Lions Packers Odds
Posted by Jimmy Boyd - Google+
The Green Bay Packers are set to host the Detroit Lions on Sunday Night Football. The Packers will be looking to sweep the Lions after winning 24-20 at Detroit back in Week 11. Have to like their chances considering the Packers have won 21 straight home games over the Lions since 1992. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:20 EST at Lambeau Field and will be televised nationally on NBC. Oddsmakers currently have the Packers favored by 6.5-points with the total set at 51 points.
Why Detroit Will Cover:
The Lions hopes of making the playoffs were all but destroyed in Sunday’s 33-35 home loss to the Colts. Detroit has lost four straight to fall to 4-8 overall, which is tied with Arizona for the third worst record in the NFC. It’s been a season of disappointing losses for the Lions. Six of their eight losses have come by a touchdown or less and their largest defeat all year was a 10-point loss at Minnesota.
Detroit’s playoff chances may be dead in the water, but I still think this team is going to show up and continue to play hard this week against their hated rivals. The Lions should be extremely motivated to put an end to their losing streak at Lambeau and they should be confident that they can do just that. Detroit had a 20-14 lead with just over 4 minutes to play in regulation of that first meeting, despite turning the ball over four times in that contest.
The fact that this game is being played on Sunday Night Football should also add to the Lions motivation. No one wants to be embarrassed in front of a national audience in a prime time televised matchup.
When you look at all the close games the Lions have played this season, it certainly gives you reason to believe they can keep it within a touchdown in a division game. I believe Detroit has been playing to tight of late due to their inability to finish games. Look for the Lions to play a lot more loose and I think that will be a big positive in this one.
Why Green Bay Will Cover:
The Packers rebounded from their embarrassing loss to the Giants on Sunday Night Football with a 23-14 home win over Minnesota this past weekend. The Packers have now won six of their last seven games overall to improve to 8-4 on the season. Green Bay is a perfect 5-0 at home after losing the season opener at Lambeau 22-30 to San Francisco. Four of those five wins have come by at least a touchdown, which is exactly what you like to see when considering laying this many points.
While there’s reason to believe the Lions will show up for this game, you could also argue the other side of that. Detroit came into this season with the expectation of not only returning to the playoffs, but contending for the NFC North title. The Lions put everything on the line in their last two games against Houston and Indianapolis in an effort to save their season. This team may simply not have anything left in the tank. It can be extremely hard for teams to remain focused after they finally realize they aren’t going to meet their goals.
This is a big game for the Packers, who are still in the hunt for the No. 2 seed in the NFC. Green Bay will also be out to make a statement in prime time after that miserable loss to the Giants a couple weeks ago. Even if the Lions show up to play, there’s still a pretty good chance that Packers win this game by at least a touchdown. There’s a good chance the early action will come in on Green Bay. If you are thinking about betting the Packers, you might want to get it in now before the line potentially jumps to 7 or higher.
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