The NFL schedule makers hit a few residence 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 large playoff implications, with the winners and losers seeing doubtlessly vital swings of their playoff odds.
Issues get began with the primary sport 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 improve to 86% with a win. They might 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 sport of the Packers. A loss wouldn’t solely hold them beneath San Francisco and drop them to a game-and-a-half behind the Packers, it will additionally give the Packers the all-important head-to-head tiebreaker.
Inexperienced Bay, in the meantime, enters the sport with a 78% playoff chance and will go as excessive as 92% with a win. A loss takes them right down to 69%.
The winner of this sport may additionally discover itself in first place within the NFC North by Saturday if the Chicago Bears had been to lose their Black Friday sport towards the Philadelphia Eagles.
It’s a large sport.
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 sport with a 52% playoff chance, and will improve as much as 61% with a win. A loss, nonetheless, would drop all of them the best way right down to solely 35%. That may be a potential 26 level swing. Until the Chiefs go on a significant successful streak over the following few weeks just about each sport they play goes to have this type of affect on their probabilities.
Dallas is desperately attempting to remain within the race, and will see its playoff chance go as much as 15% within the NFC with a win. A loss would in all probability be a knockout punch as their probabilities would go down to simply 4%.
The large story right here for the Bengals is the return of beginning quarterback Joe Burrow, however it’s in all probability manner too little, manner too late to salvage their playoff probabilities. The Ravens, nonetheless, have all the pieces to play for and have to hold successful. After beginning the season 1-5 they’ve gone on a five-game successful 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%.
