The Detroit Lions have been very competitive this season, and while they have lost games, the team has not backed down and often times only ends up losing narrowly in the end.
That streak continued into Week 16, where the Lions hung around against the Atlanta Falcons and managed to have the ball with a chance to win late. They didn’t, of course, but once again the Lions covered a generous spread amid their 20-16 defeat on the road.
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This week, the Lions are the recipients of another generous spread as they finish their road slate out for 2021 against the Seattle Seahawks. As things push toward Week 17, the Lions have been seen as at the very least a touchdown underdog on the road as Mike O’Hara of DetroitLions.com showed in a tweet.
During this season, the Lions have been 10-5 against the spread, so they have proven to be a team that is very adept at managing to exceed expectations. This game will give them another chance to do so, given Seattle just lost in Week 16 to Chicago in a surprising upset at home.
With this in mind, it’s fair to wonder if the Lions should be underdogs for this game at all. Nevertheless, the team will have that status once again for another week, with another shot at proving some of the experts wrong for their lines and predictions.
Lions-Seahawks Series History
Historically, it isn’t a surprise to learn that Seattle has had the upper hand against the Lions lately and holds a 10-5 record head-to-head. The team is winners of three in a row in the regular season and one game in the playoffs in 2017. Detroit has been outclassed in blowouts in the series, and also the victim of some inconsistent officiating, such as in 2015 when they lost thanks to a batted ball out of the end zone on what looked like a game-winning touchdown on Monday Night Football.
The worst beating, though, came in the playoffs in 2017 when the Lions lost 26-6 and were never a threat in the game. It was Detroit’s last playoff appearance.
Detroit will be hungry to reverse this history being the last time they beat Seattle was in 2012, almost 10 years ago. That was before the Seahawks were Super Bowl champions, so the Lions will be trying to write some new history in a new year.
Lions-Seahawks Week 17 Primer
To say the seasons have not gone as planned in both cities is a bit of an understatement. At 5-10, the Seahawks are perhaps shockingly further out of the playoff picture than many might expect at this moment. They’ve dealt with injury issues as well as inconsistency on their end, and as a result, are having the kind of season that fans will be happy to see end. The team will also be guaranteed to have a losing record at home in 2021 for the first time under Pete Carroll.
In Detroit, the Lions have turned things around late in the season, scoring a pair of December wins while holding tough in every game of the month otherwise. The team is starting to come into their own and are laying down a great foundation for 2022. Offensively, the team is playing much better and finding more big plays. On defense, the Lions have managed to stay in games no matter who has been playing which is a tribute to Aaron Glenn’s coaching.
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