IT’S Thanksgiving time in the USA and a considerable amount of that overrated bird, the turkey, is going to get eaten.

A considerable amount of football will be played also, giving fans an option of something other than turkey to feast on. The activities begin tomorrow with three games: the Chicago Bears go up against the Detroit Lions in the first game at 12:30 pm on CBS; then at 4:30 pm it’s possible that the game of the week will be the Eagles versus the Cowboys on FOX. Finally, at 8: 30 pm, it’s the Seattle Seahawks against the San Francisco 49ers on NBC. All of these should be highly entertaining.

There is a full slate on Sunday and we will deal with some of those key match-ups later.

I would be remiss if I did not mention The Catch of the Day. Of the week — nay– of the season. The play that defined the best of Week 12, if it were a highlight reel. Just in case you happened to be one of the very few on this planet who has not seen it, Giants’ rookie wide receiver Odell Beckham’s one-handed catch against the Cowboys was something to behold. It was — in a word — spectacular. Forget the fact that the Giants went on to lose the game to the Cowboys, the catch was amazing. Now over the years, I have seen a lot of great catches by some great wide receivers, one who comes to mind immediately is Jerry Rice. Back in the day, the combination of quarterback Joe Montano and Jerry Rice was awesome and Rice made some fine catches. He continued to do so when Steve Young took over from Montano.

Another guy who stood out back in the day was the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Lynn Swann, whose every move in the wide receiver position looked like it was choreographed and not spontaneous. I could go on at length and it would still not diminish Beckham’s catch. It was the play of the week and will possibly be the play of the season unless, of course, Mr Beckham has some more goodies in store for us.

Another notable event of Week 12 was the play of Colts’ wide receiver TY Hilton in his team’s 23-3 win over the Jaguars. His 73-yard touchdown and ensuing end-zone celebration, cuddling the ball in honour of the birth of his baby girl earlier that morning. In a post-game interview, he broke into tears talking about his baby girl. I thought that was heart-warming.

I just can’t figure out the Seahawks. You never know which side is going to turn up. The one that turned up last week looked like the champs which they are in beating the Arizona Cardinals 19-3. The win put them at 7-4 in the NFC West division drawing them a little bit closer to the Cards who are 9-2. The Seahawks’ defence looked good giving credence to their moniker, the ‘Legion of Boom’. As usual, Marshawn Lynch was in his best ‘beast’ mode, punishing anyone who tried to stop him.

Last week was a tough one for my colleagues and me making picks against the JustBet point spread — tough for everyone, that is, except Andre Hutchinson, who posted a 9-6 mark. Yours truly could only manage a 6-9 record while Peter Lindo, and the overall leader Mark Archer, could only manage 5-10 marks. Ouch!

Now to a couple of the key games on Sunday. One that comes to mind immediately is the clash between the Patriots and the Packers. Tom Brady up against the other elite quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay — and therein lies the rub. Home field advantage may very well be a factor. This promises to be a good one because the Packers are hot, having won three straight. But on the flip side, you can never discount the Patriots no matter what. The Broncos vs Chiefs game on Sunday night should provide great entertainment for those of us who can stay awake. This is a divisional game and a lot will be at stake since the Broncos and Chiefs are separated by just one game in that division. Denver beat the Chiefs 24-17 when these two met back in Week Two and I know that Kansas City will be gunning for some revenge.

Well, that’s it for this week. Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who celebrate it, and enjoy the games. Remember to place your NFL bets with JustBet — Jamaica’s number one sports betting provider, with top events and betting odds, the most sports betting locations islandwide, the best service and, of course, the fastest payouts when you win. And make sure to tune in to the new JustBet sports betting feature, JustBet Before The Whistle, this and every Thursday at 9:30 pm on TVJ.

NFL WEEK 13 SCHEDULE & JUSTBET POINT SPREADS

*Point Spread (or handicap) – number of points that one team is favoured over another.

