The good news is we have football, three times over. While the Thanksgiving Day matchups don’t jump off the page as in years prior, it’s the NFL and betting — so let’s not complain. Besides, for some of you this is the best excuse to get away from any of your family. We’ve all been there. The Bears and Lions kick things off in Detroit as these two NFC North squads head in opposite directions. The Lions are vying for the top spot in the NFC, while the Bears are slipping away from being relevant. Here’s your best chance for a Bears-Lions anytime touchdown bet!
Bears-Lions Anytime Touchdown Bet for Thursday
Who are we to test this Lions defense that’s been anything but tested over the past few weeks? It’s been two straight weeks this Lions defense has prevented a touchdown, and it faces a fleeting Caleb Williams. After what looked to be an early burst, the Bears are near dead after dropping two straight at home. This isn’t the game to get cute and force a Bears score in a game — and column, mind you — that only requires us to hit one.
No, the better option is on Detroit. Knowing we’ve essentially cut half of the board out, this makes it a little easier to identify the better value. There’s an angle if you play Amon-Ra St. Brown on FanDuel that also captures his ability to return punts. Kalif Raymond missed Tuesday’s walkthrough and is trending towards not playing, leaving St. Brown as the next man up to return punts, though he too is dealing with an injury and may not be able to handle that duty either. While we would never bet a guy simply on his special teams snaps, it’s an added bonus and most likely not baked into the -110 line.
Yes, there’s also a more obvious line to hitting this ticket: St. Brown just destroys whatever the Bears throw his way. It took until Week 3 before St. Brown notched his first score of the year, then he reeled in at least one in eight straight games. Last week was the first since Week 2 that he was scoreless. It is hard to imagine this Bears team on a short week — dejected after two division losses — is going to show much fire in stopping this weapon.
The angle here is in the air, but we do get a nice boost if, in fact, he takes over on special teams. Jared Goff is building a legit case for MVP, and his top weapon makes life significantly easier. Even last week against the Colts, St. Brown still saw seven targets. He’s a necessary part of this offense that has Detroit atop this conference — that will continue on Thursday.
Bears-Lions Anytime Touchdown Bet: Amon-Ra St. Brown (-105 at FanDuel)
