Getty Christian Jones puts Aaron Rodgers on the ground in Detroit during 2018.
It’s still a week until the Detroit Lions are back in action playing the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football, but already, an early look at the game has come via an official betting line.
The Packers have opened as six point favorites against the Lions according to BetOnline.ag. The line is nothing new for the Lions, who have been underdogs in plenty of games before and are constantly counted out against their NFC North competition on the field.
A Surprising Line
Considering what the Lions and Packers rivalry has been lately, the early line is quite interesting. Detroit has won four straight in the rivalry including back to back games at Lambeau Field in which they have blown out the Packers. It’s fair to remember some of those games have come without Aaron Rodgers, but it’s not as if Rodgers’ presence in Detroit has helped the Packers any. Green Bay still lost the game he played in Detroit last season 31-24 and the quarterback was sacked and made several critical errors which helped to aid the Lions cause.
The line is merely proof that Detroit, in spite of their 2-1-1 start, is still being overlooked in NFL and betting circles. Detroit has been an underdog to Green Bay before and yet still managed to come out on top of the matchup. They will have to win this type of game to get folks to start believing once and for all in 2019, in spite of seeing somewhat of a turn in thought about the franchise.
Green Bay has played well enough this season to hold a 4-1 record, and this week, put the finishing touches on a fairly dominant win over the Dallas Cowboys on the road. Their defense is playing well, and that’s something which should catch the attention of the Lions coming into the game.
It will be interesting to see if the line increases as the week goes on and what happens to the official number prior to next week.
How Will Timing Matter?
The game will take place at a very interesting time for the Lions and Packers, considering Green Bay is coming off a hard hitting game in Dallas, and the Lions will have had nearly over two weeks off prior to playing at Lambeau Field. Will it be a case of rest paying off or rust showing up when it comes to Detroit? That will be a significant variable which could determine what happens in the game and who has the advantage.
Nevertheless, the Lions will have had ample time to regroup and recuperate. Tons of injured players will benefit from the time off, and it would not be a stretch to think the Lions could get most of their players back healthy for their first NFC North tilt. That would be huge, especially given what the Lions fought through during their first four games of the season.
Either way, the Lions and Packers will have to wait a little longer to kick things off, but as of now, the early favorite for the renewal of this classic rivalry has the Packers on top.
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