The Detroit Lions (4-6) and Buffalo Bills (7-3) square off at the Ford Field on Thursday as part of the NFL’s annual Thanksgiving triple-header. The Detroit Lions are in second place in NFC North after collecting four wins from 10 games so far in the regular season, while seven wins in as many outings leave the Buffalo Bills second in the AFC East. It’s now getting toward that time of the year when every match counts. For the Detroit Lions and the Buffalo Bills, a victory here could prove to be a game-changer in their respective campaigns.

Form Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions are on a great run of form after making it three wins in a row by beating the New York Giants 18-31 last week, leaving them 4-6 in their last 10 matches.

From ten games this season, the Detroit Lions have scored a solid 25.0 points on average. This gives them bragging rights as one of the league’s top-scoring offenses. The defense, however, has been nothing to brag about this season. The hosts have surrendered a poor 28.2 points on average, leaving them rooted to the bottom end of the league’s defensive rankings.

2021 was a year to forget for the Detroit Lions. The hosts failed to reach the playoffs, having finished fourth in the NFC North at 3-13, and are expected to miss the NFL postseason again, having gone 4-6 so far in the current campaign.

Form Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills snapped out of a two-match losing streak last time out by beating the Cleveland Browns 31-23. The victory improved their record from the past ten games to 7-3. They are also 3-2 in the last five on the road.

A strong offense has been a highlight for the Buffalo Bills this season. The unit ranks second in the NFL’s offensive ladder with 28.1 points per game and has put up 25.8 points in the last five matches alone. As for the defense, the visitors have given up 22.6 points across the previous five outings. Considering the defensive unit has only allowed 17.4 points for the season itself, it’s fair to say the defensive unit has not performed to its usual standards of late.

In 2021, the Buffalo Bills came home in first place in the AFC East standings after going 12-7 across all games. The visitors naturally hope to go even better this season. However, like every other team in the NFL, sealing a spot in the playoffs during this regular season is the first and foremost priority for now.

H2H

The previous matchup between these two franchises ended in a 15-16 win for the Buffalo Bills at the Ford Field in August 2021. The total has gone under 52.5 points in 17 of the last 18 meetings between these teams. The Detroit Lions came out on top 10 times in these games, while the Buffalo Bills claimed eight wins.

While the Detroit Lions averaged 19.78 points, the Buffalo Bills performed an average of 14.5 points in their 18 most recent head-to-head games.

Standings

Betting

Moneyline

Despite the home-field advantage, the Detroit Lions are the clear underdogs. They are 2-3 SU at Ford Field this regular season and 4-6 SU overall. We’re siding with Buffalo Bills (1.20) on the moneyline. The visitors have won their last four matches against the Detroit Lions and we expect them to down the hosts again on their own turf this Sunday.

Spread

The Buffalo Bills (-110) are expected to win by more than a touchdown in Thursday’s road trip. The visitors open as -9.5 favorites over the Detroit Lions on the Week 12 betting lines. Betting against the spread might be where the smart money lies. The oddsmakers have the spread pinned down at 9.5, which is actually 6.3 points off the 3.2 point winning margin that the Detroit Lions and Buffalo Bills have settled for in their past five matches.

It definitely looks worth at least considering the Detroit Lions to cover the spread at the Ford Field. They managed to cover the spread in three straight games. In their previous ten games, the Detroit Lions went 6-4 ATS overall and 3-3 ATS in the last six games at home.

The past five visits to the Ford Field have gone rather well for the Buffalo Bills, having bagged three wins by an average winning margin of 2.7 points. In their past 10 matches, the Buffalo Bills went 5-4 ATS and also ended up 2-3 ATS from their six most recent road trips.

Total

There was an average of 34.28 points scored in the previous 18 clashes between the Detroit Lions and the Buffalo Bills.

The average total in the last five encounters between the Detroit Lions and Buffalo Bills was 35.4 points. As the total for their latest showdown is set at 52.5, taking the Under (-112) might just be worth its weight in gold.

The total points score went over in the last two matches for the Detroit Lions. Also worth noting is the fact that over was a winning bet in four of the last 5 games at home for the Detroit Lions. All in all, they went 6-4 in the over/under in their past 10 matches home and away.

The total score went under in the last five games Buffalo Bills played on the road. Against the total, the Buffalo Bills have gone over in zero of the last five road matches and are 3-7 in the last ten overall.