*Under/Over (U/O) – A bet on whether the combined points in a game will be greater or lesser than a particular number

Thursday, November 27

DET LIONS v CHI BEARS + 6.5, U/O 47.5

DAL COWBOYS v PHI EAGLES + 3.5, U/O 54.5

SF 49ERS v SEA SEAHAWKS + 1.5, U/O 39.5

Sunday, November 30

BAL RAVENS v SD CHARGERS + 4.5, U/O 45.5

BUF BILLS v CLE BROWNS + 1.5, U/O 41.5

HOU TEXANS v TEN TITANS + 6.5, U/O 42.5

IND COLTS v WAS REDSKINS + 9.5, U/O 51.5

JAC JAGUARS + 1.5 v NY GIANTS, U/O 43.5

MIN VIKINGS v CAR PANTHERS + 3.5, U/O 43.5

PIT STEELERS v NO SAINTS + 3.5, U/O 51.5

STL RAMS v OAK RAIDERS + 6.5, U/O 43.5

TB BUCCANEERS + 4.5 v CIN BENGALS, U/O 44.5

ATL FALCONS + 1.5 v ARI CARDINALS, U/O 44.5

GB PACKERS v NE PATRIOTS + 4.5, U/O 58.5

KC CHIEFS + 1.5 v DEN BRONCOS, U/O 49.5

Monday, December 1

NY JETS + 4.5 v MIA DOLPHINS, U/O 42.5

*Point Spreads and Under/Over are subject to change before kick-off

*Teams on a bye-week: Pittsburgh Steelers, Carolina Panthers

EXPERTS’ PICKS AGAINST THE SPREAD

Mark Archer’s Week 13 Picks (in bold)

LIONS v BEARS

COWBOYS v EAGLES

49ERS v SEAHAWKS

RAVENS v CHARGERS

BILLS v BROWNS

TEXANS v TITANS

COLTS v REDSKINS

JAGUARS v GIANTS

VIKINGS v PANTHERS

STEELERS v SAINTS

RAMS v RAIDERS

BUCCANEERS v BENGALS

FALCONS v CARDINALS

PACKERS v PATRIOTS

CHIEFS v BRONCOS

JETS v DOLPHINS

Last week’s record: 5-10

Record to date: 92-84

Andre Hutchinson’s Week 13 Picks (in bold)

LIONS v BEARS

COWBOYS v EAGLES

49ERS v SEAHAWKS

RAVENS v CHARGERS

BILLS v BROWNS

TEXANS v TITANS

COLTS v REDSKINS

JAGUARS v GIANTS

VIKINGS v PANTHERS

STEELERS v SAINTS

RAMS v RAIDERS

BUCCANEERS v BENGALS

FALCONS v CARDINALS

PACKERS v PATRIOTS

CHIEFS v BRONCOS

JETS v DOLPHINS

Last week’s record: 9-6

Record to date: 90-86

Peter Lindo’s Week 13 Picks (in bold)

LIONS v BEARS

COWBOYS v EAGLES

49ERS v SEAHAWKS

RAVENS v CHARGERS

BILLS v BROWNS

TEXANS v TITANS

COLTS v REDSKINS

JAGUARS v GIANTS

VIKINGS v PANTHERS

STEELERS v SAINTS

RAMS v RAIDERS

BUCCANEERS v BENGALS

FALCONS v CARDINALS

PACKERS v PATRIOTS

CHIEFS v BRONCOS

JETS v DOLPHINS

Last week’s record: 5-10

Record to date: 87-89

Tony Scott’s Week 13 Picks (in bold)

LIONS v BEARS

COWBOYS v EAGLES

49ERS v SEAHAWKS

RAVENS v CHARGERS

BILLS v BROWNS

TEXANS v TITANS

COLTS v REDSKINS

JAGUARS v GIANTS

VIKINGS v PANTHERS

STEELERS v SAINTS

RAMS v RAIDERS

BUCCANEERS v BENGALS

FALCONS v CARDINALS

PACKERS v PATRIOTS

CHIEFS v BRONCOS

JETS v DOLPHINS

Last week’s record: 6-9

Record to date: 84-92