The Patriots are 7.5-point favorites for their Thanksgiving Day game against the Lions in Detroit (per BoDog), and a quick look around this here series tubes indicates New England is at least a popular pick to win outright.
The three experts at Yahoo! Sports -- Les Carpeneter, Jason Cole and Michael Silver -- all pick the Patriots to win, along with a whopping 97 percent of Yahoo! users.
New England is 8-2 while Detroit is just 2-8, but don't let their record fool you -- the Lions have been competitive all season, and have lost five of their games by five points or less.
SB Nation's Joel Thorman agrees:
The Patriots, simply, now how to put the ball in the end zone. Their passing attack is ranked 16th in the NFL, as is their rushing attack, but they're also No. 1 in points scored. They do a lot of things right and they can beat you a number of ways. They've survived the loss of Randy Moss and have a pair of tight ends that are dangerous in the passing game.
The Lions pass the ball more than anyone in the NFL which is a curious stat considering their starting quarterback has missed most of the season. Their running backs are banged up which means it will be difficult for the 15th ranked offense to put up some points.
The Patriots are clearly the better team and NFL odds agree as they're seven point favorites. In a game that's nationally televised, I expect the Patriots to easily surpass that line. Take the Patriots.