I almost feel bad bringing these things up again. Almost.
The 2021 NFL season is at its halfway point, with nine of 18 weeks complete. The Detroit Lions have played eight of their 17 games.
They’ve lost them all.
Mercifully, the Michigan sports betting market may have you in a better spot than 0-fer on the Lions depending on your spread bets. Detroit has alternated wins and losses against the spread each week this season.
You also may have been placing some wagers on player prop markets. Since we’re at that essential halfway point, it’s time to take stock on where team and player goals are shaping up.
You might know our drill by now. But we’ll circle back to some of the concrete season-long bets (like division, conference, and win totals) around every fourth week or so and peek at stats-based prop bets following each game.
The next update will come after the Lions travel to face the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Remember, too, that each week in a 17-game season now accounts for roughly 5.9% of your season total. So we’re at the 47.1% mark through the campaign after eight Lions games.
Detroit Lions at Pittsburgh Steelers: Week 10 NFL Odds
Season-long BetMGM props
- Detroit Lions making the playoffs (+700 Yes, -1100 No) — 0-8. Let’s see. …No.
- Scaled over/under win totals charts, from 1.5 (over -1600, under +800) to 9.5 (over +1100, under -3000) — A month ago, I thought the Lions might still win four games. That +800 mark for under 1.5 is looking a bit more prescient by the week.
- Exact regular-season totals, odds ranging from +450 (same odds for 4 or 5) to +100000 (same odds for 15, 16 or 17) — They may not hit any of these marks, things have gone so poorly.
- Stage of elimination: Miss playoffs (-1100), lose wild card (+1000), lose divisional (+1600), lose NFC title game (+10000), lose the Super Bowl (+15000), win the Super Bowl (+25000) — The overwhelming favorite is almost certainly what will cash.
- Week of Lions’ first win and loss — Week 1 loss saw an overwhelming -350 return in most markets; the first-win story is well up for grabs.
- Lions to start 4-0, 0-4, 6-0 or 0-6 — Many paydays abound on the losing end.
- Win all six division games (+25000), or lose all six (+400) — The +400 market has three more games to go.
- Win all home or road games (+100000 each), or lose them all (+1600 home, +400 road) — Everything still in play here on the losing end.
- Will a game end in a tie? (+1600 Yes) — … Always was a bit of a hit-and-hope.
Detroit Lions DraftKings special prop bets
In addition to some standard team futures, DraftKings Sportsbook was offering these unique regular-season betting markets and parlay combos.
D’Andre Swift over 51.5 receptions AND Breshad Perriman (now with the Chicago Bears) over 740.5 receiving yards, +250
Swift, 47 receptions; Perriman, 0 yards.
Of note: Perriman was waived by the Chicago Bears despite not making an appearance on the active roster; he signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this past week and is on their practice squad. He was cut by the Lions in the preseason. So this bet is essentially a loss.
Jamaal Williams over 725.5 rushing yards AND T.J. Hockenson over 5.5 receiving touchdowns, +225
Williams, 312 yards; Hockenson, 2 touchdowns.
Jared Goff over 21.5 touchdown passes AND D’Andre Swift over 7.5 rushing touchdowns AND T.J. Hockenson over 775.5 receiving yards, +550
Goff, 8 touchdowns; Swift, 3 touchdowns; Hockenson, 448 yards.
Romeo Okwara over 8.5 sacks AND Amon-Ra St. Brown over 500.5 receiving yards, +275
Okwara, 1 sack; St. Brown, 250 yards.
Of note: Okwara reportedly suffered a torn Achilles tendon against the Bears in Week 4, likely bringing his season (and the prospects of this bet) to a premature end.
Lions-focused DraftKings match prop bets
DraftKings also had a few individual head-to-head bets involving Lions players.
More passing yards: Jared Goff (-150) vs. Ryan Fitzpatrick (+115)
Goff, 1,995 yards, Fitzpatrick, 13 yards.
Of note: Fitzpatrick’s injured hip took longer than expected to heal this first half of the season, and he’s still not back on the field. So Goff appears to be a safe winner here, no matter how the rest of the season unfolds.
More passing touchdowns: Jared Goff (-110) vs. Zach Wilson (-120)
Goff, 8 touchdowns; Wilson, 4 touchdowns.
Of note: The injury bug continues to favor Goff here, too, as Wilson is still missing time with a sprained PCL in his right knee.
More rushing yards: D’Andre Swift (-165) vs. Mike Davis (+120)
Swift, 289 yards; Davis, 271 yards.
More rushing touchdowns: D’Andre Swift (-130) vs. David Montgomery (+100)
Montgomery, 3 touchdowns; Swift, 3 touchdowns.
Of note: Montgomery didn’t score on the ground last week in his return back from injury following more than a month on the sidelines. In that time, Swift couldn’t pull ahead. I’d be fearful of his chances.
Select Detroit Lions 2021 NFL player prop bets
Jared Goff NFL props
Passing yards (1,995 so far in 2021)
- Over/under 4,015.5 at FanDuel Sportsbook (-112 each way)
- DraftKings: 3,995.5 (-115 each way)
- BetMGM Sportsbook: 3,995.5 (-110 each way)
Passing touchdowns (8)
- DraftKings: 20.5 (over -110, under -120)
- BetMGM: 20.5 (over -115, under -110)
Interceptions (6)
- DraftKings: 13.5 (over/under, each -115)
Of note: Man, these are probably going to be close. (That’s not good news, by the way, for either Goff or the Lions.)
T.J. Hockenson NFL props
Receiving yards (448)
- FanDuel: 775.5 (over -118, under -108)
- DraftKings: 770.5 (over/under, each -115)
- BetMGM: 775.5 (over/under, each -110)
Receiving touchdowns (2)
- DraftKings: 5 (over -120, under -110)
Receptions (48)
- DraftKings: 77.5 (over/under, each -115)
Of note: Hockenson is trending ahead of pace on the big counting stats through eight games, although he’s touchdown-dry since Week 2. That bit will have to change soon.
D’Andre Swift NFL props
Rushing yards (289)
- FanDuel: 875.5 (over -102, under -126)
- DraftKings: 900.5 (over -110, under -120)
- BetMGM: 900.5 (over/under, each -110)
Rushing touchdowns (3)
- DraftKings: 8.5 (over +110, under -140)
Receptions (47)
- DraftKings: 52.5 (over/under, each -110)
Of note: Receptions mark? A lock, barring injury. Rushing yards? A loss, barring a miracle. Rushing touchdowns? Needs help.
Romeo Okwara NFL props
Sacks (1)
- DraftKings: 7.5 (over +110, under -140)
Of note: The Achilles tendon tear ripples into this bet, too.
