Detroit Lions Turning Heads At Sportsbooks Ahead Of Season Opener

The NFL season begins later this month with the Detroit Lions’ first game at Ford Field facing off against the Philadelphia Eagles. With training camps completed and preseason games beginning, many sports fans have already placed bets on their favorite teams and players. Michigan sportsbooks are seeing a huge wave of sports fans putting money down on the Detroit Lions’ season this year. So many Detroit Lions fans have jumped on the bandwagon believing the team will bounce back from last season’s 3-13-1. In fact, Caesars Sportsbook reported that the most popular NFL wager by handle in July was the Lions winning over six games this season. More people bet on the Lions winning greater than six games last month than on any other team at Caesars.

Yes, this is the S-O-L or “same old lions” as last year, who went 3-13-1, finishing last in the NFC. Same old lions who haven’t been to the playoffs since 2016, and of course, we haven’t won any postseason games either. You get the idea. Yet, more players are betting on the lions this year than any other team, and there are a few good reasons why fans are jumping on board.

Last year, the Lions lost six games to teams that only beat them by eight or fewer points. In four of those games, the Lions lost by fewer than three points. Had a few plays gone their way, the season would have looked drastically different. The Lions could have been a 7-9 team last season. 

On top of this, the Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell has drawn in the most money overall to win Coach of the Year for this season at Caesars sportsbook as of July 20th, 2022. D’Andre Swift has also drawn the most money overall to lead in NFL rushing yards for the season. Swift rushed for 617 yards and five touchdowns on 151 carries last year. 

Additionally, the team added Aidan Hutchinson, Jameson Williams, D.J Chark, and Deshon Elliott, among others, that head coach Dan Campbell believes could be the secret to a better season. “I just think I’ve got guys like Rich Strike,” said Campbell, referring to the horse that stunned the world in May by defying 80-1 odds and winning the Kentucky Derby this year. In an interview, Campbell expressed how the performance by the colt was “One of the most inspiring things I’ve seen in a long time. It was impressive. It was beautiful,” said Campbell. “Every time we hear the S-O-L, same old Lions, and all the stuff, I think it fuels our fire. We love it. I think that’s how we all feel. That’s how we all talk. That’s how we all think. There’s nothing fake about it,” said Campbell.

The Detroit Lions enter this season with the fifth-easiest schedule, according to estimates based on records from last season. If the Lions can continue to improve under Campbell, the team may be able to turn some of those losses into wins and win seven or more games this season.

The current odds at four popular sportsbooks in Michigan are listed below. 

Mac Daniel is a South Carolina-based freelance writer for PlayOnlineCasino and PlayOnlineSportsBetting. He has experience writing about a wide variety of topics, including healthcare, tourism, non-profit organizations, and most recently casino and sportsbetting news. To check out more of his work, visit www.playonlinecasinomi.com or www.playonlinesportsbetting.com