NFL Week 12Betting Marquee Matchups: Saints @ Cowboys(Thanksgiving Day)

The Saints wound up lifting the Vince Lombardi Trophy ona February night in Miami, but two months earlier, their undefeated season camecrashing to a halt when the Dallas Cowboys rolled into the Big Easy andthrottled New Orleans. In what was a Saturday night prime-time pounding,DeMarcus Ware and the rest of the Cowboys’ pass rushers got to Drew Brees.Dallas used old-fashioned physicality from its front seven to disrupt thetiming of the Saints’ vaunted passing attack. The loss began a three-gamelosing stretch for New Orleans, causing the team to limp into the postseasonwithout any momentum whatsoever. It’s a credit to the Saints that they wereable to get off the deck, but the loss to Dallas shook them and forced them toreassess just how good a team they really were. One year later, they’ll try todish out some revenge in Texas, in a duel that could very well be a preview ofthe NFC Championship Game. FOX has to love the TV ratings it’s likely togenerate for this Thanksgiving Day spectacular.

Speaking of TV ratings, the NFL Network – not availablein a full range of markets across America – should pull in a huge number forthis contest. The Jets knocked back the Bengals in back-to-back weeks lastseason. The first win – achieved in the last game ever played at the oldMeadowlands complex – put New York into the playoffs and finished off aremarkable surge for a team that looked dead in the water at the end ofNovember. The second win came the following Saturday in Cincinnati, and thattriumph over the bewildered Bengals allowed the Jets to advance to the AFCDivisional Playoffs. Can Cincinnati respond with a ballsy effort on the road?Can the Bengals – a likely playoff team – show that they have the ability tocontend for the Lombardi Trophy? The Jets have established themselves as one ofthe top contenders in the AFC. This game will tell us if the Bengals are readyto join them.

They’ve staged many dramatic battles over the years,especially in the postseason. The Chargers don’t always get the Colts in theregular season, but they’ve been kryptonite for Indianapolis in the month ofJanuary. It’s worth noting that in the Colts’ one Super Bowl-winning seasonduring the Peyton Manning era, the Chargers did not play them in the playoffs.Indy drew New England in the 2006 AFC Championship Game after the Patriotsupset San Diego in the AFC Divisional Playoff round. Last season, the Colts andChargers figured to lock horns for the AFC crown, but when the New York Jetsrocked the Bolts in the divisional round, Indianapolis once again escaped itschief tormentor.

On this day, however, Indianapolis will have to staredown the defense expertly coached by San Diego coordinator Ron Rivera. TheChargers and Mr. Rivera regularly find ways to keep Manning’s passing game incheck. The Colts will need to fend off San Diego’s pass rush and the constantpressure Rivera uses to throw off Manning’s timing. With good pass protection,Indianapolis can win, but that’s easier said and done against the sons of SanDiego.