The Detroit Lions are snakebitten. Even in a season they’re experiencing unprecedented success, things are slowly coming apart at the seams — and we’re not simply talking about a loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
In fact, Detroit’s latest loss — just its second of the season — is the least of the team’s concerns. Record-wise, the Lions still control their own destiny in the race for the NFC’s top seed. The problem is they’ll likely have to do that without another three starters lost to injury; RB David Montgomery, DT Alim McNeill and CB Carlton Davis. That gives them 11 significant injuries along the roster, including seven of their Week 1 starters on defense.
No matter how good a team is, it’s obviously hard to win under those circumstances, even if they can address some of the void with free agents. So, here are five bets that suddenly make a ton of sense in the event Detroit begins to slide.
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Odds at BetMGM still heavily favor the Lions to pull out the division title at -500, but it’s not like they have a significant lead on Minnesota. In fact, the Vikings can tie the Lions at 12-2 with a win over the Bears on Monday night.
Detroit would still own the tiebreaker after beating Minnesota in Week 7, but these teams meet again the last week of the season. That means there’s still plenty of time for the Vikings to steal this division if there’s any slippage in Detroit’s play.
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O’Connell is already the favorite to win this award, so it was probably a good bet even before Detroit’s latest injuries, but it becomes an especially good bet now because his closest competition for the award is Dan Campbell (+250).
Maybe O’Connell wins the award regardless of what happens in the division, just because of how unexpected Minnesota’s great season was, but he definitely won’t be denied if the Vikings catch Detroit in the standings.
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Depending on who you asked, the Eagles were already the best team in the NFC. But it was definitely up for debate between them and the Lions, and oddsmakers still favor Detroit at +185.
Regardless, the conversation starts and ends with those two teams and the margins are close enough that the loss of several more starters might be the thing that gives Philly the edge over Detroit.
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The Bears host the Lions as 6.5-point underdogs in Week 16, and though their season is over, it wouldn’t be a shock to see them play this game close. They only lost by a field goal when they visited the Lions three weeks ago.
Also consider Detroit’s games have been coming down to the wire more lately anyway. The Lions are 0-3 ATS since that Bears game.
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There was plenty talk before Sunday’s game about how it was a potential Super Bowl preview, so it only makes sense to consider the Bills favorites after they beat the Lions.
Buffalo still has a tougher path as of today, which is why the Lions still hold top odds at +400. But these injuries may threaten to change that soon.
