Thank you for your support for TABMathletics. We wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving! Here are our predictions for today:
Philadelphia Eagles (4-6) at Detroit Lions (3-7)
While we knew to keep our expectations for Philadelphia modest, there was a lot of talk behind the scenes about how Chip Kelly’s first offseason making personnel decisions could lead to the knockout blow for his tenure. Our sentiment was this: If the Eagles were in the middle of the season with a sub-.500 and on an ugly losing streak, would the players tune out Kelly? This is the guy who’s cut or traded away top tier talent for the sake of building a “my way or the highway” atmosphere. Those situations often go south when the coach can’t back up his bite. That situation may currently be playing out, according to an NJ.com report that cites an anonymous agent claiming that Kelly “lost the team.” The Eagles have to play on a short week against a Lions team that’s playing inspired post-bye football despite their awful record. Considering this situation, we’ll take the Lions over the Eagles.
Carolina Panthers (10-0) at Dallas Cowboys (3-7)
As we mentioned Monday, the Cowboys under Tony Romo are “undefeated killers.” They’ve handed the first loss to the 2006 Colts (9-0) and 2009 Saints (13-0). Romo is in fact the only quarterback with multiple wins over undefeated teams that are 9-0 or better. Can the Cowboys pull it off again? We think so, as we will take the Cowboys over the Panthers. Dallas is equipped well to resist Carolina’s defensive strengths. Dez Bryant will battle Josh Norman most of the game. A strong offensive line will prevent Carolina from getting consistent pass rushing pressure. There’s only one catch: Dallas MUST experience regression in the turnover battle. The Cowboys own a minus-9 turnover margin, while the Panthers own a plus-13 margin. If Dallas can win the turnover battle, we have a great chance of being correct. However, if the turnover problems continue, Carolina stays undefeated.
Chicago Bears (4-6) at Green Bay Packers (7-3)
Jay Cutler owns a 1-12 record against the Packers. He’s thrown 23 interceptions in those games. That’s an awful trend heading into a battle in Green Bay, where the Packers can build off of an offensive performance on Sunday that got the team back in rhythm. This should give the home team an advantage on offense and defense during a night in which the franchise’s three greatest quarterbacks (Bart Starr, Aaron Rodgers and Brett Favre) will be in the same building. We have no qualms about taking the Packers over the Bears. Note that we’ve already used the Packers for our Lock of the Week, so no dice there.