After a bye week, Detroit Lions odds are right back to where they were before the one-week respite: underdogs again, this time to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Get used to it, as the lowly winless, 0-8 Lions will again try for their first victory of the season Sunday with oddsmakers doubtful of their chances.
Michigan sportsbooks expect game No. 9 to go the way of the first eight, as the host Steelers were 9-point favorites against Detroit for the 1 p.m. EST game at Heinz Field, according to BetRivers Sportsbook, Caesars and DraftKings on Monday.
However, by Saturday afternoon, that number was down to 7.5 points at some places, including DraftKings.
Although the Lions come into the game at 0-8, they have covered the spread in four of those games. If the pattern of covering the spread every other week holds, the Lions would cover the game-time spread. Going into Monday night, Pittsburgh was 4-3.
The over/under total is set for 43.5 points at most sportsbooks.
Over the summer, sportsbooks released a Steelers -7.5 line for this game.
Detroit Lions at Pittsburgh Steelers Odds: NFL Week 10
Lions flirting with 0-17 season, according to oddsmakers
Forget beating the Steelers. Oddsmakers are skeptical that the Lions will beat anyone this season.
After getting crushed by Pennsylvania’s other team in Week 8, oddsmakers had the line at or near +500 for the Lions to actually go 0-17 this season.
Meanwhile, sportsbooks were calling Detroit a +340 bet to win this game against Pittsburgh.
Although getting the No. 1 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft may ultimately be the most important goal of the season, avoiding a repeat of the winless 2008 season is a worthy goal.
The Lions got crushed in their last outing: 44-6 to the Philadelphia Eagles. Detroit first-year coach Dan Campbell’s team has played well at times, but two of the past three games have been stinkers for his team.
Steelers on short week after Monday night meeting vs. Bears
The Steelers are the Steelers, which means even in down years, they are well ahead of the lowly Lions.
Veteran quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will lead Pittsburgh into a Monday night meeting with the Chicago Bears before preparing for Detroit.
Based on what happens in the feature game on ESPN this week, it’s possible this line could move quite a bit heading into Week 10.
We’ll update this story with any developments throughout the week.
