The Detroit Lions have had a miserable history in the playoffs. But these aren't your dad's Lions, and it's showing in the betting markets.
According to ESPN Stats & Information, since Nevada legalized sports betting in 1949, Detroit's consensus 6.5-point favorite status for Sunday's game against Tampa Bay is its largest ever in the playoffs. It surpasses the Lions as a 4-point favorite against the Dallas Cowboys in the 1970 divisional round, a game Detroit would lose 5-0.
Although their 6.5-point favorite role trails Baltimore and San Francisco each giving 9.5 points in their divisional round matchups, it's been a long time coming for the Lions.
«They haven't been favorites in the playoffs for sure, but they haven't been in the playoffs that much,» DraftKings director of race and sports operations Johnny Avello told ESPN. «The team has just not had many opportunities.»
This is the first time in franchise history that the Lions have hosted two playoff games in a single postseason, and should they win, it will mark the first time since 1957 that they won multiple playoff games. They are one of four NFL franchises to never appear in a Super Bowl, along with fellow divisional round contender Houston, eliminated Cleveland and Jacksonville, which missed the postseason after a 1-5 finish.
Like the Browns in the wild-card round, the Lions are public betting darlings as fans root for the team to finally find success in January.
At BetMGM, Lions -6.5 has attracted 63% of the bets and 71% of the handle, with the moneyline (-275) bringing in 47% of the bets and 73% of the handle. At PointsBet, Detroit is taking 81% of the moneyline handle, which the sportsbook notes is by far the most of any team this weekend. The action pushed the
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