***SWAMPY STUFFING EXTRAVAGANZA - TURDUCKEN TRIFECTA - PART 1- PHIL @ DET***

***PHILADELPHIA EAGLES @ DETROIT LIONS***

WOOOOO CAN YOU FEEL IT?! FEAST WEEK IS HERE BABY!!!! The first of the three games on tap today is when the Thanksgiving Birds themselves the Philadelphia Eagle fly into Detroit to take on the traditional Lions. Tough game as we have two teams here trending in opposite directions. The Eagles are a hott mess at the moment dropping three of their last four games, the last two in a row at home against "lesser" foes! The Tampa Bay Bucs came into Philly last weekend and straight up embarassed the Birds who were nearly a 7 point favorite! The Lions on the other hand have won their last two games after an abysmal start to the season, and those wins came against the mighty Green Bay Packers IN Green Bay, and the dangerous Oakland Raiders at home in Detroit. I don't know what has gotten into the Lions since their disgraceful performance in London against Kansas City, but their defense has been playing some stellar football limiting both gunslinging QBs in Rodgers and Carr to little production through the air. Now after saying all that you probably think I am going to roll with Detroit here am I right? Well, I am going to go ahead and say that I think both teams fortunes swap today right before our very eyes! The Eagles believe it or not are STILL in the NFC East race, and they have the Pats on deck in Foxborough, AKA if they have ANY hope of staying alive they know they absolutely NEED this game. That being said, I am playing on the idea that the Eagles have more motivation here, and are in do or die more....whereas the Lions are more of just getting comofortable finding a bit of a groove here and are in danger of letting up a bit and possibly overlooking the Eagles due to how much turnmoil they are in and are already focused on the Packers next Thursday Night as that's who they REALLY care about playing against. I think the Lions regress here a bit, and actually have some trouble against a focused and talented Eagle defense looking to redeem themselves after rookie Jameis Winston threw 5 TDs on them in their own house last week. I attribute this more to the fact that the Bucs are on fire right now, and that Philly QB Mark Sanchez threw 4 picks I believe, setting up the defense fatigued and in bad spots rather than the fact that the Eagle defense is THAT bad. Did somebody say Mark Sanchez? Ahhhh yes, Butt-Fumble himself! What a coincidence, it was Thanksgiving that the nightmare that is Butt-Fumble was born. Last week I backed Sanchez and the Birds, believing that he was an upgrade over Bradford, I stand by this. Let me be clear, I think they both suck, but the lesser of two evils is Sanchez. I think Sanchez has more big game experience, and while he can literally be the best player on the other team with turnovers, he can at least give you a chance with his arm and make some plays downfield whereas Bradford seems scared to even let it rip and just annoys me with his fragile, little-kid like appearence. The Chip Kelly offense just seems like it flows way better with Sanchez at the helm and when Bradford is in there it just looks all sorts of wrong and out of sync, the read-option is completely read-able. I think Sanchez can have success against this Lions secondary with all the speed at his disposal in WRs Matthews, Huff, Agholor, and RB Sproles out of the backfield, he can TOTALLY REDEEM HIMSELF here! (Dumb and Dumber voice) Any way, like I was saying the Lions defense has been playing great lately but I think they also just caught the Packers at their peak-problem point of the season and the Raiders in a similar spot after dropping two big games in a row and losing steam. QB Matt Stafford has been playing better but has not put on any stellar performances through the air. Their offensive line is still a problem and the Birds will be blitzing lil Matty today fa'sho! The Lions will get a wounded and angry Bird backed into a corner who will be clawing and scratching it's way out. The media has already been all over the Chip Kelly mutiny rumors and are selling it well. The players are unhappy with the way things are going, duh. How do you fix this? Kick some ass the next chance you get! Luckily for them it came quick with the early game on Thanksgiving versus a team they can totally hang with. Perfect spot for Philly to get back in the mix here with a statement win infront of the world to boost their confidence before New England next week. EAGLES +2.5