cardinals’ misery | Ravens’ Joe Flacco is Mr. January again SUNDAY: Detroit Lions (11-5) at Dallas Cowboys (12-4), 4:40 p.m. ET | Golden Tate disses Barry Church THE LINEMAKERS: Bengals-Colts props | Pick | Cowboys-Lions props | Pick...

A few teams on either the best or the worst side of performed exactly how one expects. But this is in the NFL, where surprises and disappointments are par for the course, even in the sprint stage before the marathon. After some more predictable results, here’s how all 32 teams stack up against each other going into Week 3 in Sporting News’ latest look at the league hierarchy: MORE: Who are the NFL contenders or pretenders after Week 2?...

From the top, the new No. 1 team is the former No. 1 team. Half of the first-place teams lost on Sunday. While the bottom overall team was off, a few other cellar dwellers surprised. Here’s trying to make sense of the wackiness that happened. Here’s how SN sees all the teams stacking up against each other, 1-32, going into Week 10: MORE: Who’s the new AFC favorite after Bills, Raiders’ shocking Week 9 losses?...

It’s hard to believe, but the reigning and now five-time Super Bowl champions got better, both offensively for Tom Brady and defensively for Bill Belichick. This could be the last run for that quarterback with that coach, much to the hope of other AFC hopefuls. Here’s how we see the regular season and postseason playing out for the Patriots and the rest of the conference. MORE: 2017 NFC playoff predictions...