NFL PREVIEW- WEEK 12-THANKSGIVING

Three games are on tap in the NFL this Thanksgiving. Here is a preview..

- Bears at Lions-

Detroit's annual Turkey Day early game. The Lions usually play well on Thanksgiving. This year they play the surprising, first-place bears, who are 7-3 and lead the NFC North. Detroit is 3 games behind Chicago, so this is obviously a must-win game Problem is the Lions have been so unpredictable.  The Bears need to win to stay ahead of Minnesota. These two teams played only 2 weeks ago with Chicago winning at Soldier Field.

- Redskins at Cowboys-

Who do the Eagles root for- first place Washington or a surging Dallas team? Neither. To me, I'd would always want to see Dallas lose. If it happens, the Cowboys would slide to 5-6 with the Saints next week. If Washington wins the Eagles can always take care of them next week at home , then at Washington in the final regular season game. Either way, the Birds next to win their next three games- which happens to be division games- against New York, the Redskins and the cowboys. If all works out, Philly can be 6-6 and tied for first place in two weeks.

As for this game, Dallas beat the Skins earlier in the year. Dallas, like Detroit, usually wins on Thanksgiving. There's a lot more at stake this season in this bitter rivalry. One key will be how Colt McCoy or the newly-signed mark Sanchez perform at QB after Alex Smith broke his leg last week. Smith is out for the year, so if the 6-3 Redskins expect to keep pace towards the playoffs, they will have to do so with second-rate quarterbacks.

The Cowboys were almost dead, if not for the birds' lapse. So I think Washington gets revenge tomorrow.

Falcons at Saints-

The Thanksgiving night game. New Orleans is 9-1 and streaking toward the Super Bowl. Atlanta has one last shot to stay afloat,a t least for a wild card berth. I expect Coach Mike Smith to be fired after the season. The Falcons have too much talent to be lingering as a 4-6 team. How many times can the Saints keep blowing out teams and scoring 50 points or more? I see the Saints winning tomorrow night in another shoot-out.