Houston Texans (-3, O/U 50.5) at Detroit Lions

Detroit looks to snap an eight-year losing streak on US Thanksgiving Day when it hosts the AFC-leading Houston Texans.

The Lions’ playoff hopes are on life support after Detroit fell to 4-6 with a 24-20 loss to Green Bay Sunday. Matthew Stafford completed only 43.6 per cent of his passes and had a pass intercepted for a TD.

Houston (9-1) is coming off a surprisingly difficult 43-37 overtime win over Jacksonville, when the Texans’ stellar defence allowed a season-high 458 yards to an impotent Jaguars attack. Fortunately for Houston, Matt Schaub passed for 527 yards and five touchdowns to allow the Texans to rally from a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter.

One key injury note for this contest is Texans Pro Bowl cornerback Johnathan Joseph, who left last week’s game with a hamstring injury and will be a game-time decision Thursday. Lions receiver Calvin Johnson, who has 24 catches for 479 yards and three TDs in his last three games, would be licking his chops to see Joseph out of action.

Houston is 8-2 ATS in its last 10 road games and 15-5-2 in its last 22 overall. The Lions are 5-11-1 ATS in their last 17 overall and 0-8 ATS in their last eight Thursday games.

Washington Redskins at Dallas Cowboys (-3.5, O/U 48)

Dallas hopes to continue its recent domination of the NFC East rival Redskins in the second game Thursday.

The Cowboys have won six of their last seven meetings with Washington, as well as all six Thanksgiving matchups with the Redskins. Overall, Dallas is 28-15-1 on Thanksgiving Day.

This year’s contest will have heavy implications on the NFC East playoff race. Dallas (5-5) is a game behind the Giants for first place, while a Redskins win Thursday would tie them with the Cowboys at 5-6.

Dallas edged the Browns 23-20 last weekend in overtime, while the Redskins became the latest team to pummel the Eagles, romping to a 31-6 win. Robert Griffin III snapped out of a recent funk by completing 14 of 15 passes for 200 yards and four TDs while adding 84 more yards on the ground.

Washington’s defence, already without starters Brian Orakpo and Adam Carriker, took a hit last week. Safety Brandon Meriweather suffered a season-ending torn ACL against the Eagles, while linebacker London Fletcher’s 234-game playing streak is in jeopardy because of a sprained ankle.

Dallas could be without centers Ryan Cook and Phil Costa as well as left tackle Tyron Smith.

Underdogs, as the Redskins are, have thrived in this division series. Teams catching points are 22-6 ATS in the last 28 meetings. The Cowboys have not covered the spread in seven consecutive games at home and are 5-12 ATS in their last 17 overall.

New England Patriots (-6.5, O/U 48) at New York Jets

Another fierce division rivalry will conclude Thanksgiving Day action as the Patriots visit the Jets.

New England (7-3) appears on its way to its ninth AFC East title in the last 10 years, while the Jets (4-6) are struggling to stay in the AFC playoff picture.

The Patriots have won 15 of the last 19 regular-season meetings between the clubs, including the last four. New England edged the Jets 29-26 in overtime earlier this season at Foxborough.

However, the Pats will be without stud tight end Rob Gronkowski this week. Gronkowski, the first tight end to score at least 10 touchdowns in three consecutive seasons, broke his forearm in last week’s 59-24 clobbering of the Colts.

New York is coming off a 27-13 win at St. Louis. Though the Jets are two games under .500, they haven’t given up on the payoffs since their remaining schedule includes games against Arizona, Tennessee, San Diego, Buffalo and Jacksonville.

Mark Sanchez didn’t turn over the ball last week against the Rams after committing 13 turnovers in the Jets’ first nine games. New England’s defence has forced a conference-high 27 turnovers, four of them coming last week.

The Patriots are 11-2 ATS in their last 13 visits to New York. The road team is 20-8-1 in the last 29 meetings in the series, and the over is 6-0-1 in the last seven. The over is also 36-15 in the Pats’ last 51 overall, 17-5 in their last 22 road games and 12-5-2 in the Jets’ last 19 November games.