Rooting For The Detroit Lions Can Be Miserable. How Bad Would Betting On Them Have Been For Your Bankroll?

Detroit Lions fans are well aware of the unfavorable statistics, whether it’s related to betting or any other aspect of their history. They have only experienced one playoff triumph since 1957, have failed to secure any division titles since 1993, and cannot forget the infamous 0-16 season in 2008, which was Matt Millen’s final contribution to the team.

Can you imagine the emotions of supporting the Honolulu Blue and Silver during those games? Now picture yourself placing bets on them.

Sports fans in Michigan were fortunate enough to finally have regulated online sports betting available to them starting in January of this year.

This Sunday, it is likely that numerous individuals from Michigan will be placing their inaugural legal sports wager on the Lions as they commence the season against the San Francisco 49ers. If you happen to be one of those individuals, we recommend taking a look at our beginner sports betting tips in Michigan, which includes examples from this year’s games.

Football betting not being as mainstream as it is now can be seen as a blessing, considering the decades of misery experienced by old-timer fans and the recent two decades of disappointment for the newbies.

Surprisingly, placing bets on the Lions wouldn’t have been as terrible as watching their performance, although it still wouldn’t have been enjoyable.

Only Cleveland Browns are worse than Detroit Lions since Matt Millen’s hiring

Given that sports betting is more popular among younger individuals compared to baby boomers who are familiar with names like Bobby Layne, let’s shift our focus to a more contemporary timeframe and demographic.

Additionally, during the 1990s, being a Lions fan was an enjoyable experience due to the presence of Barry Sanders. However, following Sanders’ unexpected retirement in 1999, a distinct and gloomy era emerged for the Lions as the new century approached.

Following the season-ending disappointment caused by Michigan State graduate Paul Edinger’s decisive kick, which shattered the Lions’ playoff aspirations and dampened Christmas Eve, William Clay Ford, the owner of the Lions, made a significant move to alter the franchise’s course. This entailed the audacious decision to recruit Millen, who was previously working in the TV broadcast booth.

You are well aware of the Lions’ disappointing record since Millen assumed control of the team in 2001, which currently stands at 110-209-1. This figure is only marginally better than that of the Cleveland Browns, who have been synonymous with poor performance in football this century and are also part of the winless 0-16 club.

Since Millen was hired in 2001, let’s take a glance at the NFL’s most woeful teams.

NFL’s Worst Straight-Up Records Since 2001

	Wins	Losses	Ties	Winning percentage
32. Cleveland Browns	107	212	1	.336
31. Detroit Lions	110	209	1	.345
29. Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders	121	199		.378
29. Jacksonville Jaguars	121	199		.378
28. Washington Football Team	131	188	1	.411

I don’t mean to rub salt in the wound, but just to give some perspective, during that period Detroit had a record of 110-209-1 overall while the New England Patriots had a record of 239-81, with a playoff record of 30-11. On the other hand, Detroit has unfortunately achieved a record of 0-3.

What about going against the number?

Detroit Lions Odds: Week 1 vs. San Francisco 49ers

In betting terms, Detroit Lions pass just 3 NFL franchises since 2001

Lions bettors can, surprisingly, attribute some of their betting wins to Millen. Throughout this era, the Lions’ consistently low expectations have allowed them to surpass the spread (ATS) in losses, resulting in unexpected victories for bettors.

If you are inexperienced in sports betting, the spread refers to the predetermined value assigned by an oddsmaker, reflecting the perceived skill disparities between two teams in an event. For further details on placing spread bets and other forms of football betting in Michigan, read on.

According to a data analysis from Playinmichigan, which gathered information from TeamRankings, Maddux Sports, and Sports Odds History, Detroit has the second worst record against the spread since 2001. Although Cleveland is the only team worse outright than Detroit, there are two other teams with worse records against the spread.

Since 2001, the Raiders franchise (140-174-6) holds the poorest record against the spread. It’s quite ironic considering they currently play in the sports betting capital of the world.

Following the Rams franchise is the recently acquired team of quarterback Matthew Stafford, who currently holds a record of 143-169-8 ATS. Although these two franchises have relocated to new states, it is worth noting that they were able to make it to the first two Super Bowls of the Millen era, despite their unfortunate losses.

Hrrrmmmm …

In terms of the spread, Cleveland ranks as the 30th best team in the league with a record of 143-167-10, making them the next-worst team.

Since 2001, Detroit has a 144-167-9 ATS record, placing them in a tie with the Tennessee Titans (145-168-7) for 29th in the league in terms of percentage points.

Since 2001, these NFL teams have performed the worst against the spread.

NFL’s worst records against the spread since 2001

	Wins	Losses	Pushes	Winning percentage
32. Las Vegas/Oakland Raiders	140	174	6	.447
31. St. Louis/LA Rams	143	169	8	.459
30. Cleveland Browns	143	167	10	.463
28. Tennessee Titans	145	168	7	.464
28. Detroit Lions	144	167	9	.464

Unlike Cleveland, Detroit often exceeded low odds bar in 0-16 season

Taking a closer look at the lowest point of this franchise really highlights how much the Millen era lowered the standards.

The Lions set a record by being the inaugural team to lose every single one of their 16 games during the 2008 season. The Browns later duplicated this unfortunate accomplishment by going winless in all 16 games during the 2017 campaign.

In all fairness, Millen cannot be held accountable for the entire mess as he was only hired in 2001 and was not responsible for the entirety of the 2008 debacle. To clarify, he was actually dismissed from his position after just a few games into the ’08 season.

However, it is intriguing to compare the 0-16 campaigns. In their disastrous year, Cleveland had a 4-12 record against the spread. The Browns consistently underperformed in relation to the expectations set by oddsmakers.

Nevertheless, during the 2008 season, the Lions managed to achieve a relatively commendable record of 6-9-1 against the spread, considering the circumstances. Apart from the infamous incident where Dan Orlovsky danced out of the back of the end zone at Minnesota, I don’t recall any of those games being particularly competitive.

However, the Millen era had conditioned oddsmakers to have such low expectations for the Lions that even an 0-16 team managed to exceed the spread in almost half of their games. It’s quite impressive for Millen to take pride in this.

Congratulations to him! (I’m certain he is eagerly anticipating the arrival of the greeting cards.)

Lions have covered a playoff game in recent years; will they ever win one?

To put it simply, the Lions have consistently fallen short of being a wise bet, despite occasionally surpassing the low expectations set for them.

If we examine the record against the spread since 2001, which stands at 144-167-9, it implies that an individual who consistently bet on Detroit in all those games would be at a loss of 23 units. Surprisingly, betting against the Lions, known as fading, wouldn’t have been as lucrative as one might expect either.

Including the three playoff games, betting on the Lions to cover resulted in a loss of 24 units. Detroit lost against Seattle (2016) and New Orleans (2011) in home games, while managing to cover the 6.5-point spread but still losing 24-20 to Dallas in the first round of the 2014 NFL Playoffs (played in January 2015).

Oh, look! A playoff cover! Perhaps this is a good beginning.

Similar to the beginning of each Lions season, there remains a glimmer of hope for a turnaround. With positive developments seen in the Detroit Pistons and Tigers, and a renewed sense of optimism surrounding the Red Wings, it is possible that the downtrodden Lions may follow suit and begin to progress.

It’s not something we would wager on.