Thanksgiving Matchups: Reasons To Be Thankful Texans (9-1) at Lions (4-6) Thursday, 12:30 p.m. Line: Texans by 3 The Texans are thankful for a scouting process that led to every team, including theirs, failing to draft Arian Foster in 2009. Luckily for Houston, it then signed him as an undrafted free agent. They are thankful that after the 2006 season, the Atlanta Falcons did not consider Matt Schaub necessary with Michael Vick entrenched at quarterback, trading him to Houston shortly before scandal ruined Vick's tenure there. They are thankful that Matt Millen, the Lions' general manager at the time, thought Charles Rogers was a better prospect at wide receiver than Andre Johnson, selecting him one spot ahead of Johnson in 2003. But mostly they are thankful that their game against the Jacksonville Jaguars last week is over, after their normally stout defense allowed 37 points to one of the league's worst teams. The Lions, while less thankful about Millen in general, can at least thank his years of mismanagement for allowing his successors to have draft picks high enough to select Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson, a pairing of quarterback and wide receiver that could rival the league's best. Redskins (4-6) at Cowboys (5-5) Thursday, 4:15 p.m. Line: Cowboys by 3 Redskins fans should be thankful for Santana Moss, the veteran wide receiver who provided the best quotation yet to describe rookie sensation Robert Griffin III. "Robert's going to go out there and be special," Moss told reporters when discussing the game. That's the gift that he has, he's a special guy. He brings that kind of 'specialness.' I don't know if that's a word, but he brings it to our offense. As for the Redskins' players, they should be thankful that the Cowboys' defense is without linebacker Sean Lee, one of the team's best hopes for containing Griffin. The Cowboys can be thankful for a beautiful stadium and a rich history of success that they can read about in the many books about the franchise, none of which will be adding chapters about the current team. Patriots (7-3) at Jets (4-6) Line: Patriots by 7 The Patriots are thankful for an offense that has averaged 432 yards and 35.8 points a game. Without it, people would likely be asking more questions about a defense that has given up 389 and 22.5 on average. They are thankful for the curious decision to keep two elite tight ends on one roster, which proved vital when Aaron Hernandez missed time with an injured ankle and will be key to the team surviving without Rob Gronkowski, who is out with a broken forearm. If neither can go this week, the Patriots can dust off Visanthe Shiancoe -- and his 27 career touchdown receptions -- who they have not even bothered throwing to this season. The Jets are thankful for a win over the Rams last week because it looks exactly like a win over a real team in the standings. Tim Tebow can be thankful that when the season wraps up, he can claim he was not all that involved in its disappointment. Mark Sanchez can be thankful that there are four qualified quarterbacks with passer ratings lower than his 73.4, though he may want to ignore the fact that two of them are rookies. And no matter how many points the team allows to the Patriots, they can be thankful for a schedule that closes with games against Arizona, Jacksonville, Tennessee, San Diego and Buffalo, which could improbably lead to a playoff run if the Jets get their affairs in order. Correction: November 21, 2012 An earlier version of this post misstated that the Jets beat the Browns last week. They beat the Rams.