As Super Bowl LVII ended Sunday night, most turned their attention to the 2023-24 NFL season.
A quick look at futures odds markets saw that the Detroit Lions are in the thick of the 2024 Super Bowl race.
The Lions have odds that are among the top 10 in the league to win next year’s championship. Why are oddsmakers anticipating a big season from Detroit?
Detroit Lions Super Bowl Odds
Early Super Bowl odds markets have the Lions in the top third of the league.
Both FanDuel Sportsbook MI and BetMGM Michigan list the Lions at +2500. That puts them at a tie for ninth-shortest odds with the likes of the Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Jets.
DraftKings Sportsbook MI has the Lions at +3000 to win the Super Bowl, which sits 11th in the odds list.
By comparison, the Lions were tied with the longest odds to win the Super Bowl each of the previous three seasons at this point. So, in every other year of legal sports betting in Michigan, there’s been little reason to invest in the Lions.
It’s clear oddsmakers feel the Lions can contend for the Super Bowl next season.
Though Lions fans are cautiously optimistic, there’s good reason to agree with oddsmakers.
All the stars seem to be lining up for Detroit to finally put an end to a playoff win drought that is now 31 years and running.
Here are five reasons the Lions find themselves among the top 10 teams in 2024 Super Bowl odds.
Lions entering offseason with momentum
The Lions were one of the hottest teams in the NFL as the 2022-23 regular season concluded.
Detroit won 8 of its last 10 games to salvage a winning record after a 1-6 start to the year.
The hot streak was concluded with a 20-16 win at Green Bay, eliminating the Packers from the playoffs in the process. The win streak also included wins over playoff teams in the N.Y. Giants, Jacksonville and Minnesota.
With Dan Campbell in his second year as head coach, having such a strong finish to the season should do a lot for the franchise heading into his third year.
“The reason the Detroit Lions are among the top 10 in Super Bowl betting odds in 2023 is a combination of confidence in the coaching staff and a young roster that gained a significant amount of experience in 2022,” said John Maakaron of All Lions.
Coordinators Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn are likely returning
Detroit already has a big win this offseason when offensive coordinator Ben Johnson elected to stay with the team as opposed to further pursue a head coaching job.
Detroit had a top-5 offense in the NFL this season. The Lions were fifth in scoring (26.6 ppg) and fourth in total offense (380 ypg).
Johnson had a very creative style of play calling and helped get the most out of quarterback Jared Goff. Goff had one of the best seasons of his career with 4,438 passing yards, 29 touchdowns and just seven interceptions.
While not quite locked in stone, it appears defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn will also be returning next season.
On paper, the Lions defense wasn’t great for 2022-23. They gave up the most yards (392.4 ypg) and were bottom five in points allowed (25.1 ppg).
However, Detroit showed a lot of growth with its young defense as the season progressed. Featuring five rookies regularly in the rotation, Detroit jumped up to a top-20 defense over the second half of the season.
“Dan Campbell has proven he can galvanize a locker room and keep a team together in tough times. With Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn likely returning, there is strong confidence the roster will continue to build on their nine-win season,” Maakaron said.
With the coaching continuity, this young team should continue to improve.
Lions have four of the first 56 picks in the NFL Draft
The Lions are already a young team with a lot of room for growth. That will only get stronger with the upcoming 2023 NFL Draft.
Detroit has two first round picks (6, 18), as well as two second round picks (49, 56).
That gives the Lions a chance to add some immediate help to problem areas, or just add overall depth to the roster.
General Manager Brad Holmes has had outstanding draft success through his first two years on the job. The 2022 class alone produced a collective 20.5 sacks and seven interceptions for the defense.
The defense benefitted in the second half of the season from playing a bunch of young players. The emergence of James Houston (8 sacks) was an added benefit, as he is also going to be one of the core group of players general manager Brad Holmes will build around,” Maakaron said. “With a nice core group of players on offense and defense, the 2023 Draft and free agency should add a considerable amount of talent to an already good football team. I would expect to see the Lions in the postseason in 2023.”
It’s unclear what Holmes might be targeting for the 2023 NFL Draft. However, making trades is something he has been known to do. He has the draft stock to move around the board and get the players he desires.
History favors new NFL contenders
The NFL was built for parity, even if the Detroit Lions haven’t been included in it.
Over the last three seasons, at least one team has reached the Super Bowl that wasn’t a division champion a year before.
Since the 2016-17 season, four teams have reached the Super Bowl after missing the playoffs the season before. That includes the Cincinnati Bengals (2021-22), the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2020-21), the Philadelphia Eagles (2017-18), and the Atlanta Falcons (2016-17).
The Lions are likely to be a popular pick by prognosticators to be the next team to possibly live up to that statistic.
The NFC is the weaker conference
The Detroit Lions could be aided by a much weaker conference when it comes to overall depth.
The AFC features powerhouse teams like Kansas City, Buffalo and Cincinnati. All have young quarterbacks with a bright future.
In the NFC, there is much less crowing up top.
Philadelphia is built to be strong for years to come, but no other team has a clear foundation going forward.
While San Francisco has a great defense, it still has some questions offensively with an unproven quarterback heading into the next season.
Tom Brady retired, while Aaron Rodgers could be on his way out of Green Bay.
Minnesota and Dallas won a lot of games, but aren’t scaring anyone here in Detroit.
